[Sara Noel]

These are my local walmart prices:
Motts applesauce snack cups
6-3.9 oz or let's call it 23.5 oz = $1.64

Motts applesauce jar
1-48 oz = $1.78

These are current prices.

Less of course if you have coupons or if you buy store brand. Or gasp. Make it yourself.
http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm

 

[aimeebee]

Convenience and extra packing are expensive! I have several jars in my stockpile from Aldi's that were 89 cents. Not sure if this is the current price...I've had these a while.

 

[Sara Noel]

Yep. Aldi is great for things like applesauce. Pay a lot for not only packaging but name brand, too. Applesauce is one of those things that doesn't really vary too greatly store to store and brand to brand.
I'll admit, I slack off from making it at home. I should can some this Fall. My kids eat a lot of it.

 

[aimeebee]

Yep. I'll admit, I slack off from making it at home. I should can some this Fall. My kids eat a lot of it.

Same here. I have two apple trees in the back yard, paid for by a previous owner = free applesauce if you're not a slacker. I made several apple pies and some extra pie filling, but never got around to making applesauce. I think dh's friend got us a cider press at his grandpa's estate sale, though. That will be awesome for next year!

 

[fixer]

We make and can applesauce from our trees each year. It is not hard, just a little time. We cut and core the apples, then cook them until soft. We don't even peel them since we run them through a food mill. We do add cranberries to the apples while they cook. This is something Dw brought here from New England. Then we can it. We usually have plenty of apple and this is the best way for us to preserve them. We eat the applesauce fresh and sometimes bake with it.

 

[ladytoysdream]

My norm was to pick up the 4 pack of applesauce at the store for hubby's lunch. They are 4 ounces x 4 per pack = 1 pound for $ 1 , at the dollar store. Sometimes I got if for less than $ 1 at Aldi's.

This past fall, we bought 2 bushes of apples. Not sure how much applesauce I canned into pints, but a LOT.
Then I put quite a few slices into quart bags in the freezer.

Hopefully when he starts taking lunches again in the spring when they go back to their regular good weather schedule, I can put the applesauce into some kind of container in his lunch box a few times a week.

 

[Starlight9803]

I buy the big jars of applesauce too now that my source of fresh apples has went away. I invested in several packages of 1/4 cup reusable containers at the $ store, and now use them to separate applesauce, yogurt, pudding, etc into small, easy containers for the kids. Takes a little time on my part, but the kids can get snacks for themselves without dishing out too much and wasting it.

 

[homesteadmamma]

We make and can our own too. It's so easy to do.

 

[joyofsix]

I make my own applesauce from free apples (neighbors) but only 3 of us like it. I buy Aldi's applesauce and put it in little round gladware containers for them to take to school.

 

[MoonMommy]

I shop in my mom's pantry. She makes applesauce out of any apple she can get her hands on. I enjoy it because I know exactly what is in it and where the apples came from. My kids don't eat too much of it straight, but I have started using it as a substitute for oil in recipes, so I will probably go through quite a bit more.

 

[MRAHoffman]

Actually...

my mom and son made some this afternoon and it is on the stove waiting for my "approval"...mmmm. Take care and God bless.

 

[fixer]

I shop in my mom's pantry. She makes applesauce out of any apple she can get her hands on. I enjoy it because I know exactly what is in it and where the apples came from. My kids don't eat too much of it straight, but I have started using it as a substitute for oil in recipes, so I will probably go through quite a bit more.

My MIL was diagnosed with diabetes at an older age. She can up with several good recipes substituting applesauce for oil and other things. It makes a recipe healthy and you really don't miss it.

 

[Grainlady]

I noticed something in Sara Noel's example... I thought most individual-sized applesauce cups were 4-ounces. So Motts have had a size reduction and that's just shy of a serving amount (4-ounces of applesauce is a serving).

Individual sizes of anything are nearly always more expensive than making your own portions from a large size container. That's why it's important to figure unit price (how much each is per ounce).

The individual servings-size in the example are .07 cents an ounce while the larger size is .037 (almost .04) cents an ounce. That's a huge difference in price per ounce....

Not to mention you get 6 servings from the individual size containers while you get 12 (4-oz.) servings from the 48-oz. jar. If you would have a problem using a 48-oz. jar, you can freeze the applesauce in small plastic containers and make your own single-servings. They thaw pretty fast (overnight) in the refrigerator.

We dehydrate what seems like "tons" of apple slices (free-for-the-picking, so the price is great) and use them for homemade applesauce, apple cobbler/pie, and snack food. That's another cost effective method.

You can also make applesauce with fresh apples at home and freeze it in portions.

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/creativesnacks/r/applsaucerec.htm

Or a little fancier recipe:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000102applesauce.php

By making your own applesauce, you can also control the ingredients. Did you notice any high fructose corn syrup in the recipe for homemade applesauce? I avoid foods that contain high fructose corn syrup, opting for a low-glycemic, natural, honey-like sweetener - agave nectar, instead.

Last tip for homemade applesauce...
Add sugar to applesauce EARLY for chunkier sauce. Add sugar later for smooth applesauce.

 

[Mavourneen]

In a completely unfrugal move, I've been giving my son his medicine in the individual applesauce cups.

*shame*

I'm going to start packing his lunches with those cups and serving him his medicine in applesauce from the jar.

Thanks for this thread!

 

[Judi Dial]

I do two things with apples, neither of them applesauce. I make apple salad in the winter (vinegarette, w/ walnut oil, apples, walnuts) and when I find salvage apples I make "cooked apples" in the microwave.

The salvage apples have their bad spots/cores removed, and are zapped in the microwave. That's it. I don't cook 'em soft, but they're cooked, this take a few minutes and it's different almost every time, but almost always < 5 minutes. I serve this with dinner if we need a side dish or serve it as dessert. I've served it over vanilla ice cream and with chicken.

The salvage apples don't always work well for the salad unfortunately.

Judi

 

[HandyMom]

Applesauce is one of those things that, if I buy the big jar, it goes bad before it's half finished and it doesn't come in the flavored variety that DD likes. That's what's wrong with buying things with coupons or on sale - the kids prefer them to everything else then and the "plain old" isn't good enough anymore.

 

[peanut]

I make all our applesauce. Some is canned (sweetened and spiced with cinnamon), some is frozen (no additives). I use the frozen stuff for myself and baking. DH gets the sweetened stuff. I am fortunate enough to know people who provide crabapples free in the fall. It's nice to get them right fresh.

Jean

 

[guest002]

My dd won't eat a jar of applesauce fast enough. It always ends up w/ mold on it and thrown away. For the perishable reason alone I buy the single serving apple sauce.

 

[i.m.cheap]

Less of course if you have coupons or if you buy store brand. Or gasp. Make it yourself.
http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm

I love to make my own applesauce. It is only cheaper if you have a free or cheap source of apples, though. It takes at least 2-3 pounds of apples to make enough sauce for 4-5 servings, and here apples are anywhere from $1.69-$2.49 a pound.

 

[heartofmine]

I've been trying to tell my dh this. We were buying applesauce by the cups for fil to take his pills. Its crazy when jars are so much cheaper. Dh's aunt sent some homemade cans of applesauce for him to take meds with and its sooo good.