My freezer and pantry are FULL, but there's nothing to eat!!

[rnorwo1]

So I have been trying to slash our grocery budget while eating healthy, which I find is kind of hard to do. I'm doing really well with cutting the costs, and I have a fully stocked pantry with the basics and the freezer is full of meat that I buy on sale. So I'm good with cooking for meals. I don't mind cooking and I have tons of recipes.

My problem is snacking and the quickie meals. I used to buy corn dogs and chicken nuggets for lunches on weekends, but I've cut that out. The kids are going to be very sick of tuna salad very soon!

And what can you cook or buy for snacks that is economical and healthy? I don't mind baking cookies, muffins, cakes, etc, but my thighs and hips are really starting to protest. Also, all three boys take their lunches to school, so the few snacks I'm still buying, like fruit snacks and goldfish crackers, have to go to school too... so they're constantly complaining they're tired of those things. I do buy fresh fruit too.

Please help! What do you snack on or have for quickie lunches that are economical and won't cause me to have to buy a larger wardrobe?!
Thanks!

 

[Kay1]

I'm not big on snacking though I did have peanut butter toast after I got light headed after exercise today. I think the best quickie meal is leftover anything. Pretzels seem pretty cheap too.

How about keeping a big bowl of fruit salad going?

 

[SandrA9810]

Just make a little bit extra of dinner, and put them into a smaller storage container. That way it's not a full meal, but about 1/3 of it, just enough to tie the kids over till dinner. It's just a quick pop in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

 

[richmond282]

For snacks: I like pretzels, popcorn, and crackers w/ cheese or PB.

Fro quickie meals: You could pre-cook (and freeze in smaller servings) homemade chicken nuggets (Use chicken breasts cut up and rolled in bread crumbs/ parm cheese), mac n cheese (Use low fat milk, cheese, whole wheat pasta etc.), and pigs in a blankets (Roll turkey dogs in low fat or whole wheat biscuits). Use healthier ingredients, but get the same convenience.

 

[tweedlemom]

Hummus or pb on crackers or rice cakes. Yogurt, cheesesticks, applesauce, poptarts, granola bars, small boxes of raisins, tortillas, micro popcorn.

 

[poohfriend77]

I often have the opposite problem. I'll go to the store to stock up on snack/lunchbox foods, such as yogurt, cheese sticks, pretzels, fruit, bagels, PB crackers, nutri-grain bars, cereal. Then I get home and realize I have nothing to make for dinner.

 

[auntmeme7577]

I eat a lot of cottage cheese with different kinds of fruit, sprinkled with a little crushed almonds or peanuts, celery and hummus or a little peanut butter, honey crisp apples, boiled eggs, low carb yogurt from Kroger, make up a lot of chicken tenders ( not breaded) to eat plain or on a salad, soup is always good, filling and cheap
Good luck, I'm sure you will feel better and look GREAT!

 

[auntmeme7577]

Oh, and I just discovered that I love raw sugar snap peas! Not too expensive, cheaper than chips and really good! Only took me 54 years to try them!

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

I think one important thing is to get out of the mind set that all lunches have to be a full meal! I know it has taken me some time to realise that it is okay to eat a yogurt and apple or pear (or some kind of fruit) and not have the sandwich or salad all the time. Basically, have finger foods, snack type foods and that is all.

 

[rjthkids]

We are a whole-food, non-processed and inexpensive family and have been doing this for several years.

A PP has the right idea. Pre-make your own convenience foods. You can make chicken nuggets. You can make your own crackers. You can make homemade pizza and throw it in the freezer, same thing with meatballs. Pre-make soups and sauces that can just be pulled out on the weekends for an easy meal.

In terms of snacks, we make popcorn all the time, crackers, granola, nuts, fruit, raw veggies, and cheese. Ants on a log is another popular snack item here. Bread made from scratch and doing peanut butter toast, or french toast is another snack. And muffins, scones etc. etc. don't have to be made high calorie with a ton of sugar. You can make them savory and eliminate the sugar completely.

 

[sk!mom]

The only things we snack on are fresh fruit, yogurt, and frozen treats- Skinny Cow (pricey), fudgescicles, fruit bars. I only buy a small amount of the frozen treats as we all pretty much stick with fruit and yogurt during the week but might treat ourselves to a frozen treat on the weekends.

For quick meals and weekend lunches- My family loves egg sandwiches on HEB jalepeno bread. DH will get up on Saturday saying, "yay, it's egg sandwich day!" Beyond that, anytime I make anything that will freeze well, chili, soups, spaghetti, lasagna- I freeze single servings for quick meals or lunches.

 

[Gigi22]

Microwave popcorn--not the processed stuff, just the pop it yourself kernels.

 

[C.Ann]

So I have been trying to slash our grocery budget while eating healthy, which I find is kind of hard to do. I'm doing really well with cutting the costs, and I have a fully stocked pantry with the basics and the freezer is full of meat that I buy on sale. So I'm good with cooking for meals. I don't mind cooking and I have tons of recipes.

My problem is snacking and the quickie meals. I used to buy corn dogs and chicken nuggets for lunches on weekends, but I've cut that out. The kids are going to be very sick of tuna salad very soon!

And what can you cook or buy for snacks that is economical and healthy? I don't mind baking cookies, muffins, cakes, etc, but my thighs and hips are really starting to protest. Also, all three boys take their lunches to school, so the few snacks I'm still buying, like fruit snacks and goldfish crackers, have to go to school too... so they're constantly complaining they're tired of those things. I do buy fresh fruit too.

Please help! What do you snack on or have for quickie lunches that are economical and won't cause me to have to buy a larger wardrobe?!
Thanks!

I love muffins - and there are so many really good healthy ones out there.. Could you bake in big batches and then put them in the freezer? Also, depending on what kind you make, most would be fine in the fridge for at least a week..

Pretzels are an option - but you would have to take into account the extra salt that's being ingested..

Freshly made fruit cups?

Celery with pb or cream cheese?

Yogurt?

That's all I can think of right now.. It's late and the old brain is shutting down..LOL..

 

[mello]

We eat the same way and I have the same issues. One snack my teenage boys like is quesadillas. We usually keep corn tortillas on hand, since I'm trying to cut down on white flour products, (we even make our own corn tortillas quite often), and you can pre-shred cheese on the weekends. They also like guacamole with their tortillas, and bean dip too. Smoothies are a favorite around her as well, and dd8 likes to pour it into popsicle molds for frozen treats in the summer. Another super easy and yummy summer treat we found as a substitute for soda pop was Aqua Fresca (watermelon was our favorite - found the recipe online), and the kids loved adding club soda to make it mildly fizzy. SOOOO refreshing!

I'll also second (or third!) the idea to double up on recipes and freeze smaller portions for lunches and snacks. If they can just heat something up, they're happy.

The thing I find is that when I take time to plan ahead, it can be really easy, inexpensive and filling, not to mention just plain ol' delicious to eat healthier. But when I don't plan ahead, then it's a real headache!

 

[MomToOne]

Fruit is one of our go to snacks in our house - if I had a nickel for every time I told my daughter "Eat an apple!" I'd be rich Other snacks include popcorn, yogurt, carrotts/celery, and nuts.

Lunches are sandwiches or leftovers - we don't go for fancy lunches in our house.

Two evenings a week my daughter has language therapy and we don't get home until after 7. Dinner those nights has to be REALLY quick. I make things like homemade quesidillas, omelets, bean burritos, veggie soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, steak sandwiches w/salad, chicken caesar wraps (when I have leftover roast chicken), etc.

One lesson I have learned is that "fast food" isn't actually a time saver a lot of time. In the time it takes me to drive to McDonalds, get through the drive-thru and get home again, I can actually make hamburgers at home! And mine come with veggies - no extra charge

 

[3boymthr]

Lunches on the weekends tend to be grilled cheese, lunch meat sandwiches.

For snacks, my kids love air popped popcorn. I also second C.Ann freeze the items you bake and pull them out a serving at a time. It only takes a few seconds to nuke a muffin and thaw it. Same goes for cookies, etc. Throw 'em in a ziploc or tupperware and freeze em. Like yogurt, jello and pudding are also easy snacks to keep on hand. It only takes a few minutes to make a bowl of jello or pudding (I buy the cook and serve and nuke it).

 

[leight]

Lunches on the weekends tend to be grilled cheese, lunch meat sandwiches.

For snacks, my kids love air popped popcorn. I also second C.Ann freeze the items you bake and pull them out a serving at a time. It only takes a few seconds to nuke a muffin and thaw it. Same goes for cookies, etc. Throw 'em in a ziploc or tupperware and freeze em. Like yogurt, jello and pudding are also easy snacks to keep on hand. It only takes a few minutes to make a bowl of jello or pudding (I buy the cook and serve and nuke it).

I agree with this and pp. I will make cupcakes and freeze them. The kids can pull them out and frost them, decorate them with friends. Also, my kids love breakfast for dinner so I make extra pancakes and waffles and freeze those so they can be made quickly- serve with fruit/yogurt on the side and you can call it brunch. Alot of it is how you present it. If you have cookie cutters you can just have the pancakes defrost and cut into different shapes then microwave it quickly. When I do this I will put their beverage in my wine glasses(non crystal) and they think they have something special.

Same thing with grilled cheese- cut off the crusts and make bite size pieces with toothpicks. Put an olive on top and call it h'ors doerves. Serve with celery and cream cheese and you have a finger platter. I've also made triple decker grilled cheese with leftover meats like turkey or an extra burger from the grill. If you fancy it up and serve with a side salad it adds a little interest and texture.

If you have a stock of tuna- do a tea party and make vegetable sandwiches like cucumber sandwiches or tomatoe sandwiches and tuna sandwiches. Serve fruit and a muffin from your frozen stockpile and you have a real party going!

Another thing to do to get them interested is to let them 'cook' & plan the meal themselves. Have them go thru the pantry/freezer and put together a meal plan. Help them look up recipes if they can't do it on their own. Unfortunately you have to 'taste' it- and some of their creations may be very interesting! My girls love to do this(thank goodness they are too fussy to make something I can't stand) and they create menus and setup the table. Its a great rainy weekend activity.

As fruit starts to get soft-where they no longer find it appetizing-cut it up and freeze it. Have the kids make smoothies with yogurt and the fruit. Put it into cocktail glasses and they love it. Blend yogurt and fruit and freeze it - we used to use the 5oz plastic bathroom cups and a popsicle stick and we had our own fruit pops. Same thing with pudding or jello.

Good luck!

 

[girli565]

I have the same problem, my mom and husband complain all the time but they don't go grocery shopping so they have to deal lol.

I try to buy yogurts and healthier snacks like pretzels, low fat or no butter popcorn, and apples! I love a good crunchy red delicious apple and the ones from costco are HUGE so they are very filling.

 

[thomas998]

Cheese... you buy a big chunk of it at the deli and then cut it into cubes.

Yogurt... actually something you can make yourself and then keep some fresh fruit cut in a baggie to go into it.

Dehydrated fruit

Nuts

Those things work for us.

 

[ilovejack02]

I always keep boiled eggs in fridge, hubby will eat one for lunch with a handful of nuts.

I keep baby carrots and cucumbers cut up , along with dip .. lowfat sour cream or fat free , hidden valley ranch dip packets are a staple in my house. I know I could make my own, but I just don't .

CHicken salad, I stock up on whole chickens when on sale.. dinner one night , leftovers made into chicken salad.