Saving Pennies and Learning Much

USUALLY my posts are geared more toward real life facts about mental health and healing, but this post is geared more toward healthy bodies and saving yourself the cost of school snacks with a name brand.

Granola: want to get away from ultra-preserved snacks with a ton of sugar and not enough protein? 2 recipes of granola can make 24 servings. I use 4 cups of oats, 1/2 c honey, 1/2 c sunflower or melted coconut oil (do not microwave), chia seeds, cashews, sliced almonds, 1 tsp Mexican vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, dried fruit (I home make mine), cubed or shredded coconut and raisins. Bake at 350 for 12 min; stir and then pat town hard with a spatula; and bake another 12. If you want solid bars be sure to not get too many dry ingredients and try packing hard. YUM!

Dried Fruit: for $30 on facebook marketplace I got a drying machine and turned loose on it. We have done pineapple, mango, bananas (my husband's favorite), and even some apple mango fruit rollups. Fyi.... fruit rollups are a pain in the ass. About the time you finally get everything ground up, mixed, and on the stove you start to wonder if this shit even works. Then kids interrupt and your phone dies... but you saved yourself a fortune! 1 pineapple fills 1 tray of half inch slices, and those sell for $2-5 and weight 2-6 lb. A 2lb bag of dried sells for $14. You do the math. To top it all off they are a fantastic source of vitamin C and dietary fiber with natural sugars. I bag them with peanut butter combos for extra potassium.

We do a lot for our kids that they never remember- but they will miss. I still remember stealing handfulls of coconut out of grandma's freezer to feed the ants out in her driveway. And her dried banana chips were to die for!

Think back on your youth. What did your mother cook that you would just salivate over? My mother made the BEST goulash, manicotti, and spaghetti sauce. My ex husband told that black olives do NOT belong in spaghetti sauce, but in southern Italy where my dad was stationed they do. Guess what, Sicilians! I love yours the best! Thanks, mom, for the handfulls of olives and peppers you let me steal during canning season.

As for sports events and practices that your dad would take you to- remember the snacks and drinks that you needed to take? Now that you are grown, what do you want for your kids? Live long, eat well, and save your pennies.