Prepackaged snacks on a budget

It's super important that I eat healthy and that I don't skip meals. That last one is hard for me, as I'm often out over a meal time, and frequently that is unplanned.

Many of the packaged snack bars contain too much sugar for me, personally, in the form of honey, cane sugar, and dried fruit. And even a banana or bag of raisins (what had long been my favorite items to grab going out the door) is no longer the best option for me to snack on, in place of a meal or main snack.

So I need something moderately balanced in energy, fats, proteins and carbs. But not a pricey health food store bar or snack mix. But it has to be as convenient as a packaged energy mix or bar.

You already know that I buy nuts, seeds and dried fruit from bulk bins at Fred Meyer and WinCo. The change that I've made is to pre-package some of those snacks into custom mix blends, just for me to grab when I need a portable, instant snack.

I've been filling snack-size ziploc bags, from Dollar Tree, with measured amounts of roasted almonds, roasted edamame, raisins, dried cranberries, and as an extra, a few jumbo chocolate chips. I set up several open bags on the counter, and measure ingredients into each bag, assembly line fashion. When I'm done, I have enough snack mix bags for the week, for myself.

I calculated the calorie count to be about 200, which is what I need when a meal is delayed. And my costs are about 65 cents per bag.

These packaged-by-me, energy mix bags meet all of my needs. They're nutritionally balanced. They're affordable. And they are quick to grab.

So, I chose dried edamame and almonds for protein, raisins and dried cranberries for some natural sugars and fiber, and the chocolate chips, just for my chocolate fix. What would you choose if you made energy mix for yourself? Do you have any favorite easy and healthy grab-and-go snacks?

More autumn decor, this time with canning jars and acrylic craft paint

You've probably seen this idea. I'e seen it a few different places. And I've seen the canning jars painted on the inside as well as outside. When painted on the inside, the jars retain that glossy, glass look. When painted on the outside, with a matte paint, they look more vintage. Anyways, I thought I'd give this project a try.

I love its rustic look, which seems to be a natural for autumn decor. And it's so easy, and inexpensive. I just used what I had on hand.

level of difficulty -- very easy

• canning jars (2, originally from Goodwill at 20 cents each)
• acrylic craft paint, just the ordinary, goes-on-sale-at Michael's-for-79 cents, kind
• craft paint brush
• fine sand paper (150 grit or finer -- you know this, right? the higher the number, the finer the grit)
• something to prop the jar up with, I used an upturned custard cup
• optional -- matte finish, clear acrylic sealer

I set up a spot on my kitchen counter, off to the side, with a half sheet of newspaper folded over as my work area.

Holding the jar in my left hand, I painted the jar with brush in my right, beginning with down by the bottom, but not covering the underside. I painted the rest of the jar, including threads and top rim. To paint the very top of the jar, I had to set this on the upturned custard cup. Allowed to dry overnight. (10 minutes, hands-on time)

Next day, I painted over the first coat, and set to dry. (5-10 minutes hands-on time)

Third day, I added one more coat of paint. the third coat of paint is optional, depending on the look you want. I wanted the jar to look fully opaque, and color to be very uniform. But I've also seen these done with just 2 coats, and a slightly more rustic look. (5-10 minutes hands-on time)

When the paint was thoroughly dry, I used the fine grit sand paper to sand off some of the paint in areas where paint would receive normal wear with time and use -- any raised surface, including threads and part of top edge, the raised lettering and a couple of wear spots on the shoulder of the jar, as well as near the base on the slight corner of the jar. (10 minutes hands-on time)

Optional final step -- you can spray your finished jar with a matte, clear acrylic spray, especially helpful if you will be using this jar for holding anything wet, like fresh flowers, or the jar will be placed outdoors, where it will be exposed to moisture. I skipped this step, as I didn't think it was necessary, and would cost extra money for the sealer.

This was a totally easy project. Took about 40 minutes, total hands-on time. I was able to set-up a work area in less than a 24-inch section of kitchen counter. And it cost me absolutely nothing, up-front. I made 2 jars, using 2 shades of acrylic paint that I already had. I love creating and crafting. So this filled that need.

I had a bouquet of autumn toned silk flowers for the larger jar. And for the smaller jar, I made a bouquet of twigs and dried leaves.

What do you think? I like the rustic look. And I love the paint colors, otherwise I wouldn't have had them on hand to begin with.

I have a super huge confession to make -- I sometimes buy those small vials of craft paint, simply because I love the color. I tell myself that I'll do this or that project, but I often don't. I just really love the color and so I have to have an excuse to buy the paint. At 79 cents or less a pop, I figure it's a cheap thrill for me. It's like women who have oodles of lipstick tubes in their cosmetic drawer, or a gazillion pair of shoes, 50-million pairs of colorful socks. We buy and collect them simply because we've fallen in love with seeing them, as individual pieces and en masse in a drawer or cupboard. And I do eventually find a project to use my little splurges on. So it's all a win! Before I even had money to buy the paint, I used to collect paint chips from the paint section of Home Depot. Not necessarily colors that I'd paint a room in my house, but just colors that I liked. I just like colors, I guess.

So, how about you? What kind of fall decor projects have you seen, on pinterest, websites, blogs or whereever, that you've wanted to try, yourself? Any super frugal ones, that you already have the materials for?

If you feel in the mood to share your own fall decor, and would like, you can email me photos, and I can do a post later this week or next showing off your autumn decor style. Email to lili.mounce  at  gmail.com   Thanks! I'd love, love, love to see some of the decor in your home! It gives me inspiration.