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Growing up, Chex Mix was a rare treat. I still remember the pan my mom and grandma used to make Chex Mix. I can still smell the aroma of Chex Mix as it baked in the oven. I've tried the store-bought stuff, but nothing compares to homemade Chex Mix.
I'm not sure what motivated him, but sometime in the last year or so Hubby, who also is addicted to Chex Mix, decided to start making his own. First he started by making a combination of my grandmother's recipe and a recipe on a cereal box. Then, once he got the hang of it, he started experimenting. I won't give away his "secret recipe," especially since it varies from batch to batch, but it involves the usual ingredients (Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder), along with soy sauce, goldfish crackers, maybe some Kix, and, in his latest batch, banana chips and M&M's. I kid you not. It is FANTASTIC! He recently gave a bag of Chex Mix to the neighbors, and now they want to know when he's making more.
Just before Christmas, My Blog Spark and General Mills gave me the opportunity to receive four free boxes of General Mills cereal. This came on the heels of an announcement from General Mils that the company is committed to further reducing the amount of sugar in cereals advertised to kids 12 and younger (think single digit grams of sugar per serving). Now, I'm sure the intention was for bloggers like me to use the coupons, try new cereals and talk about how a healthy breakfast is an important way to start the day, especially for children.
Pshaw! All I could think was: CHEX MIX!!!!! I am constantly searching for fun snacks for my girls. Hubby's Chex Mix usually accomplishes that. He lets the girls help make it. They get to measure the ingredients and suggest new ones, which is likely how M&M's made their way into the last batch, but I'm not complaining! The fact that the homemade snack is somewhat healthy (M&M's aside) is an added bonus. So while a good breakfast is an important way to start your day, I'll take toast if it means we have some cereal left over for Chex Mix.
It was bound to happen. I didn't think Hubby would be the one to do it. However, based on experience, I should have known it was coming.
The other night, while I was at work, Hubby introduced our daughters to the bed time snack. OK, not RIGHT AT bed time, but you know what I mean. He was making Chex Mix (he makes a KILLER Chex Mix) and decided to share its fresh-out-of-the-oven goodness with the girls. They were ecstatic to receive a snack after dinner.
Little do they know, they used to get a night time snack. When they were one and two, about an hour after dinner I would load them up with Kix and other cereal to fill them up and send them to bed full and sleepy. I'm not really sure why the bed time snack disappeared. I think bath time just got in the way and these days we're scrambling to give them dinner, bathe them and get them in bed at a reasonable time.
Then Hubby messed it all up. He essentially told them that it's OK to eat after dinner. Now every night they want a bed time snack.
Yet, who am I to argue? When I was little, my grandma gave me ice cream after dinner, not at dessert time but as a bed time snack. It drove my mom crazy. After having ice cream (we're talking a full-on ice cream cone here, not ice cream in a bowl), I expected ice cream before bed every night! Hubby said his grandma did the same thing. It wasn't always ice cream, but when she babysat him she gave him a snack before bed.
Hubby pointed out that he and I STILL have a snack before bed. Old habits are hard to break. We try not to make it a disgustingly fattening snack, but sometimes that's hard to do. As for our girls, well, last night they each had a slice of cheese. That seemed to appease them. We'll see what happens though when "someone" gives them ice cream before bed time.
There's a certain point in the day in between lunch and dinner when my daughters need a little pick-me-up. Finding the right snack can be a challenge. They can spend weeks eating the same thing day in and day out and then decide they don't like that particular snack anymore. So I was thrilled to receive a package yesterday from My Blog Spark containing Nature Valley's new Granola Nut Clusters.
There are four flavors to this new snack: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almonds, Roasted Cashews and Honey Roasted Peanuts. Each treat combines nuts, granola and a touch of honey for a yummy mix of sweet and salty.I'll be honest, here. My stomach does not tolerate any nut other than peanuts. I tried the Honey Roasted Peanut variety and it is delicious. Just a few "clusters" curbed my snacking instinct. According to the package, a serving size is about 7 clusters, which contains 140 calories and 7 grams of fat.
I put the other flavors to the "quadruplet test." My girls enjoyed each cluster flavor and asked for more. Roo said "it's better than chocolate," which I think is a pretty amazing review for a four-year-old. The best review, though, may have come from my pickiest eater. Sue Sue opted not to try the Roasted Almond flavor, which was their first sample. She rarely tries anything new, so I thought I might have to make this a "triple test." When I opened the bag of Nut Lovers clusters, she made a bee line for the table, popped it in her mouth and (through a mouth full of granola, peanuts and pecans) said "this is tasty."
My prize pack also came with a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars. (Hubby claimed the binoculars the second he saw them).
Thanks to My Blog Spark and Nature Valley, one of my readers can win the same Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters prize package. You'll receive all four nut cluster flavors, plus the backpack, water bottle, flashlight and binoculars.
Here's how you enter: leave me a comment telling me what your family does to enjoy nature. Please make sure you leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you're the winner.
Want additional entries? (leave a separate comment for each additional entry)
- Become a follower of Buried in Laundry (or let me know if you are already a follower)
- Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post
- Tweet about this contest and include @quadmama
The contest is open to U.S. residents only. You must have an email address to enter. The deadline to enter is 10:00 a.m. MST Sunday Oct. 4, 2009. The winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will have 48 hours after notification to send me his/her mailing address or a new winner will be selected.
