Mom to Mom
As I've mentioned before, my husband and I both work full time, and so we don't get to spend a ton of time during the week. As a result, we try to make the weekends as family-oriented as possible. (I mean, between all the birthday parties, play dates, and random events, that is.) We try to do something fun, as a family, every Sunday, be it something big (apple picking, museum, street fair) or small (baking, local park, bike riding). We pick one thing to do, and then sort of let the rest of the day fall into place around that. And it's been fantastic. Except for one thing...
You ever been to a bowling alley? Tons of fun for the whole family! Rented shoes! Lebowski jokes! FRIED FOOD AND CANDY EVERYWHERE OH MY WORD THE FRIED FOOD AND CANDY. My kids alternate between (bumper) bowling during their turns, and asking for soda and Snickers bars while they wait.
While we generally have a great time on these little Sunday adventures, I find myself torn between letting the kids eat their weight in nachos/caramel apples/fries (it's the weekend!") and maintaining some semblance of order ("that right there is a fried nacho covered caramel apple, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO STREET FAIR FOOD THESE DAYS?"). I'm all for rationalizing some stuff (ice cream equals calcium, is one of my favorites), but not ALL of the stuff.
Something that I've started doing is maintaining a "moveable pantry" on hand in the car for these situations. I've put together a little bag we can just keep there with some kid-friendly non-perishable snacks. My kids don't have any nut allergies, so I keep some candied nuts in there, along with yogurt-covered raisins, other assorted dried fruits (craisins, mango, pineapple), crackers and bagel chips, and granola/KIND bars. I also occasionally try to change it up, throwing in something new (dried kiwi, anyone?) just to keep it interesting for them. Now, I can't say that we always go toward the bag first, but the kids know it's there, and - crucially - like all of the stuff that's in there. There may or may not be the occasional ice cream lunch when we're out on the road, but for the most part (calcium, I tell you! CALCIUM!), the bag has been a success whenever anyone starts in with "I'm hunnnngry."
What about you? What are some strategies and snack ideas that work well for you when you're out with your kids?
Replies
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ugh I hate mice! we had a big issue with them this past winter, I havent seen many lately but they are horrible little things.
Quoting Bmat:
I can't keep food of any kind in the car. Mice get in it. When we go out for any length of time and there's a chance we might get hungry, I'll pack a small bag of fruit and veggies.
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We usually just pack little snacks and put them in a container. Bringing crackers and cheese, yogurt tubes, and fruit is usually the way to go for us.
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Im just like you. Stopping somewhere usually includes an unhealthy snack, whereas packing something from home is cheaper and much more healthy.
Quoting carolina_gal:
I take snacks with me everywhere. I don't like stopping somewhere to spend money on unhealthy foods. I pack pretzels, peanut butter, granola bars and raisins.
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WE also do the dried fruits and nuts. It helps keep them from getting hungry on longer trips.
Quoting gacgbaker:
We do a lot of dried fruits, nuts- things we can pack up and just keep on us all the time.
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Yikes.. Mice?? How do they get in? That must be a pain in the butt.
Quoting Bmat:
I can't keep food of any kind in the car. Mice get in it. When we go out for any length of time and there's a chance we might get hungry, I'll pack a small bag of fruit and veggies.
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I used to keep a container in my purse as well. One day the container lost its lid somehow.. WHAT A MESS!!! LOL. These are some great ideas though.
Quoting dusky_rose:
When we go on a road trip for the day (or a trip to the park) I try to pack a lunch. That saves us money and is good for us. I also keep granola bars in my car and in my purse I keep a container with different cereals and snack mixes in case my 4 year old son gets hungry while shopping or whatever. It makes running errands so much easier too. We always make sure to grab a cold drink as we go out the door as well.
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Thats not good! This container I use was meant to put dry formula in, so it has 3 compartments with lids that twist on, so no worries here!
Quoting KristinRox:
I used to keep a container in my purse as well. One day the container lost its lid somehow.. WHAT A MESS!!! LOL. These are some great ideas though.
Quoting dusky_rose:
When we go on a road trip for the day (or a trip to the park) I try to pack a lunch. That saves us money and is good for us. I also keep granola bars in my car and in my purse I keep a container with different cereals and snack mixes in case my 4 year old son gets hungry while shopping or whatever. It makes running errands so much easier too. We always make sure to grab a cold drink as we go out the door as well.
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i always pack a bag of snacks as well as drinks in the cooler
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We like dried fruit, but have to watch our intake.
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Well since my kids are all older I don't typically pack snacks to go anywhere because I am pretty sure they wouldn't want Mom pulling out goldfish or something like that in front of people. But they make good choices if we do go somewhere and they get a snack.