I've been incredibly frustrated because I'll list option after option...all met with groans of dissatisfaction.
"We've got graham crackers." Ugh. No.
"How about pretzels?" Uh uh.
"Fig bars?" I don't feel like fig bars.
And on and on this would go. All the while things are falling out of the cupboard as they are searching in the deepest darkest corners for something that's good.
I needed a snack solution.
And, it wasn't new fancy snacks.
I needed to make their options more visible and accessible. Then they would be responsible for choosing what they would eat. Here's what I did...
I hadn't put away our picnic basket yet (usually after summertime is over it goes back up in the attic). I decided to bag up snack choices in snack sized baggies and put them in the picnic basket.
This was a great way to clear my cupboards of mostly empty cracker boxes and bags. And, it's all easy for them to see & reach.
Some snacks I bagged....
pretzels
life cereal
triscuits
raisins
graham crackers
ranch fish crackers
smores fish crackers
cheezits
fig bars
The boys were very receptive to this yesterday. They each probably picked out 3 or 4 bags of snacks. (I think I'm going to put a 1 or 2 bag limit on them. But yesterday I didn't want to squelch their enthusiasm.). The BEST part was NO WHINING!
I'd like to do something similar to this with refrigerated items and have a spot set aside in the fridge with easy to grab & eat snacks - little baggies of carrots, string cheese, yogurt, fruit, etc.
What do you do for snacks at your house?
It's like a KC take-home snack!!! Always a hit. :)
ReplyDeleteGood thinking Karen! I can't tell you how much frustration the after school snack causes me! Brady is starving (or so he claims) when he gets home...but dinner is in about 45 mins....so if he has a little snack...he doesn't eat as much dinner. Sometimes we end up eating dinner by 4:30...and then come 7...everyone's hungry again. This week I had carrot sticks and apple slices sitting out after school....but soooooooo not the snack he was looking for! :( What to do...what to do....
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!!! Go girl! I will have to keep that in mind with grandkids one day!!! And on the small size for my one little one!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your idea. If it's a nice day, you could even take that basket outside and have a picnic snack with your boys:-). We rarely do snacks around here, but when we do, it's usually dried or fresh fruit and cheese. Real exciting, right?:-)
ReplyDeletegood solution---how about 1 frig snack and 1 "basket" snack each day? That will give them a healthier snack but they'll enjoy the "salty" snacks too. You may be able to eventually "downsize" your basket also---to a more space friendly size. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea...and it costs a lot less than buying prepackaged snacks. We seem to have a free for all. Mostly they eat a bowl of cereal when they first get home...then another snack soon after.
ReplyDeleteI just received the cards. They are absolutely beautiful....I just might have to have the holiday ones too. Thanks so much!