The following question is from a reader named Amy.
What do you feed your children for snacks? I feel like I’m going in the right direction with breakfast, lunch and dinner, in that our meals are simple, balanced and homemade. But my boys, who are 5 and 3, are hungry all. day. long. I know that small children often need to eat frequent small meals, so I don’t want to deny them when they say they are hungry. But I find that I get exasperated by their constant requests for more food, and end up giving them less-than-stellar snacks. I should probably just stop buying things like crackers and cereal bars, but I do find they are easy to throw in the bag for our many trips to the playground.
As I’ve written before, I try not to buy too many snack foods. They tend to be overpriced and at the very least, not any more nutritious than regular food.
In addition, a lot of snacks are packaged individually, which means they produce more waste than other foods.
We don’t do a lot of eating in between meals, mostly because I feel like I spend enough time making and cleaning up breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I don’t want to bother with doing snacks for four kids as well.
I also feel like my children eat a better meal if they haven’t been doing a bunch of snacking. Without snacks, they tend to eat a little more at a meal, which in turn makes them less hungry for a snack later on.
On the occasions when we do need a snack in between meals, we eat things like baby carrots, grapes, granola bars, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices (my kids like these with a little salt sprinkled on them), bananas, and occasionally crackers.
So, I’d recommend looking for produce items that your children like and that are both portable and easy to serve.
Or if you prefer to serve granola bars as snacks, you could make your own (I have a recipe here and another here ).
Another option is to serve a bagel or a piece of toast or something else along those lines. Bread is similar nutritionally speaking to crackers, but it’s usually a lot cheaper.
If you wanted to cut down on the number of times you have to dole out snacks each day, you might consider having set snack times. For instance, you could have one snack at 10 AM, in between breakfast and lunch, and another at 3 PM, in between lunch and dinner. Of course, if the multiple snack times are working out well for you, you’ll probably want to carry on as usual.
This question is from fellow blogger Frugal Dreamer.
What did you do before you were married and had kids? Did you attend College/University? Did you travel?
Actually, I didn’t have much time before I got married and had kids!
Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of my life before kids:
Spring 1996-graduated from high school
Fall 1996-started college, began relationship with my now-husband
August 1997-got married
September 1999-had first baby
Here’s a more detailed version for those of you who are interested.
I graduated from high school in 1996 when I was 18, and that’s when I met my now-husband. We didn’t really start our relationship until that August, though, which is when I started attending college.
In January of 1997, after one semester of college, we got engaged, and we scheduled our wedding for August of that year. So, I only finished one more semester before we got married.
Although it was my first classroom experience since kindergarten, I did very well at college. Even with 17 credits, I thought the workload there was lighter and easier than a homeschool workload.
However, after a lot of consideration and with my parents’ blessing, I decided to take the rest of my college savings and use it to purchase a piano of my own, so that I could continue teaching piano students once I got married. I felt like the piano would be of more use to me than the college degree, and as it turns out, I was right.
If I had continued on with my course of study, I would have graduated in the spring of 1999. And considering that we ended up having our first baby in September of 1999 (which was a little over two years after we got married), I wouldn’t even have gotten to use my degree at all before having kids.
So, instead of finishing college, I used my piano to teach a very large number of piano students (I had 55 at one point) from September 1997 to September 1999, which helped us out a lot financially. We were able to pay off my husband’s existing car loan, and we bought a new car for me and paid it off in under a year. We also paid off medical bills with that money and saved up to buy our first home.
I’ve taught piano students on a part-time basis since we’ve had kids, so the piano has continued to be a wonderful investment. I also use my piano to prepare for weddings, for church, and for other paid jobs, and my children are now learning how to play the piano as well.
I know a lot of people don’t feel fulfilled if they don’t have their degree, but I’m not one of them. I’m so happy to have my piano instead of an un-used college degree (and I’m also very thankful that I didn’t have any student loans to contend with!).
I also don’t at all regret getting married when I was 19…I’d always wanted to be a wife and a mom, and I had no desire to go and do something like traveling the world if I had to do it by myself!
Plus, since I started so young, I will only be 45 when our youngest turns 18, which means that my husband and I hopefully have time to enjoy some fun empty nesting years in the future. Getting married at 19 certainly isn’t for everybody, but I think it’s what I was supposed to do.
sophia
Thursday 25th of June 2009
EngineerMom, I agree with you. Men are more likely to ask for raises, stand up for themselves, etc. And especially when it comes to what we tell our children about how to view themselves, it affects them. I remember there was a Barbie that, when you pressed a button, said in an annoyed voice "Math is HARD, let's go shopping!" Gee, awesome message, haha.
Megan
Thursday 25th of June 2009
Hi, I just discovered your blog, so I hope you have not answered this question already.
But I want to start weekly menu planning. However, I am a recent college graduate and am just beginning to settle in on living on my own. And because I am by myself, I only go to the grocery store about once a week. Do you have any suggestions?
Maria
Wednesday 24th of June 2009
@EngineerMom I hope I didn't come across as harsh myself--I think I sometimes grow frustrated at hearing people wonder at what use an English degree has. I've always been a humanities-minded person with a passion for words in various contexts, so I suppose I grew up recognizing the value of what a college-level English degree could bring.
First, there are some obvious-sounding areas into which people who majored in English enter. Some double-major or minor in education so they can teach at the high school level; some join the communications departments of companies; some enter journalism or publishing. Those who pursue a master's degree or PhD can continue on to a career in academia.
Then there are less obvious-sounding areas. I know former English students who have gotten jobs in marketing (not just the copywriting side), finance, human resources, government and various forms of business.
Nowadays, an English major requires that you apply not only literary theory but also critical theory to your arguments. This is why I think my education has taught me to be an independent thinker capable of supporting my arguments. It's also taught me to be resourceful, so I know how to be creative when I have to market myself for a job.
I'm not saying everyone who's majored in English knows what to do with herself after she walks off the stage with diploma in hand. Some people don't know why they chose the major they did in college; they think, "I graduated high school. My parents expect me to go to college. I must choose something to make everyone happy."
This is one reason I wish there was less of that expectation in this country--the expectation that students must begin their college studies the fall immediately after graduating high school. I think it's unhealthy. You cannot expect every 18-year-old to know where their interests lie. Your education is what you make of it, but when you have no clue what you're doing, you're not going to do well.
But this is also why it's important that parents do what Kristen advocates--helping kids learn where their gifts and passions lie. This way, kids cultivate interests and grow self-confidence. Hopefully they'll have a good sense of what they want to do to support themselves once they're in "the real world."
Loren
Tuesday 23rd of June 2009
Kristen- I appreciate you sharing your story with us. I found your blog a couple of months ago and had to subscribe, since I too am a piano teacher, LOVE photography, and am now a stay-at-home mom. So now, I HAVE to make a comment -they are all so good. I have a 4 year IT degree that took me a long time to get (9 years while night schooling it and working full-time, with about a year off when I didn't have the funds). I avoided ANY & ALL debt for college because I had a job that would pay for some of it, I got a scholarship, AND got college credit for my job in my career field. I did change my major a couple of times in the beginning too. That being said, I too met my husband my first semester in college, while still 18 1/2, if the half counts! We both had some growing up to do, so we decided not to get married or have kids until much later in our lives. I have reflected on my path and yours in comparison, and conclude that we are (like everyone) are two different people with different circumstances. I am the youngest in my family, so I imagine that I needed (although I was very responsible for my age) to mature way more than you, before I made a family of my own. There were many things in my twenties that I enjoyed before getting married and having kids(career, 401K savings, trip to Europe with friends, other vacations with my now husband). Anyway, I now am teaching piano and wonder WHY I didn't do it sooner! I LOVE it and had the skills all along to do so(except being a mom, which is wonderful in helping to teach!). I feel confident that my decision, all be a long process one, was the best for me. I feel relaxed because I have a ton of skills that allow me to work at home, via contract, should I need to go back to work if something happens to my husband or his job. I chose my profession specialty (web programming & design work) so that I COULD (& have) work from anywhere. The experience I have gained has totally also helped in managing my piano business and website, etc. I also like that I have my degree. For me, it is one of my personal goals achieved. FOR ME. You have achieved so much at a young age and it seems that you have worked it all out, regardless of a degree or not. Many, many people do. Priorities and work ethic, along with intelligence, go a LONG way!! Thanks Kristen, again, for sharing and all your posts!
WilliamB
Tuesday 23rd of June 2009
@EngineerMom: that's great that you got the communicating along with the engineering. It must really give your university's grads a boost in their careers.
Another example of pink collaring is happening now in vetinary medicine. Over 60% of vet grads are women, and starting salaries have rarely been so low (in inflation-adjusted terms). Before about 1880, being a scribe/clerk/secretary was the first step on the ladder to becoming an important lawyer or businessman. After that it became a pink collar, dead end ghetto. What happened around 1880? The typewriting machine, customarily operated by women, became common.
PS - Upon rereading, my comment about theater majors comes across as harsh. Wasn't meant to be; was meant to be an illustration about differing points of view.