My two kids snack as much as they want and it only costs me £9 a week from Aldi – my tips will save you hundreds
A MUM-OF-TWO has revealed how she lets her kids snack to their heart's desire for just £9.24 a week.
Emma Maslin, 39, from Buckinghamshire, is a money-saving blogger and married mum to two girls aged six and eight.
Any parent knows summer can be expensive - but Emma has revealed how to cut that hike in food bills, including her tip for avoiding ice cream van temptation.
Here Emma reveals her top tips for snacking on a budget - and how to cut the extras down to just £9.24 a week...
1. Beat the boredom
Kids often eat out of boredom during the holidays, not because they are really hungry.
To avoid half-eaten leftovers going to waste, I buy packs of smaller sized fruit like apples and bananas.
A six pack of mini apples costs 79p (13.2p per apple) compared to as much as 30p an apple for regular sized apples.
2. On the market
Don’t always assume you can buy the cheapest fruit and veg at the market, especially as the supermarkets now do ‘wonky’ varieties at lower prices.
There are some great snacks which the market still wins for though - I can get punnets of grapes for 69p at my local market, compared to £1.49 in Aldi/£2 in Tesco, and melons are cheaper too.
3. Bulk buy
Shopping in bulk for snack items like crisps, biscuits and dried fruit helps me keep costs down, as the unit cost is lower.
I try not to let the kids have these every day, but I know they go through a lot during the six weeks of holidays so it’s worth buying multipacks for the savings.
A 30 pack of Aldi crisps (£2.59) works out at under 9p a bag which is substantially cheaper than 25p for the same sized bag when buying smaller multipacks of branded crisps.
I also watch for Amazon deals on multipack boxes of crisps, which can be really good value.
4. Homemade hunger busters
My homemade trail mix is a healthy alternative to crisps - and adults love it too.
Our favourite combination, which makes 600g of trail mix, is a really simple recipe:
- Cranberry and Raisin Mix (£1.19 from Aldi)
- Mixed Nuts (£1.59 from Aldi)
It’s simple and so delicious. I sometimes put cheese chunks in with their trail mix too.
Individual boxes of raisins for children are typically 14g so this recipe makes plenty.
Also, when you make your own, you can give bigger portions for older kids if they need more to keep them going.
Nuts and dried fruit are much more nutritious than crisps and biscuits, and help keep them fuller for longer so they snack less!
Emma's top tips
- Your kids may be snacking out of boredom. Try buying mini packs of apples and bananas - to stop leftovers going to waste.
- Shop at the market for items like grapes - which are about half the price.
- Bulk buy your cupboard snacks - e.g. 30 multipacks of crisps.
- Check Amazon for snacks - they can have some great deals.
- Make your own trail mix to cut costs.
- Choose protein to keep you full for longer.
- Buy a huge bag of popcorn kernels and sort your own portions.
- Always have ice creams in the freezer, in case your kids hear the van coming.
- Freeze fromage frais yoghurts or make homemade ice cream using Nutella to cut costs even more.
5. Protein power
Protein based snacks are another good choice for filling them up between meals.
Instead of pre-cut cheese portions, I buy a huge slab of cheddar and slice it into sticks for them.
A 900g block (£3.99 from Aldi) makes 45 20g servings at 9p each, compared to 16.5p each for individual pre-wrapped cheddar sticks.
6. Pop to it
Popcorn is another hit in our house; I get 1kg bags of plain popping corn from Amazon for £5.50.
You only need the tiniest amount - the shop bought ones in a bag make way too much in one go for kids.
Oatcakes (55p for a pack of 24 from Aldi) with any topping - peanut butter, jam, soft or hard cheese, avocado - are well received by my hungry children.
7. N-ice one
I also stock up on individual ice creams and lollies, in case we hear the ice cream van jingle and they ask for one.
That way, we keep costs low without having to say no to treats.
With a Cornetto costing upwards of £2 a pop, and a pack of 4 cones only £1 from Tesco, that’s a saving of at least £1.75 on each cone.
I also have a pack of fromage frais tubes in the freezer (less than 10p each) and use these as frozen yoghurt treats.
I’ve always found homemade ice cream a bit hit and miss, but we do have one recipe the kids love.
Our homemade alternative to the Kinder Bueno ice creams uses just whole milk and hazelnut spread (in a 3:1 ratio) and tastes amazing.
Blend it up, pop in lolly moulds and watch them smile when they get these as a treat.
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Emma runs popular blog , which has been awarded best Family & Money Blog for the last two years.
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We previously spoke to a single mum-of-three who feeds her family for £9.90 each a week using Aldi bargains.