Really cheap really filling snacks

[Waoop]

If you had to provide snacks in a rented home for 4 days for 30 people and wanted them to be really inexpensive what would you choose?

Context: family rental for 4 days in October the cost covered by the invitees.

We have been allocated snacks for 4 days as our contribution and we are trying to disguise that we have a very very small budget. Financially we are really struggling. The exact brief was a 'snack basket for each room'

There are three main meals a day, but from seeing what people are planning for these some are really light. Yogurt and fruits for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. We are in charge of the snacks so expect people maybe hungry.

Looking for really cheap and filling snacks. We have more time than money so we can shop from multiple stores.

What sort of budget should we set aside and what would you recommend?

Really? Packaged items make you vomit? How extraordinary.

Fortunately most people can tolerate a share
packet of crisps and some Jaffa cakes.

There are of course people who make baking their personality. Some are brilliant and produce delicious home made items with appropriate hygiene standards. Others are simply delusional. It wouldn’t occur to me to have a blanket rule about this.

I would look out for offers and buy the stuff alongside my weekly shop throughout the summer (assuming you're buying stuff that's long-lasting obviously) so as to spread the cost.

And as others have mentioned, visit stores that do bargains like B&M or whatever you have near you, and see what they have on offer.

If you have time on your side, you'll be able to pick up bargains as and when they're on offer, and save yourself heaps that way.

Pot noodles.
I think making your own banana loaf and flapjack is a very good idea.

Honestly, providing this would be my idea of hell haha.

B and M, Lidl etc will have some super cheap stuff...

I'd go for cereal bars etc, packets of biscuits, own brand multi packs of crisps or similar, wrapped cake bars. If your budget is £100 then you can get plenty. maybe a few packs of wrapped sweets that can be decorative.

This is the kind of stuff we have at our church youth group socials.

Why don’t you bake things, it’s cheap and you can cater for many people:

• Brownies
• Cupcakes
• Cookies
• Cake loaf

And then get part size crisps packets, popcorn, biscuits and hummous & other dips

netmums banana flapjack - half the sugar in the recipe.

You’d seriously put those in “a 'snack basket for each room'?

So much potential for huge wastage here.

Keep it simple. Few bits of fruit, one packet of chocolate digestives, bag of haribo and/or dairy milk. A couple of packets of crisps.

I would be so disappointed if on a treat/celebration weekend away someone thought nice snacks for my room were cheap lunchbox fruit and bloody boiled eggs 😳
OP has already said she doesn't want to look like she is cheaping out.

OP you need to get posh crisps, nice biscuits (eg the boxes of nicer cookies, big family packs of custard creams etc will scream cheap), some chocolate (go smaller nicer rather than big budget blocks), nice crackers (not a family pack of Jacobs cream crackers) and maybe some more treat-feeling fruit like some grapes, strawberries etc?
Although frankly if it's to last a few days with no refrigeration I wouldn't bother with fruit.
By 'snacks' I'd expect they mean pre packaged stuff.

I personally wouldn't bake stuff unless you are genuinely a good baker who can produce quite professional looking stuff as otherwise again you risk looking a bit cheap/budget.

If you're worried breakfast is too light then bags of longer life croissants (some come individually wrapped) and chocolate chip brioche could work well. Generally only £1 or so for a bag of 6 or 8 so a bag in each room/basket would last well for 3 days.

Own brand crisps aren't too expensive- either multipack or one "share" bag in each basket.

Tesco cheap salted peanuts are 60p for a 200g bag and would be more filling than some other options.

Cereal bars could work too if you don't want to make homemade flapjacks or similar.

Do you have a Heron Foods? They usually have bargain snacks.

Lol, I would cry if my room was full of boiled eggs!

I agree, I would not be accepting that as breakfast. Snacks are very expensive and will be gobbled up in a day or 2 of they get a yoghurt for breakfast.

OP - Why can't each family bring snacks they enjoy for their own family and pool money together to buy ingredients for the main meals? That way everyone has an equal expense for shared meals and can budget for their own snacks.

This is a good idea rather than individual bags!

If you have a farmfoods near you, try there. We get loads from there, the biscuits/cakes are quite cheap. Their large bags of popcorn are the nicest we’ve had (I think it is called big night in or something like that).

We don’t have much money too.
id be going to Lidl - they have lots of cheap brand crisps - Pringles wotsits etc all cheap brand.
breadsticks and dip - cucumber/ carrot
bananas
They do cakes in packets too cheap

I think the biggest mistake here is basket per room. It means so much waste as it will depend what each person in each room likes.

Cant you discuss just doing communal
snacks in downstairs dining room? It will be far easier to just clean a surface and fill a few bowls with fruit (satsumas/ apples/ bananas) , a few large jars with pretzels and popcorn and cookies decanted. A large jar of Haribo if kids going. Then a selection of nice crisps in individual bags ie kettle. Put some
scoops and small bowls next for them to decant themselves
That way people can just pick and choose what they like.

That way you can buy decent quality, and not waste money or time on individual bags

Pasta chips. You just boil pasta then let it steam cool. Cook in an air fryer with flavouring and add salt. Very good for my autistic kids who like the crunchy texture.

For 30 people it's going to be dexpensive unless you make them yourself.
I would make flapjacks, and trybake cakes cut up small, cheap salted peanuts, make some biscuits maybe with chocolate chips in, and mandoline some potatoes and make kettle chips.Cut up carrots apples celery and spring onions, make some dip.
This will be about a tenth of the cost of buying the cheapest snacks and has the advantage of if you run out you can make some more at no extra cost.

I’d look at Alice Taylor eats on Facebook for cake ideas. you can get some that use oil that ends up much cheaper than butter. I’d do a nut free huge batch of carrot cake (you could freeze in advance and take out and ice the day before). You can make with carrots, sugar, oil, flour, bit of spice - all cheap. I’d then ice with icing sugar and orange juice so that it doesn’t need to go in the fridge. See if you can find or borrow some biscuit tins and do a mixed (cheap) tin per room. You can then keep some biscuits back and refill if needed. Little fruit selection per room (market or Aldi), chocolate crispy cakes made with Aldi chocolate and rice crispies.

Best way to make it look really premium whilst not spending much is making stuff yourself (biscuits, flapjacks etc), or getting big packs of stuff (biscuits, sweets etc) and taking them out of the packaging into little mixed cellophane or paper bags. Love the idea of homemade popcorn- that would cost pennies and look really special. Top up with apples, tangerines etc.

it sounds like such a lovely trip away 😊

Bananas and carrots a plenty
Biscuits made from margarine, sugar, eggs, flour - budget versions of all except the eggs
Bags of home made trail mix (peanuts, raisins and chocolate chips)

Can someone recommending the 'cheap to make ' flapjacks provide a recipe with rough costings please?

I mainly ask as they seem to require rolled oats which seem quite pricey wherever I've seen it sold

If you want homemade i would say flapjacks, cupcakes, ham and cheese wheels- they won’t last the 4days, i make up batches of 24 and they go within day and half, banana breads, apple cake- these will stay moist for 4 days no problem.
mini packs of cookies/iced gems/fingers/jammy dodgers, they come in packs of 5/6 and only £1.50-£2 a pack.
sharing party mix bags are generally cheap.
at Morrisons they sometimes sell big buckets of popcorn for cheap, could share it out into individual homemade cones or bags.
fruit if you want something healthy, the kids size snacking friut is generally cheaper and more for your money.
i buy Morrisons savers cake bars- once out of the box they are in clear individual packets so no one will know 🤫, think they are 75p for 5 and pretty good, nuts, raisins/any dried fruit.
thats about all i can think of without a fridge 🤔.
edited to add: shortbread, so cheap and easy to make too.

If you are looking for long life / no fridge snacks try looking on approved foods website.
lots of very heavily reduced branded snacks (usually close to best before date but absolutely fine to consume)
Branded bits peppered in with homemade will make it look more expensive