Duane Reade: THE Place for Kids Snacks

Monday afternoon of this lazy holiday weekend, and I realized next week I needed snacks for the class and snacks for softball. Not to mention, the regular snacks I need for my own kids every day.

I will be so glad when the school year is over and I can welcome with open arms a big snack-less summer.

But until them, forward snack-making I will go.

So I entered Duane Reade with five items running through my head on an endless loop, because even though I desperately didn't want to forget anything, I was still too lazy to write it down.

The five things on my list were:

Three snack must-haves:
- Popcorn (which I had seen in The Duane Reader was a great deal - two boxes for $3!)

- Cheddar Penguins (because my children love these)
- Grapes (another kid favorite)

I also wanted to try a slow cooker Cheesecake recipe I had just seen, but these two items were less urgent, but still I wanted to remember :
- Cream cheese (3 packages) and
- Graham crackers

I had a few other things to do in Chelsea, so I did those before I went to the Duane Reade at Eighth Avenue and West 17th Street (131 Eighth Avenue), which if I was the kind of person to pick favorites, would be one of mine because it has a huge grocery selection and it's open 24/7.

Seriously, this location has everything. Like gluten free cookies. And Mint Chutney.

So of course I wasn't surprised to see they had the more basic items on my list like grapes, cream cheese and graham crackers:

Surprisingly, finding the Duane Reade brand Nice! Cheddar Penguins and Nice! Popcorn was more difficult, but within a few minutes I had those items checked off my list, too.

And I was glad to see The Duane Reader sale price I had seen online was also clearly marked in the store.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, The Duane Reader is full of great deals (the current ones are good through June 2) that you can either view online or in the store.

There are also lots of signs throughout the store indicating items that are special Duane Reader deals.

I grabbed an Odwalla smoothie for the walk back to the train station, and spent the commute home applauding myself for remembering everything on my list and for being set for team snacks, class snacks and my own kids snacks for the week ahead.

When I got home, it only took me about five minutes to think of several things I needed, like now. So I'll be back to Duane Reade soon, possibly even with a written list instead of a mental one.

Also, when I got home my husband told me our A/C wasn't working (outdoor temp: a balmy 93). So, there's that.

In the meantime, at least we have snacks.

For how to make cute butterfly snacks (perfect for a class or a team) click here. You can make them with grapes and popcorn, or grapes and cheddar penguins.

For the slow cooker cheesecake recipe, click here.

For more photos from my trip to Duane Reade, visit my Google+ story, Duane Reade: THE Place for Kids Snacks.

Visit The Duane Reader online for a good read and to find great deals

You can also like Duane Reade on Facebook, follow them on Twitter @DuaneReade as well as at the hashtags #DReade and #DreadeVIP.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All opinions are my own.

I am also part of the Duane Reade VIP blogger team (follow along on Twitter at #DreadeVIP).