I love food. I mean, I really love food. By my appearance, you wouldn’t guess it. I stand a lean human whose weight wafts along that of disappearance. Yeah, I’m that thin. But regardless, I really enjoy eating food. That’s why for Freedom Friday I thought I’d give you a rundown of what I love to snack on, not so much to inform you what I think everyone else should be eating, but more to let you know how wonderful an experience it is to find a food worth eating.
Let’s start with the basics. I’m not a processed food kind of guy. I like eating chips now and again, but they don’t provide me with the comfort I crave to keep me going throughout the day. You’ll find, as you peruse the list, my thing is natural snacks. I’ve tried the chips and ice cream route, yet it doesn’t do much for me. If anything, I’m not satisfied.
Which brings me to the snacks I love—walnuts is one of them. There’s nothing quite like eating a handful of nuts to keep the energy going for the day. Nuts, especially, provide me with the protein I need to keep me focused and energized. I also enjoy the incredible taste. Who said you need salted nuts to satisfy a craving?
The energy lift doesn’t last long though, I suppose because I have a fast metabolism.
Next on the list is cheese. I gorge on cheese, particularly mozzarella. If anything is true, cheese makes Jack a happy boy. I’ll have it in chunks. I’ll spread it on a pita with some salsa sauce and away I go. Great snack. Really. I also love feta. I’ll talk about feta later, but it has such a well-rounded flavor, it’s hard to resists its draw.
Cucumbers are so high on my list of snacks that I’m surprised I haven’t placed it at the top of this post. Whenever I get the munchies, cucumbers deliver on the goods. They’re great on their own or simply with a little salt. Typically, I’ll wash the cucumber, cut it in half and eat it plain. Simple, right? If I’m really feeling adventurous, I’ll dice it, add salt, pepper, lemon, oregano, and feta cheese, sit on the couch and stuff my face while watching reruns of Love It or List It.
Next on my list are avocados. I have my wife to thank for introducing this fruit to our family a few years ago. Easiest way to eat this is to cut it lengthwise, add some lemon and salt and off you go. Great, great snack. Not only does it provide a good source of monounsaturated fat that reduces blood pressure, but also contains carotenoids, which protects against eye disease. I eat it because it’s a great snack.
I eat other snacks, but let’s limit the list to what I have here. Suffice it to say, my fridge and pantry are always full of snacks I like.
I know that real chocolate comes to mind, but we’ll not go there.
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What are your favorite snacks?
Looking to God 
Yeah, I love nuts (cashews are far too addictive) and I love cheese, my favourites being brie, Camembert, feta, halloumi, mozzarella, Parmigiano, ricotta and I am particularly fond of blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton and Dolcelatte. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a good mature cheddar or bit of Wensleydale. Yummy. And don’t forget the olives!
Oh boy, when I saw you posted about food, I couldn’t help but run downstairs to grab a snack. Before I read the post, I went to snack on some cheese. When I finally read the portion about cheese, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Cheese is a delectable comfort food for me. Add Love it or List it reruns and life is just too good for words… I knew you were great, but now I learn that you love cheese? You rock! Great post, Jack!
Aw, thanks, Kristin! I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
I’m with you on the subject of cheese! And feta is just delicious.
I could live without food…if that was actually possible. I’m really not a fan of preparing it or eating it.
I wish I liked walnuts but I really don’t. We are getting really adventurous with food at the moment and enjoying Mexican food. Less potatoes, bread and more avocados.
I find the more I get older the more organic food appeals to me. I used to not like cucumbers but like you, I love cucumbers. I can slice up a cucumber, add a little vinegar and pepper and that would be my snack. Great list.
I used to eat most stuff that otther kids hated or thought of as ” weird ” as a child. This included broccoli, mushrooms, oysters, sardines, etc. I couldn’t stomach buttermik, though. I found it disgusting AND repellent. Everything else I would try at least once.
Really? Well I didn’t get to eat broccoli until I was in my 20’s. Sardines, that’s staple food for us. But oysters though I’ve never tried. Does it taste the same as any other mussel type food?
Yes, but they’re fantastic smoked with olive oil.
I have an acquaintance who RAVES about the sushi bars there. That’s something that I shan’t ever try. 🙂
sushi is good but not every sushi place can make a good sushi. it was a good thing that when I first tried sushi I was with someone who knows a good place. 🙂
I told my acquaintance in Canada that I would probably never try sushi, then told her that I loved sardines, which resulted in a really negative response from her, putting it MILDLY !! 🙂
Have you tried eating canned sardines in tomato sauce? And add it on vermicelli pasta? Yum. Quick and cheap.
I also thought I would never try sushi. But then, I mostly eat the rolls with more crab meat than fish.
This is going on my List of Things To Do in the Near Future, definitely.
I like crab & lobster meat, but not the pre – packaged, processed stuff. Anything with life – prolonging anti – oxidants !
oh yeah. definitely go for fresh crab meat. I havent tasted lobster unfortunately. Lobster dipped in butter looks delicious.
If it’s relatively fresh & additive – free, then I’ll pursue it like the Holy Grail. 🙂
I meant ” in Canada ” to clarify. Some areas have them back to back, supposedly.
Love your list! I am with you on green olives, I crave them.
I wish I were so wholesome, Jack! I grew up eating garbage snacks, unfortunately, and that weakness has stuck with me, so I just make sure to keep those wicked tempters out of the pantry as much as possible! Current favorite snacks: pistachios, vanilla yogurt & fruit (either mango or strawberry), peanut butter/banana muffins (you can hide carrots and such in there to fool picky children–or adults!), pretzels, pretzels and mozzarella, cantaloupe, and watermelon. As you can see, I have a sweet tooth. Oh, and I can ask him to look it up, but my husband heard a recent podcast and apparently we thin people have a slow metabolism (we retain and use the food for longer, nourishing the body longer, and having less that we don’t use and, thus, excrete). Fascinating; I’d always thought “I have a fast metabolism” (I struggled to gain 23# for the first child), but apparently that might not be so. Oh, and, there’s a Greek festival in the STL area this weekend; if I should happen to miraculously make it there, I’ll save some spanikopita, feta, et al for you, Jack! 🙂
Your walnuts would be even better for you if you soaked them in some salt water overnight and then dried them out in a dehydrator. Problem is, not everybody has one of those and in my experience doing it in the oven doesn’t work well, no matter what you may read online to the contrary. But it’s worth doing if you can; nuts contain phytates, and they inhibit your body’s ability to use the minerals you get in other foods. Phytates are actually anti-nutrients and they are worth avoiding IMO. If you google NUTS + PHYTATES you’ll find a ton of info out there; the Weston Price Foundation has a lot on this but you’ll find stuff on Mark’s Daily Apple or even the Wheatbelly site. Plus, soaked walnuts taste a lot better (to me, anyway); they are quite crunchy when you dry them out, but less acidic than the “plain” ones.
My own personal favorite nut is the unsalted pistachio; I love those!
“By my appearance, you wouldn’t guess it.”
Now that’s just terribly unfair. I can eat a walnut and you can watch it slowly attach itself to my body in a matter of minutes.
You eat some good things, nuts, cheese, avocados, all healthy fats that help feed your brain. We really did ourselves a disservice with some of this fat free, artificial sweetner stuff. Not only is it not good for you, much of it isn’t even food. Kind of funny to have to say these days, but the key to good health is to eat actual food.
Reblogged this on Rare Films & TV Classics on DVD.
Thank you for the reblog, Brian. I’m glad you enjoyed reading it!
Love cheese in any form and walnuts as well. Your list looks like mine except I will throw in a Cheeto or two (uh handful that is)
My snacks are an unapologetic indulgence. Crisps, biscuits, cheesebread, crisps (crinkle cut, Pringles), crisps… I could go on, but the list will mainly be crisps. (Cheese and onion flavour, sour cream and chives flavour, beef flavour, smokey bacon flavour… )
So–I take it you don’t like crisps? 😉
I got a Magic Bullet for this past Christmas. It gave me a slight fiber boost w / some delicious homemade smoothies, I try to eat as organically as possible, but I am decidedly NOT the skinny kid I was back when I was in my 20’s. If someone tells me that my love of beer is responsible, they get an ICY STARE / GLARE. 🙂
Great list, Jack. In addition, there are tomatoes, bananas, and ginger on my list.
My favourite snack: a mixture of nuts, dried fruit and cereal sometimes with vanilla yogurt but most often on its own.
Sounds delicious. I also didn’t include dried fruit, which I truly love!