Let's Talk About...Snacks

Ok. Do you remember when you were a kid and you would leave the house in the morning and be gone all day with nothing but your bike? No hat, no sunscreen, no water bottle, no cell phone, no Google maps, no tracking device, and most importantly, no SNACKS!

Each of those deserves some discussion but let's just focus on snacks. When did we suddenly need to eat every hour or so? There is snack time at school, snacks at every practice and game, snacks in the car, snacks at the lake, snacks when you even just take a walk! Are we afraid of starving or something?

But let's take a closer look at those snacks we pack for our kids (and ourselves).

There is the camp that will only provide healthy, balanced snacks. You know, carrot sticks, apple slices, edamame, raisins, nuts, energy bars (there is a whole aisle of "energy bars"), grapes, granola, whole grain crackers and brie, yogurt, and roasted brussels sprouts. And maybe fresh squeezed orange juice to drink. Or water.

And then there is the "Little Debbie" camp. Those snacks include, but are not limited to, Fruit Roll-Ups, Hostess cupcakes, and their assorted cousins like SnoBalls, Ding Dongs and apple pies, M&Ms, potato chips, Fritos, Cheetos, Nerds Gummy Clusters, cookies, donuts, candy bars, leftover pizza, candy, and the king of snackage: Lunchables (they are not just for lunch). And a Capri Sun or soda to drink. Or a Red Bull.

Needless to say, my husband and I fall pretty firmly into each camp. I won't say who falls into which but my son likes to remind me about the time I packed him roasted red peppers as a snack. "Mom, what the heck?" First, he knew that was me. Second, kids treat snacks as currency, as you know. For example, one Ding Dong may be worth a week's worth of carrot sticks. Apparently, roasted red peppers have no value at all.

And snacks go to a whole other level when parents compete to see who provides the team with the best snacks. There is the apple slice crowd, the bunch of grapes group (who grabbed them on the way to the game), and of course the peeled and sectioned orange parents. I remember, in a fit of overachievement, bringing fruit kabobs to my daughter's softball practice. The other parents had to up their game after that one. One thing we all knew was that even if you send your child out in the world with Fruit Leathers on a normal day, come game time, you were bringing air fried kale.

There is an entire industry based on snacks including special Tupperware type stackable containers to carry them in. Or maybe you prefer cloth wrappers for your snacks. I remember wrapping my children' sandwiches in reusable cloths fastened with Velcro. Those got pretty nasty. Those roasted red peppers, though, were just in foil. I am sure the whole thing went straight to the trash.

At the risk of sounding like an old crust, we used to go the whole day powered by a bowl of cereal. Now, eating something is required every two hours and is the focal point of every event. Kids hear the refrain, "Are you hungry?" "Do you want a snack?" all the time. Well, no one wants to get "hangry" but really, why are we obsessed with snacks? Are we snacking because we are hungry or are we snacking because, well, it's there and it's been two hours? If you choose to snack, I hope you snack well.