BLOG: 8 food items to skip at the store

Energy bars. Ok, this nearly makes me angry. Need an energy boost? Save your money and grab some nuts and dried fruit from the bulk bins. Mix them together in a large bowl and divide them up into individual baggies. Bonus; they won’t melt in your purse or send you searching for a wet wipe to clean the smeared chocolate out of your child’s ears and off of the seat of your car. While you are at it, skip the "energy drink" and pop a B vitamin. A month's worth of teeny tiny B's will fit in the palm of your hand, and they'll cost you less than five bucks. If you are dragging, chances are a bit 'o B will pick you up. Of course, check with your doctor or nutritionist first. I am neither. 

Bottled water. We keep a few cases on hand. You should too. During the flood of ’08, we needed it. We also keep a few gallons of water in the pantry, for the same reason. But it’s strictly off limits. Every summer in August, I lift the ban on bottled water for a month or so, let my family use it up and buy new bottles. Are you buying bottled water and letting it take up valuable fridge space because you can’t find the faucet? Can’t manage a reusable container that is portable? It’s a waste of money. I promise you, someone is sick of picking up your half drank bottles and pouring them out in the plants. Like me. In August. Quit it.

Individual servings of snacks. The cost per unit is much higher if the item is already portioned and bagged. Besides, what good does it do me to buy cookies in 100 calorie bags and then eat 4 bags? Buy the snacks your family eats and portion them out yourself. Put them in individual bags and store those bags back in the box. It’s easy to grab a few food items on the way out the door, and if you can skip the part of the road trip where you spend more money on snacks at the gas station than you do on gas, then you win.

Lunchables. Buy a container of salt and just stick your tongue in it. It’s cheaper, and the benefit is the same. If your kids like to eat crackers, cheese, and meat, you can accommodate them without serving them a weeks worth of salt in one sitting. Let the kids choose their meat, cheese at the deli (Oh! The Variety!) Buy some decent crackers and then put it all in the reusable plastic containers that have individual compartments, and lunch just got healthier.

Pop-Tarts. Anything that’s shelf stable for seven years is a bad idea. My teenager eats them. But he’s a human garbage disposal and a work in progress. Also, Pop-Tart consumption isn’t the battle I’m choosing with him. Grown ups should not eat Pop Tarts. They don’t even taste good. Little kids should eat a banana instead.

Pre-made Frozen Lasagna. Yeah, it looks pretty on the box and you can make it in the microwave. But it sucks. Here’s my recipe. It’s yummy. My eight year old makes it, and before you assume that I have an extraordinarily talented cook for a child, let me assure you that (like her mother) she’s kind of a spaz, and has the attention span of a gnat, just like most normal eight year olds and some 36 year olds.