Happy Friday!

If you ever have the pleasure of doing jury duty, you will likely need many snacks to get through the boredom of waiting to be picked or sent home. I can tell you from personal experience (it’s my turn to fulfill my civic duty today) that food choices in and around the Miami Courthouse are severely limited. I brought food from home but being stuck here in the waiting room makes me want to snack just for the sake of snacking.

‘SNACK’ HAS A FEW ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS 

An old expression, go snacks meant to share, divide or have a share in something. Snack in Australian slang means, something easily done. According to urbandictionary.com, a snack can refer to an attractive male or female or an encounter with a male or female who is not your official partner. Apparently, this is not to be confused with a booty call as a snack is more respected. Good to know.

A SNACK – AS IN, THE FOOD – DID NOT START AS A HEART ATTACK

A snack normally refers to a portion of food, smaller than a meal, generally eaten between meals. It can also mean a light quick meal eaten in place of the main meal. The word ‘snack’ likely originated from the Middle Dutch or Flemmish word snac(k), which comes from snacken ‘to bite.’ The concept to snack as we know it today was first written about in the early 1800’s. It’s referred to as nosh in Yiddish and naschen in German and can often refer to consuming something sweet. Originally, snacks were made from ingredients found at home like fruit and nuts.

The first popular North American snacks were foods we still enjoy today. Peanuts and popcorn came from South America and pretzels were introduced by the Dutch in the 17th century. Hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy and Dr. Pepper among other ‘carnival foods’ were introduced at The St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Ironically, the phrase, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away,’ was said by Missouri fruit specialist J.T. Stinson at the Fair and became a popular saying in America. A similar phrase was printed decades earlier in the February 1866 edition of Notes and Queries magazine, “A Pembrokeshire proverb. Eat an apple on going to bed, And you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” Words to live by.

However the concept of snacking began, today it is synonymous with eating unhealthy. However, healthy snacks do exist if you know where to look and how to prepare. Vending machines are filled with processed, food-like substances. They are bloody food imposters often labeled as healthy. These pre-packaged ‘goodies’ are filled with artificial colors and preservatives so that they can last on the shelves for an eternity. I get that they may be tasty at first but they have zero nutritional value, are often loaded with saturated fats and high in sodium, laden with unhealthy additives, sap your energy and leave you feeling bloated and disgusting. Healthy vending machines exist. If you work in an office, ask your HR person to consider an alternative, healthy vending machine.

Let’s not give up on the snack just yet. Snacks or snacking does not have to be unhealthy and in fact, can be a nice break from cooking. I love to snack and encourage my clients to snack, either in between meals or in place of meals.

HOW TO HEALTHY SNACK (v.) IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION

As I mentioned earlier, I am waiting my turn at jury duty. I have been here since 8 am. I already finished organizing my taxes, watched two movies and am caught up on work. I devoured the food I packed- an apple, sunflower seeds and dates trail mix as well as some cold focaccia – before we were even released for lunch. Since this is shaping up to be a long day, I went on a search of some healthy snacks at noon.

I quick stroll around downtown did not reveal any decent food establishments. I was about to give up and water fast for the afternoon, when I saw Starbucks. There I found HIPPEAS organic chickpea puffs (healthy version of cheetos) and Justin’s organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Crisis averted. Although not supplied by Starbucks, I also love locally made popcorn called Shawnee’s Greenthumb Popcorn. It’s sooo good and contains superfoods spirulina, nutritional yeast and cayenne pepper. Superfoods are foods packed with nutrition. You only need a small amount to reap the benefits.

Healthy snacks to enjoy at home in between meals or in place of a meal include sliced apple with organic peanut butter (no sugar, just peanuts) and cinnamon on Engine 2 Organic Crispbread Triple Seed crackers; toasted Ezekiel Bread with olive tapenade and sliced cherry tomatoes; or toasted baguette with herbed cashew ricotta, olives and cherry tomatoes.

Healthy snacks are nutritious, satisfying, give you energy and make your skin glow. Before you have jury duty or will be stuck anywhere for a while without access to good food, pack a snack and bonus- avoid a heart attack.

Enjoy your weekend. I plan to. We were let out at 2:30 pm (I never was called) and I am jury duty free for another year!

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