God bless the marketing geniuses behind the single-serving snack packs. But where were you when I was in college and inhaling entire bags of Cool Ranch Doritos? I’m not blaming the nacho industry entirely for my “freshman 15” but I’m just saying a little convenience and portion control would have helped.
These days, thankfully, just about any snack you crave comes in a giant variety pack of single-serving bags. From cookies to chips to bunny-shaped organic fruit bites, here are five snack packs that have us drooling.
What does this pack include? (It might be easier to say what it doesn’t have.) Get your taste buds ready for: Lay’s barbecue chips, Doritos nacho cheese chips, Cheetos, Funyuns, Chester’s Flaming Hot Fries, Munchies cheese fix snack mix, Rold Gold pretzels, peanut butter crackers on cheese crackers (and on toast crackers), Grandma’s vanilla creme cookies (also in oatmeal raisin, chocolate brownie and chocolate chip flavors), Cracker Jacks, Smart Food white cheddar popcorn and Matador jerky. Whew!
Snack without the guilt with these bunny-shaped treats, made without artificial flavors, synthetic colors, preservations or high-fructose corn syrup. What’s left? Just tasty vegan and gluten-free snacking fun that also meets the daily recommended dose of Vitamin C.
Back in the early ’70s, peanuts became the snack du jour on airline trips as low-cost carriers like Southwest wanted to compete with the big names in the aviation business (who traditionally served customers full meals). Those tasty little packs of peanuts lately have been disappearing as consumer advocates push airlines to consider the health demands of passengers with nut allergies. Still, we can’t think of a nicer snack to tuck in your backpack or briefcase for a protein boost in the mid afternoon.
Welch’s says fruit is the first ingredient in their snacks, which are preservative- and gluten-free. They’re also just 80 calories per pack so think of this as a smart way to get your daily dose of vitamins. Flavors include grape, peach, orange, strawberry, and raspberry.
Sometimes you crave being bad at snack time. Thankfully, this Nabisco snack pack pre-portions its cookies to stick between 100 and 110 calories per serving. (That should leave you a little extra space for that ice-cold glass of milk that absolutely should go with these cookies.)
Steve Spears is editor of Florida Travel & Life, an online brand that inspires active, affluent travelers, providing them with insider information on discovering the best of Florida. Informative and engaging, the website showcases travel destinations, arts and cultural venues, vibrant dining scenes, recreational activities, the great outdoors and the revitalized real-estate market. He is based in Orlando and counts St. Augustine, Key West and the Gulf Beaches among his favorite destinations in the state.
