10 Ways To Master The Art of Snacking

Roasted Peanuts (In Shell): For me, there are few things more therapeutic than diving into a bowl of in-shell salted peanuts. It’s not the tidiest snack. There’ll be plenty of visual and audible evidence of this snack choice. But who cares? Take me out to the ball game, dammit! Nuts.com is an easy way to buy this one in bulk. Price: $13.30 for a 4.75 pound bag. Seller: Nuts.com Nuts.com

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With the right choices, snacks in between meals or shared among friends make life more bearable

Snacks. Picking the right one is an art. And I should know given my unabashed, excessive desire for a good one.

Snacks are an icebreaker. Set a bowl of stove popped popcorn on the coffee table and suddenly a dry conversation turns into a debate about the best kernels, flavoring techniques and the perfect beverages to wash it down. Keep the right snack in your cubicle and your desk becomes the new water cooler. Offer up the right snack during an at-home movie date and you might go from picking snack tray items to picking a wedding reception menu.

How is it that 3 ounces of salted giant corn nuts and a chilled beer in the evenings can take some of the sting out of even my worst days? I haven’t yet figured that out.

And by the time I’m finished writing this, I might have eaten all 855 calories in the 5-ounce bag of El Sabroso pork cracklins sitting on my desk. I’ll try to exercise some restraint.

I have been told a time or two (or seven) that I’m greedy. But I am not one who is ignorant of the potential dietary benefits -- and pitfalls -- of a reasonable amount of daily snacking.

We all know how miserable the day can begin if all we’ve consumed until our 1 p.m. break is a cup of Greek yogurt. And then we’re feeling slightly guilty when we have to ask for a doggy bag after lunch! Appetite control is one of the main reasons we should snack. In a guide to healthy snacking for Livestrong.com, Eliza Martinez writes that adults who snack in the afternoon get “through their tasks more quickly and efficiently.”