Shopping for Summer Snacks

On Monday, I talked about my new Smart Summer Snacking plan. The results are in ... it's going wonderfully! Wanna see the Before-and-After pics?

7 kiwis, 2 packages of celery, and 1 package of yellow pepper strips. Actually, as I am writing this post, my kids grabbed the celery portions to dip into peanut butter as an afternoon munchie. That leaves one lone package of yellow pepper strips. It's good thing that I went shopping!

So, I planned to tell you all the in-and-outs of snack packing, but then I realized that it would make for a very looong post. Today, I will share with you HOW I go about finding the snacks on a weekly basis. Next week, I will share more of the in-and-outs, okay?

First, I look at the grocery store ads. I used to enjoy getting the actual newspaper, and circling the lowest produce deals in the flyer. However, now I love the apps! (If you have a smart phone, check the App Store for free apps of your local grocery stores.) Why do I love the apps? You can go into the weekly circular and search by category. I saved time by looking only under the "Produce" and "Snacks" categories. No more distractions. No more temptations to buy other items.

Next, I divided a piece a paper into the 3 categories, one for each of the nearby grocery stores. I glanced through each of the online weekly ads, and wrote down the low-priced produce and snacks. With my morning cup of coffee in hand, of course!

I looked over my list, circling some items and crossing out others. For instance, only SuperBoy really loves watermelon, so maybe I shouldn't buy a whole one, even if it IS a great deal. (Perhaps, I'll buy one for him this summer, because if he's home all day, he'll probably eat it all in 2-3 days' time.) On the other hand, the price on grapes ($1.28/pound) is a great deal, so I circled it as a possibility. With my list in hand, I went grocery shopping for snacks!

Here's what I purchased, at 2 different stores. The Cheez-it Scrabble crackers were on an unadvertised sale - $1.99 for 6 servings. That is $0.33/serving, and tons of word-making fun. Ritz crackers were selling $1.99, for 24 servings! Only $0.08 per serving!

The mini peppers were $1.98 for a pound; I bought 2 packages, since my family LOVES these little cuties. Mushrooms (only the kiddos like those!) sold for $1.48/package. Regarding carrots, my original intention was to buy baby carrots on sale for $1.98/2 pounds. Then, I looked over at the whole carrots, discovering a 2# package only cost $0.98! I'll take that one, thank-you-very-much!

In the clearance produce section, I found a few bananas that were perfectly good for eating. At $0.39/pound, those make a delicious, low-cost snack. Grapes cost $1.28/# - a good deal in our area. The first cherries of the season were a bit of a fruit splurge for us, at $3.88/pound. But I cannot wait to savor every nibble!

Planning out your produce and munchie snacks is not that hard. Look at the weekly ads - either in the flyer, or on the app. Choose which stores to shop at this week. Go and purchase your yummy snacks!

Next week, I'll talk about portion sizes and packaging, etc. This is SO fun for me to share with you; hopefully, these tips benefit you as well!