If I let my kids do it, they would graze through the kitchen the entire day--eating continually. For some odd reason, when kids pass the age of twelve, they cannot physically get their bellies full. I packed a big container of spaghetti for my middle son, Karis, last week for lunch. After he ate it, he paid for four pieces of pizza at the cafeteria, and then finished off a friend's potato chips. Like I said, it's impossible to fill their bellies.

Therefore, they snack.

Therefore, we fork over money.

With seven kids, I had to figure out how to keep my kids from eating the paint off the walls and not go broke. Here are the five tips I came up with, plus a helpful video just for you!

1. Keep a "snack basket." This is a big basket in your pantry that holds all the snacks that the kids are allowed to have. Keep it full, keep it healthy, and keep it accessible. Now, it's up to you to set some guidelines. My kids are allowed one snack from the basket daily.

2. Make it yourself. Most of the money we pay for convenience food is for the, well...convenience. Get smart and make it yourself. If your kids like granola bars, make them yourself. If they like crackers, make them yourself. This even works for the pricier snack food like protein bars. In fact, I've got a great recipe right here.

3. Check out the thrift stores. I'm pretty sure you have a local bakery outlet in your neighborhood, so track that sucker down and start shopping. These outlets offer snack foods for minimum prices. However, it's not always that healthy, so keep your eye out for nutritious snacks and stock up.

4. Buy in bulk. This tip saves me so much money! Instead of buying individually packaged snacks, I just buy the big ole bags and package it in smaller bags myself (and, yes, you do have to use the term "big ole" if you're going to follow this tip).

5. Limit it. Yep, that's right. I said LIMIT it! Your kids aren't going to eat your healthy homecooked meals if you let them snack all day. So, set a limit and stick to it.

I hope these tips helped you and I would LOVE it if you shared some with me!

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poppinuplikedaisies says

As a mom of 6, I keep snacks "not too exciting"....such as pretzels instead of chips, carrots or apples WITHOUT the dip or peanut butter....that way they eat when they are hungry, but it's not so good that they don't stop....honestly, how many pretzels can you eat in one setting? salty? yes..... suck all of the moisture out of your mouth and get stuck in your teeth? yeah....need I say more?

01/07/2012 at 11:11 pm

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mommareads says

We started snack basketing because of you and it has helped so much. We also installed a pal terms on the kitchen wall (because it was cheap!) and keep it filled with apples, oranges, and bananas. Plus the snack basket filled with one baggie for each child, with sesame sticks, raisins, pistachios, peanuts, pretzels, dried fruit.... And they are not supposed to tell us "we're hungry" until they've eaten out of both!

01/11/2012 at 10:07 pm

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JessieLynnVA says

I've kept a drawer of self-serve snacks (fruit cups, applesauce, granola bars) and a kid-level shelf in the fridge (yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit baggies, and applesauce cups) for my girls for years. When the kids were younger, they thought it was so cool to be able to retrieve their own snack! It also taught them good food vs. bad food - if they couldn't reach it, they couldn't eat it without a parent's permission.

01/18/2012 at 08:09 pm

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RebekahY says

My kids are 8, 6, and 2 and they always seem to be hungry, I am bracing myself for their older years!! I was laughing so hard at what your son ate for lunch - where do they put it?!

I usually offer one substantial snack between breakfast/lunch (for my toddler) and between lunch/dinner (for my older ones). After they have eaten that snack, if they are still hungry - I offer them a piece of fruit. We always have some fresh fruit in the house - so I will just list it off..."you can have an apple, or some grapes, or some clementines..." and let them choose which they want. If they aren't hungry enough for a piece of fruit, then they aren't really hungry, just feeling snacky or bored.

01/19/2012 at 04:10 pm

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