Last month, I spent eight days in Salt Lake City, Utah reading students' AP English Literature and Composition exams. The College Board runs the show and does a lot to keep the hundreds of AP readers productive, accurate, and on-task. We all get to work promptly at 8:00am, start lunch at 12:30pm, and leave for the day at 5:00pm. Between the start of each day and our lunch hour and again between the end of lunch and the conclusion of the day, we have fifteen-minute snack breaks.
When someone calls, "breaktime," we all stop reading–often right in the middle of an essay–and shuffle out of the working room to the hallway where the Salt Palace convention center staff have set up tables with drinks (mostly vehicles for caffeine) and food.
The snack options this year had a surprisingly youth-oriented slant. We were offered the following:
- cups of applesauce
- Trix yogurt cups
- string cheese sticks
- Rice Krispie treats
- boxes of raisins
- pudding cups
- animal crackers
- peach cubes in plastic cups
Some of the readers complained about the assortment. While I wondered who chose this year's options, I never complained. Instead, I embraced the fun of eating foods I stopped having around the house after my daughters were no longer little.
Besides raising my blood sugar to extreme levels, taking in a Rice Krispie treat reminded me to enjoy the vacation-ish aspects of my time away from home. Savoring a juvenile snack allowed me to let go of my serious teacher self and remember what it felt like to get to eat junk food at a time in my life when somebody else (Hi, Mom and Dad) controlled what groceries came into the house. Maybe because I generally try to eat healthful foods, there's something incredibly freeing about, every once in a while, eating like a toddler. I enjoyed every bite.
What's your favorite childhood snack food from when you were a kid? What indulgent treats do you enjoy now? Please share your ideas in the comments.
All sweet snacks. How about peanuts and some salty specials?
Oh, I like those savory snacks (chips, pretzels, pecans, crackers), too, but definitely veer towards sweets.
Cheerios. I love Cheerios. My kids first snack.
Yum, this one’s often the first snack food for kids. Love it!
Since I’m working away from home, office, or stores this month, I’ve been packing my own snacks. I tend towards “real food” (carrots with hummus, endive with guacamole, a peach for example), but sometimes I remember I can just grab a bag of goldfish or veggie straws, and just enjoy the regression (and yes, salty not sweet for me, thank you!).
Wow, I never think of eating real food for a snack. Those all sound delish!
For me, it’s FUJI apple, but I’ve been known to succumb to a handful of cashews, with or without organic flame raisins.
Most of the comments on this post, including yours, make me hungry. I’d happily eat all three of those snacks right now.
Well … come on over then. :-))
It’s a long trip for the snacks; I’d be going for the company. I hope to make it over there one of these days.