Saving on school lunches with Grocery Outlet!
Did you know that from grades Kindergarten through 5th, you'll make over 1,200 school lunches?? That's a heck of a lot, and though I'm no stranger to making lunches (I make the hub's every day) I am new to making kids school lunches. I've got this sinking feeling that its going to be expensive... with a capital E.
Saving money on packing up the lunches is something to strive for, because nowadays, we're not all made of money and though we like to think we are, when its time to pay the bills and balance the checkbook, we realize we aren't!
Save on packing school lunches by...
- Buying the larger containers and portioning yourself into reusable containers. Convenience packaging is far more expensive.
- Stick to your list!! Make sure you're using a grocery list and don't buy on impulse. Check the sales and use your coupons!
- Involve the kids- no one wants to see things come back home that the kids were supposed to eat for lunch. Make them more prone to eating all of their lunch by letting them help make the decisions to what's going in there! Make a list and let them circle their choices for their lunches.
- Keep it fun! Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches, let kids make cracker sandwiches, use wraps from time to time. Even cereal in a cereal container
can be a welcome change for lunch!
- Shop discount stores! Places like Grocery Outlet are a great way to make your money go further by costing about 50% less than conventional retailers.
Want to win a $100 Grocery Outlet gift card?? Just leave a comment here with your favorite school-days, money saving, lunchbox addition!!Extra Entries??
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161 comments:
I bake big batches of cookies, bars and muffins and freeze them in individual store brand baggies. I can grab one each morning and stick in the kid's lunch and they are thawed by snack time! I also freeze water or juice drinks in an old water bottle and put them in their lunch. Keeps things cold and is thawed by lunch.
I do the brownies and freeze - another one is frozen grapes- keeps the lunch cold and then they are edible.
Buy a huge back of pretzels and break down into separate containers to save money
i rely on some fruits and granola bars
mverno@roadrunner.com
I don't know if this is really a great tip, but we freeze our water or juice box and put it in the lunch so we don't have to use icepacks...which had a habit of getting lost. (or tossed!)
I make mini zucchini muffins for the kids! They're super cheap, but they still love them!
I cut up fresh fruit and vegetables and then store them in the fridge to last the whole week!
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
Sunday is cooking day at my house,I Always make a big dinner and freeze some and anothr dinner for mondy and freeze then bake a batch of cookies and a quick bread to give the kids for school. I also make extra of these to freeze. Saves time at the nd of the week and the kids always get homemade and boy is it cheaper
I buy in bulk. Everything that isn't perishable. I can divy things up. We love dry fruits around here. They're like natural fruit snacks. yum!
I dry my own fruit
Use reusable lunch bags and containers, that way you don't spend money on paper bags and sandwich bags, etc.
I shop at Trader Joe's for lunch goodies for my nephew and niece. They have 16oz PB for 1.70 regular price, which is ridiculously cheap, and good quality, I think. Target has great mixed dried fruit/nut bags that are inexpensive, and divi it up in little bags.
I bake cookies too for my 2 sons for their snack. And a snack too for my wife and me before we go to our work.
Jason Zenteno
I pack my son's and husband's lunches for the week on Sunday. That way it's not so hectic getting out the door.
It's usually a much better morning if I prepare everything the night before. Also, if I can get a nice long shower in before everyone gets up. It's worth getting up at 4:30am for that! :D
I buy fresh fruits in bulk when they are in season and freeze some of them for later.
i will be moving to Arizona a new store for me to try out
i will be moving to Arizona soon this is a new store for me to try.
this sounds like a neat place
I cut up cheese slices and keep them in the fridge with crackers. Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net
I make little cards with positive affirmations written on them and put them in my kidlets' lunch boxes! Affirmations like "I'm a Winner!", and "No one is any more or less worthy than I am"! Thank you for the contest!
txgigggles@yahoo.com
I shop at Costco and buy the snack crackers in bulk. It comes out to less than .25 a package when you buy them that way!
I buy apples by the bag
capri suN!
Thanks for entering me! Great Contest!
Janna Johnson
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A bag (not a individual box) of raisins is a good snack and you'll save by not buying the individual snack boxes. Thanks for the giveaway!
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I use a refillable drink container rather than sending water bottles or juice boxes daily. It saved me a lot of money and I love that it's good for the environment too.
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I pack my lunch and prep my coffee the night before. I know that I will not spend the time to fix it in the morning, so just reaching into the fridge for the bag saves me from having to buy my lunch.
I also try to cook a bigger meal at night with the idea of using the leftovers for lunch.
The only time I buy individually packed items (like string cheese) is if I find it at Grocery Outlet. That store is a serious budget saver.
I do double batches and freeze the extras of my cookies :)
ktgonyea at gmail.com
I like to make packes of nuts and fruits in advance.
I do most of my shopping at Costco, buying in bulk and using my FoodSaver to keep everything fresh works great for me.
Nerdygamergirl@yahoo.com
Buy in bulk and use re-usable containers to send smaller amounts in lunches. Cheaper than buying snack size.
I like to buy food in larger containers and transfer as needed to snack size packages! Just don't buy the bags too big or the food may spoil before you can use it!
Kim
turtles8861(at)gmail(dot)com
I make my own mini muffins and package them up for a weeks worth of lunches. Much healthier and much less expensive than the prepackaged treats - and the kids love them
Buy fresh vegetables in bulk and cut and package them for use all week. Just grab and go.
We make our own granola bars, peanut brittle and almond bark.
Plastic baggies with cookies and veggies were good memories for me.
I grew up buying school lunches, or, getting them free because of working in the cafeteria. Now that I have kids, I pack them lunch everyday. They get simple fare like apples, oranges, fruit snacks and pudding cups. But to make lunchtime more special for them, I write little notes or draw pictures on their bags.
I figure you can't go wrong by using fresh fruit or fruit cups in a lunch for a quick and easy addition.
I'm a regular shopper of Grocery Outlet and have come across some amazing deals.
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it's much cheaper to buy a big bag of snacks instead of those little individual bags. just put them into your own plastic baggies.
I always love string cheese in the lunchbox because I know it's something my kiddos love!
hebert024 at aol dot com
Those cheese and cracker packages
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Oh, I love Grocery Outlet-they have the best prices! I always liked to pack homemade peanut butter cookies in my kid's lunches, they really love them!
smchester at gmail dot com
some fruits
Oddly enough, I learned how to make veggie sushi rolls a few years ago and it has really been handy. I set the rice to cook with dinner, then I roll the leftover stirfry from dinner and the leftover rice to make a quick & fancy looking lunch. Sometimes I use nut butter and jam on tortillas for kid-friendly sushi. Honestly, carrot shreds and nut butter on whole wheat tortilla, sliced into rounds and dipped into apricot jam is a hit. Who would have guessed?
great giveaway... count me in!!
say buying big packages and splitting them up saves so much over tiny individual packages of snack!
Great blogging with this one. I do love buying groceries on my own.
Jason Zenteno
we rarely buy lunch-sized pre-portioned containers. everything from pretzels to crackers to veggies can be bought in bulk for much less money and then put into baggies - that can also be reused. thanks!
I freeze juice boxes to protect the sandwich.
I buy big bags of chips and then bag them into smaller bags myself. It also helps with portion control to those who are looking to keep their weight down.
We make large batches when we cook then we portion out leftovers for quick and easy meals.
Like Anonymous, we by chips, pretzels and such in a large bags and portion them into smaller bags and/or containers.
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I buy the large size bags of chips and other snacks like crackers etc... and put enough for a lunch in a baggie for their lunches.
:) Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! :)
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Teresa N.
I love grocery outlet
My fave school-days way to save money is to check out the school lunches...My son actually likes them better (don't get it!) and the lunches I was sending to school were actually costing us more! So my son getting hot lunch is actually a better deal in more than one way...
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I am now following Grocery Outlet on twitter
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When I visit my sister Grocery Outlet is where we go shopping Great prices!
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Christina - xristya@rock.com - I buy saltless pretzels and tiny round organic no-sugar cookies and put them in little bags in the lunchboxes as treats!
My favorite school-days lunchbox items are chips and granola bars. You can buy them in the Family Sack variety 22-24 pk of chips and the cost usually comes out to around $.25 an individual bag vs just grabbing the them at the store for $1 or more a piece. Or the Value Size Box of variety 24 pack of granola bars with a cost around $.16 vs $.49 or more purchasing them individually at the checkout isle. That can be a HUGE savings with 4 kids in school at the same time and of course none of the kids like the same variety chips or granola bars so it also saves your sanity buying in bulk with variety.
[prices come from a sale going on right now at a local grocery store like Grocery Outlet not one of those warehouse club you have to pay to belong to]
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I shop from the barrels and buy in bulk. Things like dried fruit and it saves a bundle.
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Buy a larger, more economical container of yogurt and then package it in small reusuable containers for lunches, often adding fresh fruit or granola.
Wrap your childs sandwich in a paper towel, the same one you made the sandwich on, saves on wrap or baggies and napkins also.
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i buy muffins and snack cakes at the bakery outlet when they are deeply discounted and then throw them in the freezer and then put them in my kids lunches and by the time it is lunch, they are thawed out.
I also buy somethings in bulk at costco because it is less than buying it at the grocery store.
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I send a piece of fruit in their lunchboxes everyday. No packaging needed.
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Save money by buying snacks in large-size packages and then dividing these into smaller bags for lunchboxes. Also, make your own "trail mix" by combining the ingredients yourself. Thanks for this offer.
oak462@juno.com
granola bars are great, sugary yet still healthier than cookies
i double everything i can and freeze the remander for later
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches. Celery and peanut butter. Peanut butter and crackers. Do you see a trend here?
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My son has to take his lunch since he is allergic to so many things. He is also extremely picky about how he eats as well. For some reason, for lunch, he has to have cold water. What I do is freeze his water container the night before so that his water is cold for his lunch. It also keeps the rest of his lunch at the optimal temperature too!
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I buy the family sized yogurt and mix in my own granola (which is actually just cereal).... the kids don't know the difference!
I love adding whatever fresh fruit is in season
I love buying frozen edamame and putting it in my son's lunch! Good protein, inexpensive and fun to eat.
Home made cookies.
I buy in bulk and healthy snacks that are on sale. I use coupons and am flexible when it comes to buying different brands.
We bake our own brownies and cookies for lunches. They're a lot cheaper than buying them and I always know what's in them. I just have to make sure they're well hidden during the evening!
I'm an email subscriber :)
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
i pack fruit with the lunches
I make my own cookies and brownies and buy big packages of potato chips and pack individual bags.
Half-price bread with
bulk peanut butter and honey,
an apple from the tree,
and homemade cookies save us money!
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My neighbor and I buy large quantities of things in bulk, so I can get snacks like pudding and chips, etc. cheaper than I would otherwise.
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When I find a good coupon for larger bags of chips or cookies I get extras and stock up. Then I can break them down to smaller amounts to put in individual baggies.
This year, I'm trying buying more in bulk and then distributing it out. For example, I bought bulk dried fruit and my son and I both got some today.
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My favorite is to cut up cheese blocks into cheese cubes - cheaper than string cheese packs
Oops. I forgot the original entry :-) Our kids are homeschooled so I don't pack lunches but what I do to save money at home is that we have a lunch and dinner menu so they kids always know what they're going to eat. It saves money because we don't have any more a la carte lunches!
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nice!!
Thanks for the giveaway... Our kids used to love pudding cups & fruit cups as lunchtime desserts.
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i like to put things i get free with coupons in the lunches. lately it's been chips.
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I plan my dinners such that there will usually be at least one portion of leftovers. It's cheaper to pay a dollar or two more for my dinner to have extra portions than planning singular lunches often. And I pack them away before we eat dinner so they are guaranteed to be there the next day, plus then no one is tempted to overeat!
Brownies in the freezer all the way and buy a HUGE bag of pretzels from Costco for like $5 that lasts a few months!!!
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I will prepare cookies ahead, bag the chips ahead, prepare their fav. sandwich ahead too.
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Leftovers :)
I buy in bulk. We eat a lot of trail mix and other dried fruits plus lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
My kids like simpler things such as PB&J or cheese sandwiches, plus a piece of fruit and a small treat. Way cheaper than school lunches and probably healthier too! Thanks so much! pamelashockley(AT)netscape(DOT)net
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