I have been buying a "Sweet-N-Salty" snack mix at my local Dollar Tree for months now. It happens to be the ONLY pre portioned snack I buy! It is an okay deal 4 in a pack for $1. But I have to buy like 4 packs for our family since Michael takes them in his lunch. Much to my surprise and upset they haven't had them in weeks and don't know when they will be getting more. I was so sad so using the ingredients that are normally found in the mix I thought I would make my own. I bought all the ingredients at the Dollar Tree but the peanuts were small cans so I think I would have come off better if I bought those where you can get a larger quantity:) But my grand total was about $7 and I was able to make just over 20 bags. I didn't figure in the cost of the snack size baggies b/c I keep those here to package my own snacks anyway! I think if we hadn't of snacked on it before I started packaging it I could have gotten more bags out of it. Side note the most expensive thing was the M&M's which you could totally leave out. Total per snack was about .30-.35 cents not bad for nuts!
Ingredients:
Salted Peanuts
Cashew Pieces (instead of almonds since we don't think those)
Sunflower Kernels
M&M's
Rasins
Mix everything in a large bowl then scoop desired amount into snack size baggies.
I used snack size bag and put 1/4 a cup of the mix in it.
Here are the bags all lined up. I stored all of them in a larger Ziploc!
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
A few year ago after attending an Emmaus walk my husband come home and declared this verse over our home and our family. That year on his birthday I gave him a sign quoting the last line "As for me and my house we will serve the lord". That sign hangs over our dining room table as a reminder of the covenant we made as a family to serve God and no other idols. Until recently I hadn't really thought about the idols we were serving...then as I drove my children to one of our many activities I heard the song I am sharing today. It brought me to tears as I was reminded of the kingdom I was busy building that had nothing at all to do with what God was calling me to. And then last week God gave Michael some verses Deuteronomy 1:29-33:
Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God,who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
Michael looked up from the pages of his Bible and said "What do you think? Is he talking to us!" I was beyond moved! Of course God was/is talking to us. Do you know the story do you know where this story is found? It is after God has brought Moses and his people out of Egypt they have made it to the promised land and aren't going in!!! They are there everything God has promised is at their fingers tips and what do they do they send in spies and vote NOT TO GO! It was like a spiritual ah ha moment...God was telling us "I have led you there my promises are at arms reach, what are you doing complaining about your situation, I have protected you! I have not left you I love you and I am fighting just for you...just for you! Do you not trust me?"
Then enters this song again at the perfect time. As the words played over the speakers in my car my heart nearly jumped out of my chest I was overcome once more by HIS great love for me. I called out "God forgive me for not trusting you! I stand firm on all you have promised my family. We surrender... use us!" Now this song is part of our declaration kind of our theme song.
I 'm done building my own kingdom...No more seeking worthless idols...Like sheep we have gone astray...but we must chose this day whom we will serve...As for me and my house we will serve the lord...Idols raised tear them down...to one kind we bow down...I'm done with powerless religion...no more living in deception...We will cross over Jordan and claim what you promised!
A few weeks back I did a post on ways we save money and one thing I mentioned was that I don't by proportioned snacks because they cost so much more. But my kids love Jello and Pudding but making and storing it in large bowls takes up alot of room in my fridge. So I had an idea to save space and money I wanted to make my own. For the cost of 1 4-pack of jello or pudding ($1.20) I can make 5 snack cups of my own. I am not counting the cost of the containers which are a one time cost and can be used over and over again. I only paid $1.00 a pack of 5 for these bowls I snagged at my local "Dollar Tree". I am going to get more because all me have made so far is Jello and I want to also make pudding.
Here is a photo of the lable that was on the snack cups. I found them in the baby section of the store!
Here is a photo of the bowl so you can get an idea on the size perfect for snack sized portions:)
Pack of Jello .60 cents fills 5 cups. Mix jello according to package directions.
Use a ladle to fill the cups up with the desired amount of jello.
After all my cups are filled I place them in the fridge to set up without the lid on them. Once they are set I snap on the lids.
There you have it a ready made snack for about .12 cents a cup compared to .30 cents for the ones you get at the store so that is half the price!
