Step 2: Simplify Snacks

It seems that no sooner than the breakfast dishes are done that Dutch is ready for a snack.  And while snacks are notoriously laden with sugar, salt and a high price tag, it is possible to follow The Simple Diet and still allow our kids to snack.  They have little tummies and even after a healthy breakfast they will still benefit from a small nutritious snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Here are Simple Diet Snacks:

  • Homemade bread. My kids live on homemade 100% whole wheat bread. It cost pennies to make and is delicious and nutritious. I made 4-5 loaves a week. (recipe here and bread machines here) A $55 bread machine will easily pay for itself in 1-2 months, one month if you are buying lots of Dave’s Killer or some other all-natural breads.  Since I make 5 loaves a week I figure I am saving about $50/month just on bread. We’ll do a separate post on where to buy ingredients, etc.
  • Cheese. Not cheese sticks (although those are fine, just more expensive). Tillamook cheddar cheese. When you see it on sale for $3.99/lb. stock up! I probably have 7 blocks in my fridge right now.
  • Apples, oranges, bananas. You can get organic apples at Azure Standard for $1/lb. Oranges and bananas don’t need to be organic, and you can always get for under $1/lb. Other fruit is great too, but when budget is the name of the game, these three are tough to beat.
  • Peanut Butter. My kids always ask for “peanut butter on spoon.” At first I thought it was a bad habit, but with organic, 100% natural peanut butter (great price at Costco, Trader Joe’s or Fred Meyer), it’s a great way to fill those tummies with protein and healthy fat.  I scoop a big spoonful and let them eat it like a popsicle.
  • Carrots. You can always get organic carrots (at Safeway or Fred Meyer) for under $1/lb. if you do the hard work of peeling and chopping.  I keep a large tupperware full of carrots already peeled chopped in little sticks that are perfect for little mouths.  An easy nutritious snack. (It might seem crazy to buy a 15 lb. bag of carrots but it’s easy to use them up if you use half raw and cook half for meals and purees. Plus, if you have a bunch you’re more likely to eat them.)

All these are whole foods. All are under $2/lb. All are great nutritious choices for our kids. And all are Simple. They can all be kept on hand and handed out in 30 seconds. And after only having one choice for breakfast, they’ll think getting FIVE choices for a snack is amazing!

Shopping List:

Apples (organic), oranges, bananas, carrots (organic), cheddar cheese, peanut butter. Bread ingredients (more on that later).

What to avoid: Fruit snacks, crackers, granola bars,  individually wrapped things.

Happy snacking!

13 thoughts on “Frugal Fridays: The Simple Diet (2)”

  1. great ideas! My kids love “peanut butter on a spoon” too! I thought we were the only weird ones.

  2. I was appalled at my MIL for giving my boys pb on a spoon but then I realized it is a good idea and the protein is way better than a lot of other snacks we have in our house.

    I need to start making more bread I can’t believe you make 4-5 loaves a week wow!

  3. I, too, have a bread machine but wasn’t happy with how my loaf of wheat bread turned out in it. So now what I do is let the machine do the dough and bake it in a loaf pan in the oven. I’m much happier with the results and the machine handles the toughest part – getting the dough ready!

  4. I just bought my first 5-pound bag of carrots this morning. My 15-month-old daughter was munching her morning snack (dried cranberries and cheese) on the kitchen floor, so I pulled up next to her to start peeling. Oh my goodness, it was fun! She chomped on big ol’ carrot sticks, played with the peels, moved the carrots around…we had a blast!

    The biggest shock, though, was when I realized my hands were ORANGE! Easy fix and the whole thing was very worth it. Thanks for the excellent posts on simple eating; they’ve been a great encouragement! 😀

    1. Awesome! Oh I love this scene, thanks so much for sharing. I loved summer afternoons sitting out on the porch with my kids, peeling carrots and letting them nibble away. Sometimes things that take more time are a blessing! Thanks for sharing and enjoy those carrots!

  5. Just a word of warning on the peanut butter on a stick: when my son (now 10) was little, I was told not to do that because a big hunk of peanut butter going down a tiny throat is a choking hazard. (When it’s in a sandwich, it’s not as sticky on the outside and is obviously not dangerous, given how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are consumed daily!) I myself regularly eat peanut butter that way, because I’m big enough to regulate how much goes down at any one time.

  6. Just an FYI. I’ve seen you post (and I adore your site and blogs. I’ve cried reading the more personal ones) that you don’t need to buy exclusively organic. This is true, but what I would like to say is just because it has a peel doesn’t mean it is okay. That clean fifteen/dirty dozen list? Those items were washed and prepared the way they were meant to be eaten prior to testing. The bananas, citrus, and potatoes were peeled and the blueberries washed and yet the pesticides and contaminants remain in the fruit because they were sourced from the soil those plants grow in. I understand where you are coming from – it often doesn’t seem reasonable to pay for exclusively organic foods. I have a number it my head when I compare. If it is more than a 75% increase I will buy conventional. Everyone can have a different number, and we are greatly reducing exposure by buying as organic as often as possible, but it’s misinformation to say that because we peel an item it contains less pesticides than reported on the Clean Fifteen/Dirty dozen list.

    1. Hi Tami, This is interesting, thank you so much for sharing! Yes, I’m sure that those nasty pesticides are leeching into everything! Can you share with me some helpful resources for finding which items are most impacted by pesticides? I would love any information you have to offer! Thanks so much, Tami. Learning with you and thanks so much for engaging here and for your kind words! Many blessings, Kari

  7. Im coming into this one late but 🙂 If you want an alternative for jar peanut butter….

    I buy unsalted bulk peanuts from my local Winco and send them through my food processor with a tbsp of peanut oil(optional). It tastes so much fresher and is SO much cheaper than buying jars. I used to enjoy peanut butter…now I *LOVE* it.

  8. I was recently introduced to your delicious bread by a friend…however, I do not have a bread machine and was wondering if you have ever made this without one? I’m guessing there is some rising time and that the ingredients may be added differently?? I’d love some advice!!

    1. Hi there! Yes, the beloved bread… I actually don’t a bread machine either anymore so I just make it in my kitchenaid with the dough hook. Do you have one of those? Just mix the warm water, milk, sugar, butter, add yeast–let it get all foamy (about 5-10 min) then add flour and salt and mix with dough hook for about 15 minutes. You can either let it sit and knead it more later, or just dump the dough on a cookie sheet or in a greased bread pan and let rise for about 45 minutes (I turn oven on 350 for one minute then turn off so it’s warm and let the bread rise in there). Easy peasy! 🙂

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