How to Save Money on Juice for Toddlers
As a first-time mom, I thought it was totally normal for kids to drink juice throughout the day. They are thirsty, so you give them juice that says 100% real juice and is marketed as healthy for kids, right?
Well after my son had some gastrointestinal issues, I was informed by our pediatrician that kids don’t need much juice at all!
Are you as surprised as I was? Just look at all the marketing out there that tells consumers that you should be giving juice to your children and that it is super healthy.
The average size bottle of juice is 64oz, which is about 16 servings for a toddler. One bottle of juice should last for a little over 2 weeks (16 days).
The average price for 100% fruit juice in a 64oz size is about $3.00.
Is Frozen Juice Cheaper?
Frozen juice can cut your juice budget in half! The cost per prepared ounce of frozen juice is usually about half the cost of ready to drink juice.
I have found the average 8 oz size container of frozen juice tends to run about $1.20, and it makes 48 oz of juice. All you have to do is take the container out of the freezer and let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning you add 36 oz of water to the concentrate in a jug or pitcher, and stir to combine.
The 64oz bottle of ready to drink juice runs about $3.00 and that means each ounce costs about 4 cents. The frozen juice comes out to about 2.5 cents per ounce. The frozen juice is also about 12 toddler servings.
Some research even shows that drinking frozen orange juice may be more nutritious than drinking ready to serve orange juice.
10 Juice Alternatives for Toddlers
So based on the data above, we can determine that for every toddler in your house, you should be spending a maximum of $5 every two weeks.
Now what can we give our kids to drink besides juice, that will also save money?
1. Water the juice down.
So, I am obviously guilty of giving my first kid tons of juice and to help wean the poor guy off of his juice addiction, I started cutting the juice with water. I started out with 75% juice to 25% water and every couple of days I would just keep upping the percentage of water.
My son shocked me by not even noticing the change. Now as a 5 year old, he drinks about 90% water to 10% juice and can have a couple glasses a day.
2. Water with fruit
I know that sounds like juice, but actually it is water, and you add frozen berries to it in the summertime. The berries act like ice cubes as well as add a hint of flavor.
Next time you are at your local dollar tree, check out their frozen section for frozen fruit! I am able to get a 10 oz bag of mixed berries, strawberries, or tropical fruits for $1.25.
If you compare the cost of frozen fruit at the grocery store, you can easily pay $3 to $5 for the same size bag of fruit. The ones I have found at the dollar store are typically no sugar added and no preservatives, but always double check the labels.
You can also get fancy with your water and add slices of lemon, slices of lime, and herbs like thyme and rosemary!
(Pro tip: freeze your own fruit like blueberries when they are super cheap in summertime, so you can have them easily available in the wintertime too! We live out in the country, so we actually have friends that grow blackberries and blueberries. We stock up for free every summer!)
3. Milk at Meals
We started only offering milk and water at mealtime, and the craziest thing happened……my kids started eating more food! When they had juice or watered-down juice, they would fill up on drinking and not eat. Then an hour later, they would complain how hungry they were and wanted a snack.
So, this simple switch, made my kids start eating the healthy dinner and actually cut down on the snacking. I call that a win-win!
4. Switch to Whole Fruit
We already knew that my son loved the flavor of fruit juices, so we started shopping for whole fruit that was in season. Sure enough, he loved fresh fruit and now we serve all meals with a side of fruit like berries, grapes, oranges wedges, apple slices, or a banana.
(Pro tip: buying fruit that is in season is always cheaper and usually tastes better too! Compare prices between buying a whole bag of apples versus only buying a few at a time. I have noticed sometimes I can get a whole bag of fruit cheaper than just a few pieces and other times the few pieces are cheaper)
5. Try Coconut Water
If you’re really wanting to get away from juice but still have a sweet taste, try some coconut water. I actually see coconut water go on sale a lot so if you can get a good deal, it may be a great alternative.
One warning though is not all coconut water is very healthy. Some of the flavored versions have lots of added sugar to them, so try to stick with the plain versions. I would still try to limit the amounts of coconut water to be the same as the juice recommendations.
(Pro tip: coconut water is very high in potassium, so if your kids don’t like a lot of vegetables, it can be a good source.)
How can I save money on juice?
Hopefully these suggestions can help cut down your grocery budget when it comes to drinks for kids. Try to always buy juice in larger quantities to save money as well.
When buying juice in individual servings like pouches or boxes, it is going to be very expensive compared to buying larger bottles.
If you are trying to lower your grocery budget, stop buying sports drinks, sodas, and fruit drinks. These are all mainly sugar and water, so not only are they expensive, but they are not healthy for children or adults.
In general, you will find that by eating and drinking healthier you can actually save a lot of money on groceries every month!
Drink a lot of OJ? Check out “Is it cheaper to make your own Orange Juice?” and the results may surprise you! Also check out “Is it cheaper to buy Limes or Lime Juice?“
