The Girl on the Other Coast: May 25, 2013

Here we go again! Another collaborative post with my west coast friend, G. I am a big fan of snacks and I was curious how the snacks I keep on hand differ from those G reaches for on the west coast. We'll take a look at hers here. Curious what I'm munching on? (Humor me. Pretend you're curious.) Take a virtual voyage to Little Italy and find out!
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I L-O-V-E snacks! I would rather snack all day than have full meals. Seriously. It's a problem.

So when Dawn asked me to list my top 5 favorite snacks I actually had a hard time coming up with a list. Only 5? Shoot...what do I even eat?? (Forgive me, my brain has been mush lately...)

So then I thought about my favorite store. And then I thought about all my favorite treats there. And my list was born!

1. These fruit leathers are delicious! I normally nibble on one in the morning at school. It's just enough to (hopefully) tied me over until lunch. They say unsweetened but are fantastic. I could probably eat 5 a day...but I don't! I need to save room for my other snacks ;)


2. I love popcorn. I have to have it at the movie theater. I always ate it while studying in college. Something about the buttery goodness. And this popcorn? Well, I don't have to pop it...I can't burn it...and it has the perfect butter-to-salt ratio. Winner!


3. I have a serious weakness for chips. I will take salty over sweet any day! Having said that, these are the perfect blend of salty and sweet. The BBQ flavor makes my mouth water. I could easily put away this entire bag in one sitting. In my defense, the bag isn't THAT big. At least that's what I tell myself when I look into and realize there are about 5 chips left. Oops!


4. These are my number 1 favorite chip. They are literally finger licking good. The first time I had these was in the airport in Maui and I fell in love. Mr. Smith will sometimes surprise me and bring home a family size bag of these. Do you think he gets a chance to have any? I don't think so! I don't know what family they are talking about! Get in my belly!


5. My one semi-healthy treat. Trader Joe's yogurt is super creamy and flavorful. My favorites are the peach and mango. I love these alone and I love them in a smoothie. I really dislike milk so this is a good way to get some calcium in me. Especially after all the salty chips!


ps. Yes, I also eat fruits and vegetables.

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(edit to add mine)

I am the Queen of the Snacks. It all started back when I worked in daycare. I became a grazer (and then a good dinner) instead of an eater of three big meals a day. It's modified a bit since then, but I remain a snacker. If you were to dig through my cabinets here, I can almost guarantee you will find all five of these snacks stocked up!

Several years ago, I got myself hooked on Archer Farms Monster Mix from Target. It was becoming an expensive habit, since I was eating it as my mid-morning snack Monday through Friday, so I started buying the ingredients and mixing my own.


I try to keep a healthy-ish snack in my lunch bag for those late afternoon munchies. I will also grab a handful to stave off hunger pangs if dinner is taking too long.


Oh, come on. There was no way I was making it through this list with mostly healthy snacks! After dinner, I need something sweet. M&Ms are just right and they come in so many flavors! Peanut Butter are my favorite, but Pretzel is a good runner-up, and I often have some other seasonal flavor on deck as well. They are a little palmful of happiness.


It gets hot here. And it stays hot here. And sometimes a girl just needs to be cooled off and refreshed.


I think these fall somewhere between healthy and not. These serve so many purposes: they fill a salty craving, they are light enough for when I just need to crunch on something but am not starving, they can calm an unhappy tummy. They *must* be the pretzel sticks though. The tiny ones, not the giant ones.

Hmmmmm... I think I need a snack now that I mention it!