It's the itch that never gets scratched. The job that's never quite done. The mission that is never complete. Oh snacking, why do you plague me so? One day they love raisins, the next day they don't. Have you ever tried reasoning with an almost 3yo about how just the other day he LOVED broccoli and hummus? It's no use. I love hearing how pineapple is SO GROSS when just yesterday the juice was dripping from their chins.
Um, ok. WHATEVER. I will not let their obviously-calculated-attempts-to-make-me-look-crazy bother me whatsoever.
Here's my {ever-changing} list of cave-kid snacks:
Raisins or other dried fruit*
Almond/raisin/whatever-I-can-find Trail Mix*
Fruit -- their current faves are bananas, apples, mango, pineapple {ahem...}, and peaches*
Veggies and dip {hummus, homemade ranch dip}*
Applesauce*
Hard-boiled eggs
Leftover meat
Cheese
Yogurt
Cottage cheese {here are some brief explanations about by cave-kids & dairy}
Banana muffins
Popcorn
Apples or bananas with almond butter or peanut butter {my older cave-kid is NOT enamored with almond butter}
Lunch meat roll-up
*These are my go-to snacks*
Other things that make snacking less-painful...
~My kids have their own drawer with all their plates and bowls so they can always choose
~They have jars on the kitchen table with the kid-size-cutlery --> more of the do-it-yourself-spirit!
~They can't reach any of the snacks on their own {at some point that will change for my own sanity but we are establishing the snacking-norms so, for now, they must ask}
~We NEVER buy boxed or packaged snacks so it simply isn't an option
~We always pack a snack and water whenever we go somewhere for more than an hour so that when hunger strikes {and it always does} we are prepared
~Let them play with their food
~You'll notice I have a few not-so-paleo snacks on the list...that's life.
In the spirit of transparency...IF I offered my kids pop-tarts and chocolate cookies along with their cave-kid options THEY WILL ALWAYS CHOOSE JUNK. I see my job as the *purchasing agent* for our family as my opportunity to make real-food-snacks the ONLY OPTION. It's definitely not a democracy in our house.
GROCERY BUDGET RESULTS!
We came in slightly over our $400 goal but the rare pantry staple purchases and a few impulse purchases are the clear budget-offenders. Ha! At the last update I had $8.96 left and I spent another $37.34 more...making me over-budget by $28.38. I accidentally bought a pumpkin pie. It was for a special occasion. Bad choice :-( I paid dearly in lost sleep and a puffy face. Not to mention the sugar cravings that kicked in the next day. BUT OH. EM. GEE. COSTCO MAKES THE BEST PIE.
So we spent $428.38 last month {including pantry staples and impulse purchases}...not bad! I won't bore you with the details of September's grocery budget but I'll keep you posted on the overall excitement of being paleo-on-a-budget. I did a big shop on September 1 because I'll be out of town for a few days and I wanted to stock up on Freezer Meals. Whew! A big chunk of change gone early in the month but I'll see it pay off when I don't need to shop much in the next week or two.
Coming soon...freezer meals, navigating the holidays, and recipe round-ups. Anything you'd like to know about our paleo-family-life?
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