Sunday, July 8, 2012

Good Snackin'

This post brought to you by California Table Grapes Commission. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did your mom tell you not to eat snacks before dinner because it would "ruin your appetite"? Mine did, for sure.

When I was a fast-growing hard-playing kid, nothing was going to ruin my appetite for dinner, so she shouldn't have worried. But there was a little grain of truth to what mom said.

Eating a little snack before dinner can take the edge off of hunger. But that's not necessarily bad. Snacks - even before dinner - can be good for you.

If the snacks are good.

I mean, diving head first into a bowl of greasy salty starchy snacks isn't the best idea, but what about a bunch of grapes? That's an easy snack, and portable and portionable as well. Just break the big bunch into smaller sections and store them in the refrigerator for a cool, refreshing between-meal nibble.

If they're washed, portioned, and ready to eat, grabbing some grapes is even easier than opening a bag of chips.

Or, if you want something chillier, you can freeze them, for sweet frozen treats. Genius, right?

And if you need a more substantial snack, how about a combo platter? Grapes, peanuts or peanut butter, and some celery or carrot sticks would be pretty easy, right?

Sure, you can over-do snacking if it's over-and-above what you ought to be eating, but if snacks keep you from overeating, they can be your best friend.

Remember how mom said snacks could ruin your appetite? Sometimes that's a good thing. If you sit down at the dinner table and you're too hungry, chances are that you'll overeat before your stomach has time to tell your brain to put on the brakes. But if you've taken the edge off your hunger with a little snack, you can eat your meal slowly and sensibly, so you can stop before you're over-full.

And for some people snacking - or grazing - can be a viable alternative to sitting down to a big meal. But don't trust me. Ellie Krieger (you know her name from Food Network) has some tips for you.

But that's not ALL! (Sorry - late-night infomercials have invaded my brain.) The nice grape-growing folks in California are sponsoring a contest where you have a chance to win $5000 for coming up with a grape-centric snack. The information is on the Facebook page for The Makeover Your Snacks with Grapes from California contest. That's a mouthful, huh?

Now, go have a grape or two, put your feet up and think about it, and go enter the contest.

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