Author | Lightnews

Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 1m

Oh, I forgot to mention I didn’t like the selection today. I turned a box of cake mix into almond poppyseed and cherry almond muffins and remembered a tube of cinnamon roll dough in the fridge.

Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 8h

It’s interesting. On Fridays, I usually stop by the store after taking the kids to school to pick up muffins or sliced loaf cakes the boys can eat for breakfast at their dad’s on the weekend for 50% off (so like $2.99 instead of $5.99). Now they’re only $1 off. 🧐

Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 3m

Welp, we are here to cut Tiny’s hair. He has made it explicitly clear he doesn’t not wanna go for a bob like last time and wants a “real boy haircut.” 😔

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 1h

I’m so sorry bb

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 4h

My dogs bark and whine when I’m taking calls. 🙄

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 5h

It helps the seasoning penetrate the meat through the skin and cooks it faster. It’s also easier for kids to tear at with their little teeth. I cut pretty deeply into it so yeah near the bone.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

Every family is particular about a certain product or item, so just know your target price for those items and plan accordingly - even if it’s just to buy 1 extra package for another day.

Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

Ice cream, I wait until they’re $2.49-2.99 for a carton and stash them in the freezer. Cheese slices/shreds $1.49-1.99. If it’s not at or near those price points, I just don’t buy them that week or pull from whatever stash I have.

Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

My kids can also weirdly tell when it’s not REAL Cheezits so I wait until there’s a sale and snag them for $1.50-$2.00 a box and portion them. Otherwise generic stuff is fine.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

Keep track of the best sale price of your favorite/most frequent foods. For example, I almost never buy cereal unless it’s under $2 a box and stock up for later. This week I got 3 General Mills cereals for $3.50. My kids prefer Oscar Mayer hot dogs, so I stock up when they’re $1.99.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

Yes I just got that comped from my credit card recently so I have that as a backup.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

Same with meat and cheese sandwiches, but do not add any condiments (which ain’t a problem for my kids bc they don’t like any).

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

You can, in fact, batch make PBJs and freeze them. Pack them right in the bread bag, separated by squares of parchment/wax paper/foil. You can make homemade Uncrustables if you want, or you can just let the kids tear off the crusts if they’re picky. They thaw in 20 mins.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

In the winter the kids ask for hot chocolate sometimes. Often it’s actually cheaper (and less mess) to just to buy a jug of chocolate milk and heat it up on the stove.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

In the summer, I will have a pitcher of sugar free lemonade available in the fridge. Basically the generic packs of Crystal Light. You can also get sugar free drink mix for a 10-pack at the dollar store and throw those in water bottles.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 6h

I can get a big bottle of apple juice for $2.00 on sale and it will last a good long while (I also like drinking very watered down apple juice over ice for hydration lol).

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

If your kids are juice drinkers, water it down. I’ve always done this (bc I honestly prefer the taste of watered down juice). My big kids prefer water over anything, but Tiny likes juice with breakfast. I usually pack his cup full of ice and mix juice to water 1:1. That’s what Honest Juice is.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

If fresh fruit is funky or not cost effective, there’s always canned. I found during the pandemic my kids will eat canned fruit if it’s ice cold (so stick the cans in the fridge first). They like pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, and peaches. The kind packed in juice is usually priced the same.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

They also have stars and alphabets and orzo and animal shapes for soups, pastina, or homemade fun mac for the kids. (You can make a quick sauce with butter/margarine cooked with a sprinkle of flour, then whisk in milk and shredded cheese or American cheese).

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

They’re usually $.40-50 and they have small portions of spaghetti or shells or macaroni in 6-8oz bags. I actually preferred to use Fideo cut pasta for spaghetti when the kids were younger bc it was easier for them to fork into their mouths and created less mess.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

I know everyone says to stock up on pasta, and that’s fine (wait until they are $1 per 1lb box). But usually people have a problem with cooking too MUCH pasta than they need. The solution here (unless you need a specific shape) are the mini bags of pasta in the Latin aisle.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

Walmart, dollar stores, and Aldi will all have all the most common dry spices and seasoning blends in the $1-1.50 range. For all purpose seasonings, I like the Lawry’s Complete, Kinder’s Buttery Steakhouse, and Tony Cachere’s.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

And that is honestly easier and cheaper a lot of times than buying all those vegetables fresh and chopping them all up. It also frees up a lot of fridge space when you’re just going to be cooking it down in a soup or stew or chili or pasta sauce.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

For cooking, jarlic or garlic powder is just fine 90% of the time. I’d rather use that and have fresh parsley or cilantro tbh. And look in your freezer section for “seasoning blends.” Walmart sells one for $1.50 that is onions, celery, peppers, and parsley.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

Bars and prepackaged snacks I make clear are only for school snacks or Dad’s house. So if they smash an entire box of granola bars in an afternoon I get salty.

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Yooty @yooty.bsky.social · 7h

And it’s awfully cheaper and more nutritious to eat that over chips. They also randomly like to snack on croutons??? So I buy those when they’re $1 and portion them out. They also LOVE microwave popcorn, which is one of the few things I miss from Costco LOL.

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