I was at my brother's house this week with his 2 kids and I noticed something disturbing. 90% of what this family eats comes from a box or a restaurant. There's nothing wrong with convenience per se, but it seems so unnecessary, expensive and simply unhealthy.

In 15 minutes per week, you could prepare most of these things at half the cost. Making them yourself also allows you near-total control of what you and your children eat. Have you ever looked at the sodium content of snacks out there today? Kids get 3 times the recommended daily allowance of sodium before noon!

The true cost of packing up these snacks yourself seems to be in the time and effort, which many people treat like a very precious commodity. If you can spare a few minutes each day in an effort to push some healthy foods down your kids throats, you can be on your way to saving money at the grocery store and at the doctor's office as little Johnny becomes healthier.

Here are 5 easy ways that you can get moving in the right direction and I challenge you to open your pantry or cabinets and identify other ways you can whip up some Do-it-Yourself magic and come up with healthy alternatives to your snacks.

Kids Snacks

I've priced it out and buying a tub of pretzels and parceling them into snack bags is literally 3 times cheaper than buying the individual bags. No coupon in the world will save you what 20 minutes will.

If that weren't enough of an incentive, this also allows you to customize your kids snacks too. Make Chex Mix without the sugar, take the raisins out of the trail mix since your kid doesn't eat them, etc. Perhaps the best part is these snacks last just as long when you pack them up yourself as they do in their individual packs.

Rice Crispy Treats

Yes I know pre-made rice crispy bars are awesome and while no one eats them for their health benefits, have you looked at sodium content? Wow.

If you make them yourself and keep them in Ziploc bags, they taste better, last just as long, and have much less sodium. As a bonus you can substitute brown puffed rice so you actually get a little fiber.

Microwave Popcorn

Regular microwave popcorn costs about $1 a bag. Bulk popcorn costs about a nickel a bag. There isn't even a choice here. All you have to do is drop a 1/4 cup of kernels in a paper bag with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Then staple the bag shut and microwave it just the same as you would any other bag of popcorn (no, the staples will not cause sparks if your microwave was built after 1986). Cheap, fast, and 0 cholesterol or artificial flavors.

Fruit Cup

Tupperware and similar sealed container companies have been striding forward at a remarkable pace; especially in the area of smaller containers. There's no reason you have to buy pre-fab fruit cups anymore. Dicing your own fruit means your kid isn't drinking down the high fructose syrup that most fruit is packed in.

DIY fruit cups last about a week so you can do up a batch Sunday night and you're good for school. If you're using apples or some fruit that browns, just sprinkle in a little lime juice.

Yogurt

Have you seen how much sugar is in yogurt these days? My nephew's literally, I'm not making this up, had M&Ms in it. I found that interesting since my sister-in-law is one of those semi-self-righteous moms who would never let her kid eat a candy bar.

The same little Tupperware that worked for fruit cups can be filled from a tub of vanilla yogurt with the exact amount of fresh fruit, jam and honey you want your kid to eat (yogurt, strawberries and honey is the best thing ever). If not, you may as well give the kid a candy bar - the sugar levels are nearly the same!

Packing your own food for your family has a ton of advantages. It's cheaper, healthier and it gives you total control over what you eat. As I showed here, it's also pretty easy. A hidden value to all of this is that your kids will actually see what you're doing and learn healthy habits early in life.

If everything they eat comes shrink-wrapped, zip-topped and in individually wrapped portions, how will they ever learn to cook for themselves? How will they even understand the concept?

这星期在我哥哥家里，和他两个孩子在一起的时候，我发现了一件令人担心的事情。他们家吃的东西，90%不是包装食品，就是餐馆的外卖。没错，这很方便，但我觉得很没有必要，而且也很贵，还很不健康。

每星期，你只要花上15分钟，就能够用一半的价钱做好平时所吃的大部分食物。自己做，还能让你基本掌控你和孩子们的饮食。你注意到今天孩子所吃快餐的钠含量了吗？孩子们一个上午的钠摄入量就已是专家建议的三倍。

自己动手做这些吃的只需花费你一点点时间和精力，但很多人却惜之如金。如果你每天能花上几分钟，让你的孩子吃上些健康的食品，那你就省了买药看病的钱，小强尼也能变得更健康了。

以下五个简单方法能帮助你朝正确方向转变。我也支持你大胆动手，打开橱柜，看你自己是否也能弄出一些取代快餐的健康食品来。

孩子的零食

我算过，买一桶椒盐卷饼，再把它们分袋装要比单独一袋袋买便宜3倍。也就是说，20分钟的功夫能比任何优惠券都省钱。

如果这还不够吸引人，那么请想想，它还能帮你管理你孩子的零食。比如，你可以做不含糖的Chex Mix玉米片，还能把Trail Mix什锦杂果里的葡萄干都挑出来，反正你的孩子也不喜欢吃…..也许，最大的好处是，如果你自己把它们装起来，它们能和在单独成品包装里保存的时间一样长。

全谷物小点心

我知道商店里卖的小米棒味道很棒，也知道没有几个人吃它是出于健康原因。但你了解过这里面的钠含量吗？如果你知道了，肯定会大吃一惊。

如果你能自己动手，并把做好的小米棒放在密封袋里，那它们不仅更好吃，而且保存时间一样长，并且钠含量还能少很多。还有一个好处就是，它能代替食用膨松糙米，能让你获得少许纤维的补充。

微波爆米花

通常，微波爆米花的售价是1美元1袋。大批量购买的话，价格还可降到5美分一袋。在这件事情上，你几乎没什么选择。你所要做的就是把1/4杯的谷物装入一个纸袋，再放入1/4勺的盐和两勺橄榄油。用订书机把袋口钉紧后，放入微波炉里去微波，就像你平时用微波炉来做其他爆米花一样。（不用担心，如果你的微波炉是1986年以后生产的，订书钉就不会引起火花）。这样做出来的爆米花，不仅便宜、快速，还没有胆固醇和其他人工人造香味添加剂。

什锦水果

特百惠和其他密封容器制造商又有了长足进步，尤其是在更小容器方面。利用这些容器，你就没必要去买现成的什锦水果。自己切水果能让孩子不喝下太多的果糖。

自己动手做的什锦水果能保存一个星期。你能周日晚上做一批，然后周一孩子上学就有得吃了。如果你是用苹果或其他变褐色了的水果，那你只需在里边撒上一些酸橙汁就行了。

酸奶

你知道时下的酸奶所含糖分有多少吗？不夸张地说，我侄子喝的酸奶里所含的糖跟牛奶巧克力豆里含的差不多。而有趣的是，我嫂子是那种半自以为是的人，从不让她的孩子吃一根糖果棒。

你同样可以用特百惠的密封盒来做一些酸奶。先往里面倒入一些香草酸奶，然后再放入等量的新鲜水果、果酱。如果你愿意的话，还可以加入一些蜂蜜。（酸奶、草莓、蜂蜜是最好的东西）。如果你不打算自己动手做这样的酸奶的话，那你就完全可以给孩子吃糖果棒了，因为它里面含的糖分跟普通酸奶差不了多少。

自己给家人做吃的有许多好处。不仅更健康、更便宜，也能让你很好地掌握你的饮食。如上所述，这做起来也很容易。还有一个你看不到的好处就是，看到你做这些，孩子可以从小养成健康生活的习惯。

如果他们吃的都是薄膜包装好的、或密封罐内的现成的食品，他们又怎么会知道自己做饭呢，更不要说理解健康饮食的概念了。