The kids are home from school..what are some snacks that won’t break your food budget? Start off by looking for Laura Lynn (store brand) products to save.
Air popped popcorn – Buy popcorn kernels and paper lunch bags and let kids (as long as they are old enough) pop popcorn in the microwave. A bowl of popcorn is filling and counts as a whole grain.
Cereals and milk (or soy alternative) – Look for lower sugar cereals (less than 10g of sugar per serving) and whole grain cereals that have over 3g of fiber. A small bowl of cereal makes a good snack.
Homemade trail mix – Mix up raisins, whole grain cereal, Laura Lynn low salt roasted peanuts and mini chocolate chips/morsels in a big bowl and then portion one-half cup into snack-size sandwich bags.
Cheese sticks and fruit – Individual cheddar or mozzarella cheese sticks or cubes with apple slices.
Homemade popsicles – Use your blender to make popsicles. Blend milk or 100% fruit juice with fresh or frozen fruit and pour into popsicle molds.
Greek yogurt – Small individual containers of Greek yogurt or portion out vanilla Greek yogurt into individual cups, and top with a small amount of chopped fresh fruit, cereal or nuts.
Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN
Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian