Nutty, Crunchy, Sweet, Spicy: Snacks You’ll Wanna Stash

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. His little girls are in day camp, and it got me thinking about what I remember most from my days of going to camp. Sleepaway camp? Easy answer — I got to go horseback riding. My horse’s name was Freckles. I loved her. Come to think of it, I really still do and I’m just gonna go ahead and assume that she’s still prancing around, making little girls’ dreams come true all summer, every summer.
But when it came to any day camps I attended … well, I remember the fruit punch and the cookies. And when I said this to my friend, he laughed. “Yep, snacks are their favorite part, too,” he said.
So, I’m thinking that a love of snacks is pretty universal. And that’s understandable, right? I mean, meals require planning, maybe some work, but snacks are fun and easy and usually kind of a treat. I don’t eat a snack every day, but I do always keep a variety of snacks around in case the veggies in my fridge aren’t doing the trick. That’s easy for me to do, because basically the best part of having a food blog is the fact that people and companies are always sending you tasty things to try. Here’s what’s making the rounds in my house right now.

Starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise, we have:
Sunkist Trail Mix. This is billed as the fruit lover’s trail mix — and I found that description quite accurate. There are nuts, for sure, but the fruit is the star. Which is awesome, because these aren’t your typical trail mix fruit options: Guava Chili Mango (spicy! and my favorite), Ginger Peach, and Kiwi Cantaloupe are all unusual and tasty.
bare Snacks. When you think of munching through a bag of chips, you might not immediately think of coconut or apple chips, but you might want to change your thinking. I’d long been a fan of the bare Coconut Chips, but there are lots of flavors now (ginger! coffee!) as well as varieties of other fruit chips (like bananas) and even their new Chia Coconut Bites. Little sweet, nice and crunchy — try topping a yogurt with them!
Gaea Organic Olives. I’ll be totally honest here — I don’t eat olives. Ever. And I haven’t tried these. So! Basically this is me telling you that olive snack packs are a thing that exist, and if that’s your jam, then now you know.
Seven Sundays Muesli. If you’re not familiar with muesli, you might look at it and expect it to be like granola. And it sort of is, except, at least in the case of Seven Sundays, it’s raw or only very lightly toasted, so the texture is much chewier. All their flavors are either unsweetened or very lightly sweetened, which is great because A) it allows the flavors of ingredients themselves to shine and B) it makes it perfect for topping yogurt or heating up with nut milk because you get some extra flavor there. Each of the flavors is distinct, and while I liked them all, the Blueberry Chia Buckwheat was the big winner in my book.
Viki’s Granola. Looking for a traditional — but high quality — granola? Viki’s fits the bill. Gluten- and dairy-free and available in five flavors, it’s got all the good stuff you want in granola without some of the less healthful additions you find in some cereals. And it’s full of flavor, which is really what granola is all about, right?
Imlak’esh Organics Charge Boss Clusters. I saved the most unusual for last — and it’s worth the wait. These clusters are made with cashews, cacao nibs, maca powder (so, it looks chocolate-y! but it’s not sweet like you might expect based on the big dark chunks) and coconut blossom nectar. Combined, these superfoods offer protein and fiber, so it’s really a snack that’ll help fuel your afternoon.
What time does the urge to snack usually hit you? —Kristen