Monday, June 17, 2013

Save money on snacks with this tip

I think one of the biggest money eaters in the park for food is snack items. There are lots of tempting treats in the park that are easily within reach of both you and your wallet.when you spend a day in the parks, You will do lots of walking and waiting, so easy treats are very tempting for the park goer.  The way to keep yourself in budget is to bring in treats that will provide energy, keep the hunger at bay, and are easily accessible. 

When we go, we like to carry a variety of non-perishable foods that our family enjoys.  You can take small snacks into the park, even already made sandwiches! However, you will be stopped if you take say a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter..well you get the idea.  What can you take?  I think it's limited by what can get by without refrigeration and what your eating habits are.  Before our revamp on our eating habits, we routinly took the following items:

Chips
Cookies
Candy
Crackers
Nuts
Snack mixes
Fruit Gummies
Slim Jims
Jerky
Frozen Uncrustable Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Tostino's cheese cups (no refrigeration needed)
Pretzels

Once we revamped the list changed up a bit:

All natural Crackers
Whole, unsalted Nuts
All fruit Gummies
Trader Joe's fruit bars
All Natural Jerky
Homemade frozen all natural Peanut Butter and no preservative Jelly Sandwiches
Whole Fuit
Frozen string cheese
Trader Joe's Fruit Squeezers
Carrot sticks
Celery Sticks with natural peanut butter
Raisins/Craisins

Whatever snacks you choose to take, wrap them into individual servings so that they are easy to grab out of a pack and snack on.  With our daughter, at 6 she is old enough to carry her own small pack with her water and some assorted snacks she likes.  Our rule with her "Snack Pack" is anything we put in there, she can eat anytime she gets hungry.  This really helps curbing her asking for treats as we enjoy our day. 

Taking your own snacks not only cuts down on what you spend, but also ensures you know exactly what you are eating as you go though the parks.  It does require you to carry them through the park unless you are springing for a locker to change clothes or hold jackets, etc.  Packing snacks will save you, as snacks can quickly add up, especially the healthy snack options within the park.

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