Looking to reduce costs!

[bright sparks]

I also serve fruit 3x a day usually. However, it's paired with other things so it's not overly expensive because their servings are small. I have small eaters though so that helps!! I'm not kidding when I say a large apple or pear feeds all 3-4. An extremely large costco strawberry feeds one, a banana feeds 2, costco sized melons last all week, an avocado does 3-4 kids. I have started giving more veggies at afternoon snack tho instead of fruit for the 3rd time. Carrots, peas, cucumber, peppers and mushrooms are tolerated here. Broccoli is coming along but cauliflower is a no go. Hummus or ranch dressing is now offered.

I serve fruit, cheese, yogurt, applesauce or pudding along with different types of crackers, cereal bars, muffins, bagels, cereal, rice cakes for snacks.

Pancakes, cubed ham roast and a veggie is a big hit here. Super cheap. I'll add meat, veggies, pasta to ranch dressing for a cold pasta. I add all that same food to soup broth as well. Also all the same ingredients topped with spaghetti sauce and cheese make a casserole. Spaghetti sauce mixed with hamburger is a good cheap meal too. Stuffed mushrooms or peppers would be easy and cheap. A cooked chicken cut up in pieces and breaded and cooked make easy chicken nuggets. I make meatloaf in muffin trays and it's a great size for each child with some mashed potatoes and a veggie.

Eggs are a good choice. They love scrambled cheesy eggs with sweet peppers, ham and green onion omelettes or Denver's, fried egg and cheese sandwich. Grilled cheese and soup is cheAp. Sausage is usually fairly cheap too.

Chilies and stews are a great way around here to get lots of veggies in with a little bit of meat and potato. They like garlic toast so I'll add that to it.

They aren't overly fond of muffins anymore but I have a banana oatmeal cookie recipe and zucchini blueberry loaf that they really like.

Speaking of zucchini, it's another cheap and versatile veggie to add in. They really liked a potato acorn squash soup recipe I made too last fall. I also make a cabbage soup with lots of veggies and little hamburger soup that they quite like.

Crockpot oatmeal overnight is a great morning snack too!! Load it up with fruit and you can serve as is!


Cottage cheese is a hit and miss here but is filling

Tacos served in pita pockets was a hit too! Can do veggie, beef or chicken

Quesadillas are a easy way to use up leftovers

Homemade pizza is cheap, especially if you use lots of peppers, onions, mushrooms and just a bit of ham or pepperoni

Wow lol My guys will all eat two pieces of fruit each a day if I let them. I make loads of baked goods and freeze them and take out what I need each morning. They are healthy goods too with whole grain flours versus refined white stuff. I buy all my grains in bulk as it's a lot cheaper. Raw veggies too. My guys will eat an entire pepper each or half a cucumber with hummus between them.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Wow lol My guys will all eat two pieces of fruit each a day if I let them. I make loads of baked goods and freeze them and take out what I need each morning. They are healthy goods too with whole grain flours versus refined white stuff. I buy all my grains in bulk as it's a lot cheaper. Raw veggies too. My guys will eat an entire pepper each or half a cucumber with hummus between them.

I try to follow the guidelines too though. A cup and a half of fruit per day is the recommended serving for 18-36 months if i remember correctly. They get fruit here 2-3x plus at home so they are likely getting more than a cup and a half but it's probably close.

Sorry 24-36 months

[bright sparks]

I try to follow the guidelines too though. A cup and a half of fruit per day is the recommended serving for 18-36 months if i remember correctly. They get fruit here 2-3x plus at home so they are likely getting more than a cup and a half but it's probably close.

That's about two pieces of fruit I would think. 10 apples a day though...I don't think so lol that's why I supplement it with lots of other things. I'm not sure that many kids get that much fruit at home on a week day though as they only would generally have one meal and no snacks there.

[ebhappydc]

Make sure you PAY ATTENTION when groceries are being scanned or check your bill just after. I can't tell you how many times I've been double scanned by various stores. Cashier is always sorry. Perhaps there are sensitive scans but I get this least a few times a month. I never thought to check the receipt but I had to return something once and noticed I was scanned twice for cream and another time for chicken! BE AWARE! It all adds up

[superfun]

Make sure you PAY ATTENTION when groceries are being scanned or check your bill just after. I can't tell you how many times I've been double scanned by various stores. Cashier is always sorry. Perhaps there are sensitive scans but I get this least a few times a month. I never thought to check the receipt but I had to return something once and noticed I was scanned twice for cream and another time for chicken! BE AWARE! It all adds up

Along the same lines as that, also watch for prices. If it scans at a different price than posted, you can potentially get that item for free. Any store that participates in the scanning code of Canada (I think that's the name) will give you the first item free if it's scanning wrong.