Snacks

I'm still trying to figure out how to stop eating cheap chocolate candy in the office every day during my afternoon slump, predictably between 3-5 pm. I am low on energy, and actually hungry in many instances. A handful of nuts doesn't do it for me, doesn't cut the cravings. So I went to check out snacks.

Whole Foods to the rescue. I went nuts in the chips aisle (see what I did there?). I got chips, and I got dips, and I got crunchy things, and I got savory things, and I got sort-of sweet things.

I'm working my way through these. The plantain chips are really good, though I'm no fan of bananas. They are very very salty, and it appears part of what I am craving at that time is salt. The crispy broad beans are also very salty and filling.

The lentil chips are highly processed food that tastes like lightly salted cardboard. I'm disappointed - I like a lot of Saffron Road products. I'm too cheap to throw them away, and they make adequate shovels for bringing tabbouleh to my mouth, so that's what's up with that.

Cashews are the carbiest of nuts, and it seems I'm also craving some starch in the late afternoon, so that is one nut I am consistently reaching for. Of course I get the roasted with salt.

I've found a series of Moroccan lentil dips sold at Whole Foods, that are fabulous with pita chips. I brought them to a potlock this past weekend. I bet they would be easy to make - sort of like the legendary Mediterranean lentil-and-feta dip my friend Liz often serves to the delight of her guests - but vegan.

These chips with dips are getting me through the afternoons, and I am finding it's good during this busy summer to have a different chip and dip combo for dinner. It's freeing, since it's usually just me, to do a quick, cold snack than to take the time to fix something and sit down and eat.  I suspect when cold weather rolls in, I'll want an actual meal again, but for now it's nice to feel like I'm eating light and not taking too much time.