Snacks....

My kids are used to having snacks at their finger tips.  We always stock the house with yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit snacks and granola bars.  (All healthy items of course)

So since we didn't have room in our budget for any of these items, I set out to do a "swap" for granola bars.  I'm taking approximately 6 cups of the cereal we purchased, some of the marshmallows and some butter to make cereal bars.  If I had my druthers, I'd throw in some raisins, but I am druther-free this week.

This treat is simple to make - following the recipe to make Rice Crispy Treats.  And it will take the place of the granola bars we can't have.  There is plenty of cereal left over for breakfasts this week, and maybe some lunches.  I'll be cutting the treats into bar shapes. 

Ingredients
6 cups of cereal
4 cups mini marshmallows
3 TBSP butter

Directions
Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add marshmallows and heat on medium until completely melted, stirring constantly.  Add cereal.  Spread mixture onto a greased cookie sheet or waxed paper.  Press down until mixture covers the pan.  Allow to cool.  Cut into squares. 

Any leftover marshmallows we'll use to have an indoor campfire.  We "roast" the mini mallows over a lit candle using toothpicks.  It's fun and the kids make memories, one thing I hope will come out of this experience. 

Fresh Fruits and Veggies

How does one solve the problem of getting fresh fruit and veggies when they are super expensive? As you can see from the picture, my children LOVE fresh fruits and veggies. But when I go to the grocery store, at least a quarter of my bill is spent on fruits and veggies. I know they say that frozen veggies are just as good, which is fine when you are cooking them, but my kids like to snack all day long. They will often pull stuff out of the fridge without me knowing. (it's a sore spot for us, and they often get punished for it)

So what to do? I usually will stock up on fruits and veg when they are on sale (IE my carrot purchase) but that doesn't always do the trick. I'm at a loss here.