Blog
A Peek into Katy’s Freezer
As Jody mentioned last week, in her blog on frozen food, it can be a great option to stretch food dollars and plan meals. Having items on hand in the freezer allows me to have a variety of options to feed my family. Frozen foods give me the flexibility to change my meal plan as needed, without worrying about food waste.
Pumpkin Muffins
This past fall we had two fantastic interns who helped us with testing some new and some old recipes. For our March recipe of the month, I would like to share with you the first of those recipes – Pumpkin Muffins. This is a new recipe to the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website and it makes a great breakfast or snack.
Refreshing Summer Salsa
Now that school is out for the summer, my kids are constantly reaching for snacks during the day. My grocery list has grown quite long over the past several weeks! To stay on top of my grocery budget, I have been trying to buy less pre-packaged snack foods and opt for items that have more fiber and nutrients to keep my kids full while waiting for our next meal.
“Mom, I’m hungry!”
As a mom of two young kids, it seems like I spend most of my day preparing meals and snacks. Now that my oldest is back at preschool, having planned snacks during the week saves me a lot of time when we are running to and from activities. I love snacks that can be thrown together quickly and are easy to transport wherever we find ourselves throughout the day.
Christine’s Snacking Challenges
Confession time, friends! I sat down to write a blog about my habits around snacking and one thing keeps coming to mind. My habits are not great in this area! Don’t get me wrong, I eat snacks and I love snacks. Some of my favorites are string cheese, crackers, and nuts. I am just not as strategic about them as I could be. I tend to only think about snacks when I am home and have access to them. That is often after dinner when I don’t really need much more energy for the day. I suppose this is coming at a good time as it is forcing me to think about what I could do better.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
Today I would like to introduce you to one of my family’s all-time favorite recipes – Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins. We eat these muffins for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack time. Skip to the bottom of this blog for the link to the recipe. Read the middle section if you would like my story of this recipe.
Frozen Yogurt Bark
April showers bring May flowers… and May brings warmer weather for spending time outside. This May I am running my first half marathon! With this extra activity, I need extra meals and snacks to make it through my day. One snack I have been making recently is Frozen Yogurt Bark – our May recipe of the month. It is the perfect snack after a long hot run.
Homemade Protein Snacks
Last week I shared the cost and nutrition of three different brands of protein packs. However, when comparing the price of an individual pack to building my own at home, the results can’t be beat. I saved money, used a reusable container to avoid waste, and got more protein than I would have with the store-bought snack packs.
Meals and Snacks from the Pantry
In the coming weeks many of us will be spending most of our time at home and doing lots of food preparation for ourselves and our families. As you prepare your grocery list and plan your meals for the weeks ahead, below are some Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes that can be made from pantry staples or made ahead and frozen.
Mom, I’m hungry!
These are words I hear often in my house these days. As my family spends our days at home, snacking is something my kids want to do more often. If you’ve found yourself in the same boat, here are some tips that I use for snacks (and meals too!) at our house.
Cool Treat for Summer’s Heat
During the summer, I can often find my kids looking through our freezer to see what kind of frozen treat they can find. Usually they can find some sort of popsicles and, once in a while, some ice cream. They also like making their own popsicles. One of Paige’s favorite kind of popsicles to make are the Berry Banana Popsicles from Spend Smart. Eat Smart.
Tasty Summer Treat
With temperatures outside steadily rising, my family and I love to finish the day with a cold summer treat. As a parent, any dessert that I can make that incorporates fruit and doesn’t contain a lot of extra sugar is a win!
