the mile high snack

in honor of halloween, let’s talk about something scary. research shows that most people would rather die than speak in front of people.  my “roommate" climbs the sides of mountains for fun, but is petrified of spiders.  i pee my pants when i see a snake.  and not surprisingly, i’m also scared of running out of food.  my fear is wildly irrational.  i’m blessed and never in my life have been anywhere close to starvation.  but nonetheless, when i camp or travel or even run errands, i have to have snacks with me just in case i get hungry.  which is why when i was flying this weekend, i felt quite anxious when i overheard the flight attendant tell a hungry passenger that there were no snacks on board. no pretzels, no peanuts, no $11 craptastic sandwich.  it's bad enough that they charge for snacks now, but to not even offer them should be illegal.  i mean, obviously, i had snacks with me.  but what about the rest of the plane?!  what were they going to do?!  the woman next to me was traveling with her teenage son (read: food bottomless pit).  she did not pack any snacks and was disappointed when she heard the no-snacks-on-board news.  enter moral dilemma.  do i share my snacks and anxiously endure the rest of the flight knowing that i have no snack backup?  or do i keep my peanut butter and crackers to myself in case hunger rears it’s ugly head before we land?  in the end, i shared my snack.  the idea of a kid not getting a snack was worse than my fear of not having backup. the woman graciously accepted and the world was less two hungry people.  which is a good thing indeed. 

snack shared: peanut butter and crackers    

snack fact: united & virgin have the best snacks

snacks that look like plastic

i love whole foods.  i really do.  the colorful produce, the twenty varieties of flour, and the cheese, dear god, the cheese…it’s a beautiful place.  if i were super rich, i’d do all my shopping there.  but the fact that I am not super rich coupled with the fact that i grew up in the midwest and have anti-california cravings, means that whole foods cannot meet all my snacking needs.  and every october this fact is driven home when I bake…wait for it…funfetti cupcakes!  my soon-to-be-husband loves funfetti cupcakes.  so for his birthday each year i disregard one of my personal rules: do not eat food that looks like plastic.  funfetti cupcakes look more like a toy than a snack.  they are decorated with not one, but four colors not found in nature.  the tiny little candies in the batter and icing can only be described as the love child of playdoh and a beebee gun.  despite their festive nature and resemblance to the rainbow, you can’t find funfetti very easily in san francisco.  after 3 years of having my sister ship me boxes of betty crocker from missouri, i did find a remote grocery store that carries it (most of the time).  one year i tried to make homemade funfetti.  does.  not.  work.  funfetti can only be created from the box, otherwise its just white cake with sprinkles.  but it’s totally worth searching for.  they taste like birthday.  mostly, it’s a happy thing to watch my man eat 3 cupcakes at a time with the expression i can only guess reflects his 6 year-old self.  are there any snacks you love that resemble plastic? 

snack shared:  funfetti cupcakes

put the fun in funfetti

breaking bread (on the bus)

i don’t own a car, which normally i love, but it is a missed snacking opportunity.  food and drink is not allowed on the bus and i try to respect this generally.  generally.  sometimes it can’t be helped and one must snack on the bus.  the other day i hopped on the bus and snagged a seat next to a nearly elderly woman carrying far too many bags.  she looked tousled to say the least.  (for the record, i’m usually a keep-to-yourself-kinda-bus-rider.  pleasantries are fine, but for me the bus is a great opportunity to zone out or listen to one of a zillion podcasts i never get to.)  but despite her obviously frazzled day, this woman had an especially warm aura and i wanted to be her friend.  before i had a chance, she leaned over to me and asked, “do you mind if i eat a few grapes?  i just need a snack!”  well, now you’re speaking my language!  so i said, “of course not, i have some almonds in my bag if you would like some?  we can have a little picnic together.”  and so we did.  i got off a few stops later, but what a lovely snack it was.  refreshing purple grapes, yummy raw almonds…but mostly wonderful because the bus is a place where people don’t really look at, talk to or much less share food with their travel mates.  city living has the potential for moments like this all the time.  this kind lady reminded me of all the ones I might be missing because I’m too uptight or stressed or simply unaware.  what do you think about breaking bread on the bus?

snack shared: juicy purple grapes and yummy raw almonds



sometimes you gotta break some rules



why i love snacks

thanks for visiting, snackers.  i'm sarah and i really love snacks.   here's why:

  

no. 1  

they are unplanned.  so few things are.  it's like a mini surprise party by yourself in the beginning/middle/end of the day. 

no. 2  

they are delicious.  things that taste good...are good.  and things that taste good make me feel good.

no. 3  

they aren't any work.  you can find snacks basically anywhere.  walgreens, coffee shops, my purse at any given moment.  sometimes you find them on the bus (more on that later) 

  

i love them so much i decided to blog about them.  well, not just about snacks.  that would be silly.  but about things that bring happiness like snacks do.  little treats.   morsels of goodness.  happy moments sprinkled throughout the day.  i'll write about things that unexpectedly brought a bite of joy to my day.  maybe it'll help you notice the little bites of goodness throughout your day.

snack from my purse

snack from a coffee shop

 


 

snack from walgreens