Feb 1, 2011
Twin Survival Tip #7: Snacks for mom!
If you have twins you are not going to have a lot of time for meals. It’s just reality. I know they tell you if you’re nursing that you need to eat healthy, well-balanced meals and snacks. The more children you get, and the closer they are to each other in age, the chances of that decrease almost exponentially. 
So I’ve taken to always having snacks in the van. Some of you might be thinking, “Duh! I always do that!” Well, I suppose I’d often have snacks in my purse, especially when I was pregnant, but I never had the quantity necessary for how often I need them now that I can rarely get a spare moment to eat at home. And most of the snacks weren’t for me, but for the kids.
Here’s what I consider for mom snacks:
- They have to have a shelf life. Anything perishable is not gonna work for me and my brain right now. I just need to be able to get in the car, realize I’m starving, and have something available.
- In my arctic world, you have to pick things that won’t freeze!
- Decently healthy. I’m not a super-duper health nut, but I’m not a junk food junkie, either.
I find that my private stash of snacks often includes crackers and nuts. They fit my criteria quite nicely.
My quick cracker of choice is Cheez-Its. I have to be careful not to gorge on them, but they’re still my faves, and if I just eat a few, I figure it’s okay. I’m sure I’ll get emails about how bad they are for me or how they’re made with carcinogen-soaked cow stomachs or something. Whatevs, I guess I must like carcinogen-soaked cow stomachs. And Cheez-It people, if you read this, I love you and will not believe the haters!
Anyway…if you’re a mother of twins, stock the car with snacks for you. You’re gonna need them!
What are your favorite on-the-go mom snacks?
As a dad my MUST have on-the-go mom snack for my 10 month old is Baby Mum-mum bananas snack. http://amzn.to/faqzx2
I love Cheez-Its! I used to get a bottle of blue Gatorade and a box of Cheez-Its for all my late-night homework sessions.
And I really hope they aren’t cow stomachs, that’d be gross.
Cheez-Its are amazing. I’m glad we share the love!
They were our family road trip snack growing up, and I just LOVE them!
Cheez-Its were our family road trip snacks, too. When my parents dropped me off for my freshman year at PSU, my mom packed me a box for my dorm room.
Have you tried the Parmesan ones? Those are my favorite. But make sure you have a big drink to go with them!
chocolate mint zone bars. i. love. them.
Do they freeze?
Might freeze but so would alot of items in this kind of weather. :-)
We love the Chocolate Peanut Butter Zone bars–yum!! More protein than a traditional “energy bar” but not so much that you have an after taste. Can find for best price at Walmart or Target in their “energy bar” area near pharmacy. Love Zone bars!!
oh my…cheez-it’s are a staple in our house. i’m not sure my husband could live without them…they go perfectly with any kind of juice; makes us feel like kids again!
Nuts….and dried fruit! My children like both as well, so we always have stashes of those.
One of my favorite on the go snacks is what I refer to as pantry trail mix. Basically, I take whatever combination of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chips I have in my pantry and mix a bunch together in a zip loc baggie. My 2 year old likes to pick out the dried cranberries and chocolate chips, but it serves whoever might be hungry well. Plus, it often uses up leftovers from various baking projects.
And I have to admit that I prefer goldfish to Cheez-its, but that’s probably because we always have some in the house.
Funny thing, I just finished a small bowl of Cheez-It’s . . . they are my go-to-cracker of choice.
I also love to buy Trail Mix in bulk and then package it up in snack-size zip locks. I love the nuts with the raisins (and M&M’s) thrown in! :)
clif builder bars! preferably peanut butter. 20g protein in one go. keeps me from getting all lightheaded during marathon nursing days.
pretty affordable at that co of cost btw. :)
I will not judge you for Cheez-Its (I would eat them if I could but I’m wheat/gluten-intolerant).
I don’t have twins. But we are foster parents (and soon-to-be adoptive parents). Each time we have had a new placement of kiddos, my eating habits are awful. I’m learning what they like or need to eat but usually not feeding myself well.
I picked up a few of LARABARS (http://www.larabar.com/) @ Trader Joe’s yesterday. They are a great snack & pretty healthy. I also stock up on yogurt. I rarely get breakfast so that is my “eat-on-the-way” meal(if my husband is driving.
Nutrigrain Bars (available in bulk at Sam’s)…sometimes Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Bars…Annie’s Bunny Crackers…an Apple…
…but usually my inclination is candy (chocolate). I have a dangerous sweet tooth I am constantly fighting. :)
Cheez-Its are amazing! I just bought a house and one of the first things in my pantry was a box of Cheez-Its. :)
I am not a mom, but spend about 5/7th of each month in a hotel room, so non-refrigerated snacks are a staple for me too, but they have to hold up under each extereme, since I can be flying from MN to TX any given day. I eat a lot of dried fruit and granola, either plain or in the bar from and Peanut butter with crackers or pretzels-though I don’t know the freezing point of that. Also, I have heard that Popcorn is a good options as well, but it takes up a little too much space in the carry on!
And I love Cheez-Its. I would eat a box in one day if I let myself!
Good luck taking care of youself!
me too. especially while nursing. I can throw back a box of cheez-its in 2 sittings,tops.
Ooo, I LOVE Cheez-its! I particularly like how they get stuck in my teeth in a large glob of cheezy goodness. I can gorge on nuts though, especially really salt ones. No lie, last night I ate at least half a pound of pistachios. What about a really healthy granola bar, will those freeze? So funny, my issue is finding snacks that won’t melt into a hot mess here!
Target sells all kinds of delicious trail mix combos in resealable bags. I liked the pumpkin pie and the key lime pie mixes. And one that had wasabi peas…really, they’re all so good.
Hey! I found your blog through a friend of mine. I’ve enjoyed reading your twin survival tips. We had twin boys six weeks ago today. They were welcomed by their two big sisters ages 4 and 2. What a blessing it’s been and a super challenge, I must say!
Melanie
First of all, Cheez-its are my favorite cracker, too! Who knew!
I eat regularly:
Goldfish
Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds
Special K chocolate
Archer Farms (Target) Cranberry White Chocolate trail mix
AF Dark Chocolate Espresso trail mix
Cheerios-dry
Ok, so I just realized this list is pretty much the same as what my kids eat…
Apple Chips
Dried Peaches
Tortilla Chips- Mission brand are my favorite.
Best snack ever a friend turned me onto. Can make in big batches. No bake. Cheap. Yummy. Nutritious and kiddos can help stir.
Equal parts: dry milk powder, peanut butter, ground flax seeds, oats and honey. Mix. Roll in little balls. Store in fridge. Probably will freeze, but I don’t think that would make it gross. Would still be yummy to eat.
Gotta feed the momma in my house other wise some innocent little soul is going to get yelled at. Poor babies.
This is totally true for me too…if I’m hungry, my patience level plummets.
I love all flavors of cheez-its… But my favs are the ones with Tobasco.
Nilla Wafers, animal crackers, and graham crackers.
Cheez-its (I didn’t know were so popular among moms)
pretzels
granola bars
I started keeping (2-3)boiled eggs in the fridge to grab on the go.
When I first started nursing, I couldn’t get enough salt. I would put away a whole bag of pretzels in two days. Then I found the honey mustard ones…even better. Yeah, pretty sure I kept the pretzel companies in business for the first three months of my daughter’s life. :) Now my pretzel consumption has tapered off…but I still eat them sometimes. Oh, and I love peanuts and all things chocolate, especially the pretzel M&M’s. And now that you mention them, Cheez-its sound really good, too!
Granola bars keep well in a car (and they thaw quickly). So do nuts and dried fruit. I also love a Salted Nut Roll as a quick stand-by, both for sweetness and protein.
I’ve also been known to drive-thru Subway for a $5 footlong tuna on wheat. It’s not super easy to eat while driving, but it’s healthy, I don’t have to get out of the car to get it and it usually lasts me for 2 lunches.
“Carcinogen-soaked cow stomachs”….dying over here. I can hear you saying that and it’s making me laugh even harder!
Oh, how I love thee!
Favorite mom snack: Blue Bell Homemade Ice Cream. Yes, you can only get it in the South, BUT if you could get it here, the MN temps would actually turn your van into a nice freezer.
Jenny, I saw your comment and just had to tell you I love you. That’s all. And Blue Bell is the best ice cream ever.
And Cheez-its are awesome, especially the big ones.
We have b/g twins, 2 1/2. I like the sesame sticks from Trader Joes, fruit strips from Archer Farms at Target and pretzels (preferably w/ cream cheese dip). We sort of cheated and misses your hard stage being the twins came to use at 19 mos – but they are #4 & #5 and we are in the heart of the two’s so snacks are vital :)
I LOVE Cheezits. My sister recently introduced me to pita chips. Oh my! I wish I’d never tasted one. So yummy!
Larabars are wonderful! Dried fruit can be very handy, too. I mainly buy Cheez-its for my husband and boys, but do sneak an occasional handful!:)
Cashew clusters, chocolate Fiber Bars (both Costco staples), and apples with peanut butter. But Pearson’s Nut Rolls got me through the first year with the twins, in all their nutty, carmely, nougutty goodness. and coffee. lots and lots of coffee.
Yes, snacks are essential as a mom of twins…and now expecting again! I feel semi crazy!
Cheez-its are one of the few cheese crackers without added sugar…so kudos! I love all the mixes of dried nuts and fruits at Trader Joes. I also love Larabars. Lately, I’ve been keeping an apple or orange in my purse. It creeps my husband out when I just dig out a fruit basket from my purse. You gotta live! :)
By the way–happy 6th months for the twins! That was such a mile marker of happy/life figured out/fun and things really do just keep getting better and better!!!
I don’t have twins but I nanny for two families with 4 mo old girls and just found out I’m pregnant, so I take homemade trail mix (I like almonds, cashews, craisins, white choc chips) and Luna bars everywhere I go for a little protein when I get hungry.
i’m feeding one, not two, but my big thing is drinks. we live in England and don’t have a car, but i too have found i don’t eat unless i’m in transit. so whenever i have just one kid with me (thus a hand to hold it) i bring a travel mug of tea on the bus. sometimes i actually drink it before it gets cold. when that happens i feel like a million dollars (i mean pounds)–hey, i got to drink all my tea!
Dried fruit – right now they have the most amazing selection at Aldi’s! The dried cherries are to die for. I’m also really into drinks too – Target’s carbonated and flavored waters are my favorite!
Choco Peanutbutter Odwalla Bars; they don’t have that nasty “health bar” taste.
Hi – I just found your blog. Your babies are adorable! One of my favorite snacks is Sundried Tomato Wheat Thins. They are very addictive.
I hope you have found the scrabble and Toy Story Cheez-its. They are so great. We all love them.
Beef jerky! Yes, it’s a little pricey, but if you get it at Sam’s, it’s not quite as bad. Sometimes you just need some real protein. I nearly always keep a bag in my car to keep the hunger at bay.
Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits, just had these recently and they are delicious.
Dried mango
Almonds and Pistachios
Great idea! I don’t have stuff in the car, but a jar of trail mix is my current favorite for something that’s a little sweet but will hold me over for as long as possible.
Speaking of foods that freeze – one of my twin survival tips is having lots of frozen dinners on hand (a friend with twins recommended “Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer”). I try to make sandwiches or soup or something freezable once or twice a week, and I always double or triple them and so I swing dinner on the table in 10 min some other night! There’s rarely more time than that available with all the little mouths, and if there is, I probably should WASH dishes, not make more. :)
I’m not a mom, but as a sign language interpreter who works at 2 schools everyday, I often don’t get a break and need to eat something on the road!
Dried Apples (I got them from Trader Joes) – They actually do quite well in a freezing car!
Also granola bars tend to get REALLY hard in the cold, so I stick mine in the warm air vent while driving (just stick one end in then switch it after a few minutes)!
Yummy!
Cheez-its are my guilty pleasure. Just reading your blog makes me crave them.
I also really like trail mix, which, when made in the Chmieleski house, only consists of three things: peanuts, raisins and M&Ms. I feel like just a little of it takes care of all my sweet/salty/fruity cravings. So, win-win-win for me.
totally can’t judge you there. Cheeze its are amazinggggggggggggggggg.
totally can’t judge you there. Cheeze its are amazinggggggggggggggggg. Would goldfish also count as an amazing snack for you?