how to snack: by me

I love the concept of quick, convenient, and home-cooked. But I do not think that a near-1000 calorie chocolate-cake-in-a-coffee-mug-in-five-minutes is a particularly good idea.

Luckily, when I have a sweet craving and only have five minutes, I have myriad choices:

• banana cinnamush with blueberries
• apple slices + chunks of yellow kiwi fruit = crazy delicious
• grapes and strawberries

I have discovered that the key is to combine fruits; a fleshy/meaty fruit juxtaposed with a more acidic or tangy fruit. Thus apple + kiwi fruit has more kick than apple + grape.
Also, when bananas get over-ripe/brown and soggy they are already halfway to cinnamush goodness. If they are too ripe and tangy (i.e. not sweet enough), a wee dollop of honey does wonders.
Also brilliant spread on any carb (bagel, tortilla, whatever).

Other genius snacks in my arsenal:

• steamed (or microwaved) corn on the cob
• grilled (or microwaved) sweet potato / yam -- crunchy skin is the best part!
• figs (not dried figs, or Fig Newton cookies, but the actual fruit itself; the whole damn thing, skin and all)

Other, slightly less PCP but nonetheless acceptable snacks:

• peanut butter and celery (or apple, or cabbage, or banana)
• soft-boiled egg (eat the slimy yoke! live LARGE!)
• umeboshi onigiri
• kimchee and/or namuru (get your spice on)

Then again, the occasional Starbucks chocolate scone won't kill you. Just depends on your definition of occasional.