No Mess Snacking
Yesterday we drove to the local airport to watch the airplanes (another great, free activity) and I was reminded how much I love the Snack Trap. This handy contraption allows kids to eat their snack without big spills. The top is soft plastic and allows pudgy little hands to reach in and take out a cracker or two, yet keeps those crackers safely in the cup if it is thrown or dropped. It is just the right size for snacking too; it holds about 1/2 to 1 cup worth of cheerios, goldfish, or whatever is the snack choice.
The Children’s Menu as the Downfall of Western Culture
Before you hand your kid another chicken nugget or more mushy baby food, head on over to parentdish.com to learn about how you should be giving them curry chicken, tofu, or any of the other spices of life!
Let your kid experience all the different types of food out there and don’t limit them to the “normal” ones. You might be surprised by what your children like to eat once they are encouraged to diversify their eating habits.
The Toddler and You
CNN is carrying a great article from parenting.com about dealing with frustrating toddler behaviors. They suggest five tricks to outsmart your toddler when it comes to the “I-wants”, being picky about food, and throwing fits when things don’t go their way. Now if only I had five ways to outsmart my spouse.
Is Your Family Ready for a Natural Disaster?
After reading about Momergency Kits over at ParentHacks.com, I thought I should detail what the modern parent can do to prepare for real emergencies. Although googly eyes can be very important in certain situations, being prepared for all kinds of emergencies is another step towards sleeping easily at night.
Being prepared for a disaster is nothing to sneeze at. We’ve seen so much media coverage of major disasters in the past few years. It is time to think about being prepared for the possibility of losing water or electricity for several days. I am a worrier. Having a 5-day disaster supply kit eases my mind a bit. At least in the “being prepared for a disaster” area.
There are many emergency preparedness websites out there. The Red Cross has an emergency supply list and there are dozens of 72-hour kit websites. My favorite, though, is from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. With this guide, you can assemble a 3-7 day disaster supply kit over a period of 6 months without going bankrupt.
The guide is broken down into 24 weeks; you collect all of your supplies and them rotate them over a six-month period. Each week there is a short shopping list for the grocery store, hardware store or first-aid supplies. You purchase and gather your supplies little by little and at the end of 6 months, you should have a comprehensive collection of food, tools, water and other emergency supplies.
Storing these supplies does take up room. Consider your storage area before beginning the buying process. Our supplies take up a 32-gallon garbage can (with wheels) and a cupboard that is about 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall by 18 inches deep. The water is, in my opinion, the most important supply to have on hand and it definitely takes up the most room. We also don’t keep many of the suggested tools and clothing in our specific emergency supply area. I keep a text document with the supplies that notes where certain tools and clothing can be found in the garage and the house.
Some of these supplies can be stored indefinitely (toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrush, etc.), while others should be used and replaced every 6-12 months. At the bottom of the above plan, there is a handy chart noting the typical shelf-life of your supplies. I have another handy word document that lists when I need to replace food items in my supply cupboard. I also label each box or can with the month and year that it was purchased.
Along with your ’shopping list,’ there is a short ‘to do’ list for each week. This has suggestions
such as “Have a fire drill at home” and “Make photocopies of important papers and store safely.” There are also reminders such as checking and changing smoke alarm batteries.
In our emergency supply bin (e.s.b. as I like to call it), we have also placed copies of the kids’ immunization records and birth certificates and a list of phone numbers, out-of-state contacts, pet information, and some financial numbers (phone number of credit card companies, bank phone number, etc.) These documents are handy and could easily be tossed in the car if the emergency was such that we needed to leave the house and property immediately. The e.s.b. is on wheels and could (probably in a burst of adrenaline) be lifted into the trunk of the car.
I rest a little easier at night, knowing that our family has taken steps toward emergency preparedness.
What to Buy in Bulk
Before thinking about buying household items and groceries at your local bulk store, come to grips with how much storage space you have. You don”t want to come home with 24 rolls of paper towels and have to line your bedroom with them. Back when we were still DINKs (that’s Double Income, No Kids), we managed to buy an average-sized home which gives us some good storage areas, especially in the garage. Additionally, we bought a second freezer for perishable food storage. So, to sum up, we can only park one car in the two-car garage, but we do save on certain grocery and household items by buying in bulk.
We buy almost all our meat in bulk. 6 pounds of ground beef, 10 pounds of chicken breasts, tilapia (fish) fillets, pork tenderloin, pork chops, ground turkey, spiral sliced ham, bacon, salami, and lunch meat are the most common purchases (not all at once of course!). All of these items, when brought home, are repackaged into smaller components and stored away in the freezer. I love having certain meats on hand - particularly ground turkey or beef and chicken breasts. When I get ready to prepare dinner, I can pop out to the garage and take out one pound of ground beef for the spaghetti sauce or two chicken breasts for the grill. The key is having a defrost setting on your microwave or planning tomorrow’’s dinner today so that you can begin your meat defrosting in the fridge. *Remember to defrost meats in the fridge, not on the counter!
Other food items that are easy to purchase in bulk and have on hand: tortillas, bagels, english muffins (repackage all of these bread products into smaller units and store in your freezer), soda, pasta, canned fruits and vegetables, some common spices (I only buy my frequently used cinnamon and vanilla in bulk), cold cereal, instant oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, pasta sauce, chicken broth, and sliced, shredded or string cheese (as with other perishable items, repackage these into smaller parts and freeze). I am an avid baker and I go through quite a bit of flour, so I buy 25 pounds of flour at a time. I divide it into gallon ziploc bags and store it in the freezer as well. Other frozen items, such as instant waffles can usually be found in bulk.
I only buy perishable items like milk, eggs, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits if I know that I am going to use them in the immediate future. Personally, I don’t usually purchase those items at the bulk store. Also, keep in mind that a giant bag of chips might look delicious, but do you really want to be eating the same thing for seven nights in a row? Giant bags of chips, once opened, go stale at the same rate as regular sized bags. Because you are buying in bulk, be sure that what you are buying is something that you do enjoy eating. Some bulk stores, like Costco, often have tasting stations where you can try out what you might buy.
Because I repackage so many things into smaller parts, I use Ziploc bags like crazy. So, to begin my list of household items to buy in bulk: Gallon, Quart and Sandwich sized Ziploc bags. 
Other household items: toilet paper, paper towels, paper goods (if you use them, like plates, napkins, etc.), cleaning supplies (such as lysol spray, lysol wipes, swiffer refills, etc.), sanitary supplies, garbage bags, Advil or other frequently used medications (Tylenol, Claritin), and vitamins. We also buy shaving cream, toothpaste, bar soap and lotion in bulk if they carry our brand. When the kids were babies, we purchased formula in bulk. Diapers and wipes are available at most of the bulk stores as well.
Remember to go shopping (any shopping - not just bulk) armed with a list and a full belly. It is far easier to stick to your list when you are not hungry. If you”re taking the kids, go at a time when they are most likely to be cheerful. The great thing about buying in bulk is that you won”t have to make those twice-weekly trips to the store. You can go once a week or maybe less!
I am a huge fan of Costco, so that is where we buy (and save) on most of these items. We use an American Express card so we do get cash back at the end of every year, based on our purchases. Other things we save on at Costco that are not listed above are tires, printer ink. Check for when these items go on sale, or have rebates or coupons attached.
Family Meal Cookery
One of the most important things for your spouse and your kids is nutrition. Without proper nutrition, you can have all kinds of nasty problems, from obesity to being sick quite frequently. It makes sense to really focus on creating healthy meals that are both cheap and tasty.
If you aren”t what your friends would call a good cook, or maybe even a cook, fear not. Cooking is easy once you get used to it and there are also many ready to eat foods that are still healthy. I know, I know, ready to eat is such a bad word, but it doesn’t have to be. You can take something in a can or box, add a little extra something something to it and you have a great meal. Sometimes the hardest part is just deciding what to cook. And what food pyramid to look at and who to listen to on Food TV.
A great way to start getting some ideas and some diversity in your diet is to join a local farm program. Usually called CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, these are local farms that will provide you with a box of food weekly or so for a fee. Not only will you be supporting local farms, you will be forced to have a diverse meal. No more out of season foods for you, you will get in-season foods, packed with nutrition and flavor! They also sometimes give you recipes for exactly what is in the box, which is a great timesaver. You will be able to branch out and cook and eat foods that you normally would pass over in the supermarket.
In addition to farm produce, a easy way to cook and have leftovers is to the thing in your kitchen that everyone gets from their grandmother for their wedding, maybe even two of them and has probably never used. That’’s right, I am talking about the marvelous invention called the Crockpot. Crazy idea I know, but they are really amazing. You can put something in when you get up and when dinner rolls around, you can have a complete one-pot meal ready. You can also have plenty of leftovers and can use up various veggies and other stuff from the fridge.
Buying in bulk can also help you financially. Just remember that you have to store all the food you buy and you don”t want it to go to waste. Buying a freezer chest for the garage is a great way to be able to buy lots of bulk food. You can package up your food in individual bags and only pull out what you need to defrost. You can even store you flour and other grains to keep them from spoiling.
Once you have your crockpot, your recipe books, your fresh produce and your freezer, you are ready to cook. Cooking large meals at a time will ensure a nice supply of leftovers, especially good for the working person in the house, spending $4-$6 a day on lunch is not the way to financial freedom. You can find tons of recipes on the internet, from Epicurious to Food TV.
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