Frugal Snacks, Part the Third
Week one was all about Teh Salty
Week two was all about Teh Sweet
Week three is all over the map.
Once when I had a blog post up on frugal eating on my family's regular blog. I don't remember exactly which post it was, but it wasn't one of my more austere, emergency frugality posts. It probably included recipes like this one, and maybe some ethnic dishes and tips on how to make the most of discount grocery stores,
More than likely, it included my usual admonition to use what was in your hand, and not to be too picky- eating what was available instead of what you felt like having and learning to be content that way and perhaps some tips on using leftovers or using ethnic recipes to cut down the grocery budget.
What I do remember is that a reader commented that was all well and good, but their family couldn't eat that way because her husband insisted that the children only get the very best food. Eating oats or pancakes for breakfast is really not a deprivation, especially wheat-free pancakes like these, topped with home-made apple butter, prepared in the crockpot. I do not believe we should feel like, or encourage our children to feel like, that somehow, it's slumming it to eat what 90 percent of the world eats, or even only a midwestern American version of that.
You can eat frugally and still celebrate the bounty, giving your children joyful memories.
Here are a few other generally frugal and nutritious snack ideas that can either be looked at as austerity measures, or you can make them occasions for joy:
Here is a good list of seasonal produce- that is, which produce is in season when. You want to know this because seasonal produce is generally cheaper.
When you make pancakes for breakfast, make extras. Snacks can be pancakes spread with cream cheese or nut butters and jam, fruit spread, or diced fruit. Roll them up or make a pancake sandwich. Spread with nut butter and use fruit slices to make faces, or stack three or four together, with nut butter and jam between each layer and then slice it like a layer cake, eating the pieces with a tiny fork.
When we lived in Japan, I saw our Japanese neighbor give her daughter baked sweet potatoes for a snack. She baked it, wrapped the lower half in a paper towel, and the girl would come outside with a nourishing, filling, healthy, and warm snack (she also ate them cold in the summer)- this was not austerity. This is real food, rich food. Did you know you can make a 'pumpkin' shake with baked sweet potatoes?
Boiled eggs: keep the fridge stocked with these. If you have younger children, draw faces on them and call them humpty dumpty eggs. We even dropped them on the table to crack them and recited the nursery rhyme.
Make melba toast from leftover bread (home-made bread makes better melba toast, IMO)
Leftovers- particularly once your children are old enough to get their own snacks, leftovers is a legitimate choice (make sure they clean up after themselves).
Bowls of yogurt and oatmeal.
To me, these seem to be not only frugal snack options, but generously healthy snacks, filling, and not remotely 'austere.' The palette of choices may be a bit limited, but that, too, can be something to celebrate. In his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
You can see Barry Schwartz' TED talk here, if you like.
"The more options there are, the easier it is to regret anything at all that is disappointing about the option that you chose." - Barry Schwartz
Charlotte Mason, an educator in the Victorian and Edwardian ages, noted that the burden of constant decisions was often a cause of fractious behavior in children, whose parents wore them out:
through the labour of decision twenty times a day, and not only that, but the added fatigue of a contest to get her own way. Every point in the day's routine is discussed, nothing comes with the comforting ease of a matter of course; the child always prefers to do something else, and commonly does it. No wonder the poor little girl is worn out.
As it turns out, a bewildering array of choices and variety for snacks, and for other things, is more likely to feed our discontent than to make us happy.
So limiting the options is not only good for your budget, it's good for the soul (and for your children).
related posts:
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- Frugal (and/or Healthy) Alternatives to Snacks, Part 2 Last week, I wrote about frugal alternatives for chips and...
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5 Responses to “Frugal Snacks, Part the Third”
October 28th, 2011 at 6:02 am
You can make sweet potato hummus or dip, too–there are different sweet/savory versions (click on my signature to see a post about it).
October 28th, 2011 at 8:03 am
I guess I’m a little bit confused about what “the very best food” is. I love our frugal food! I guess it’s just a matter of what you’re used to. Not long ago, my grandmother moved in with my mother and father so they could take better care of her. She has really shaken up the way they eat! She insists on cooked (not microwaved) food, from scratch. She saves leftover veggies and mashed potatoes for snacks. My folks always just threw little bits of leftovers in the trash. She won’t even refrigerate them because getting them cold means reheating them, and she doesn’t want to waste the power (don’t worry, she eats them the same day). Nothing gets wasted with that woman!
It’s funny to watch the tug of war between the two lifestyles. My parents are pre-packaged food, microwave-reliant eaters. When they’re feeling like cooking, they grab a $15 freezer lasagna. I like her way better. It’s cheaper and healthier, and I think it tastes better. She’d probably be happier with us, but the noise here would drive her crazy.
October 28th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
My mother although frugal in many areas, was not as great at frugal snacking. We many a times had pre packaged fruit snacks. On the other hand one occasion that sticks hard in my memory was goign to a friends house and her mother giving us each half a pear, that I am sure was in season and on sale. Just goes to show that some of the simplest, healthy, frugal snacks can make an impression.
October 29th, 2011 at 7:21 am
I know that sometimes even the choice between two possibilities is to much for my kids to handle, sometimes they just need me to decide for them.
I also have a husband who won’t eat casseroles, and won’t eat left overs. This is not a admonishment that only the best is served, it is a reaction to the severe deprivation of his college years, and a general dislike of foods commonly used in casseroles.
Ultimately it just means that I have to plan better and be more creative. I can for example precook, and preprepare foods, those are not leftovers, they have a preplanned purpose. See creativity.
Being frugal is an interesting journey as I utilize products that fall into my hands from various sources free of charge. Life is an adventure! Being frugal ads the spice.
November 2nd, 2011 at 6:49 am
Wow. I really love the Barry Schwartz quote. So much truth. My 8 year-old son has always had an inordinate amount of difficulty when it comes to choosing between any number of things.
I have noticed lately that when I serve similar things often, that when I do serve something different it is a HUGE treat to my kids. For example, I make scrambled eggs for breakfast about 4 times per week (feeding 6 people for that $1.50 the congresswoman used to buy peanut butter crackers) and when I add a couple of fried potatoes or 3 sausage patties to those eggs it’s so “fancy” and so much better to my kids.
It’s taken me a while to get past a childhood of packaged foods being the norm and the best, and to start eating real foods. It has been totally worth it!
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