Emergency Snacks on Hand

Sometimes, when I'm riding on the subway or in an elevator, I think to myself, "How long could I live on the food I'm carrying with me if I got stuck?"

I cleaned out my bag this morning and discovered a number of snack items (plus a water bottle, Tylenol, and vitamins) -- Clif Bar, peanuts, cheese, and an apple.  As hungry as I've been lately, this wouldn't last too long, but I'll ride the elevator without fear this afternoon.

So, what's edible in your bag?

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DIY Snack Mix

I've been falling prey to the mid-morning sleepies at work lately, so today I took a small bag of homemade snack mix with me. It's just walnuts, almonds, and dried cranberries (if I'd had dark chocolate, I would have thrown that in there, too).  I think it helped!

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It MIGHT be love.

I think I have a new favorite Clif bar. This despite the fact that I've never been able to figure out whether I really like them or not.

Clif's Edge

Today's mini Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar was brought to me by Transportation Alternatives. These were given out to bicyclists on a recent Bike to Work Day.

The flavor and scent are sweetly plastic and the texture is dense, moist, and grainy, like partially chewed brownie stuffed with uncooked rolled oats. Throughout the lengthy chewing of this tiny brick of "nutrition for sustained energy," my tongue burns slightly and my jaw grows weary. Still, I like Clif Bars so much better than other energy bars I've tried.

There are other Clif Bar flavors I prefer, but I actually would eat this again if there were only worse options and I had to choose something (is that faint praise, or what?). It's reasonably filling and compact without much of that artificial, "diet" sugar substitute taste.

To make a general comment that is not meant to be brand-specific, I have been repeatedly reminded that while chocolate covers up a wealth of sins, it usually doesn't hide all of an energy bar's warts.




By the way, I broke this warty baby out of Snack Jail, where Dan had left it on the 14th. I should have earned my own that day, but I don't like biking in NYC. Drivers are really aggressive around here and I don't own a helmet (yet; I'm working on it). I barely ride in my neighborhood, and I definitely don't bike to work. All that said, I support the initiative, respect bicycle commuters, and thank TA for the freebie.

On the trail (literally)

(phone photo by Dan)

Things I like in GOrP (Good Old Peanuts without raisins, not to be confused with GORP):

• Peanuts (and other nuts)
• M&Ms
• Chocolate chips
• Peanut butter chips
• Granola
• Coconut flakes
  
• Dried fruit (especially cranberries and bananas) except for raisins (though golden raisins and organic raisins are tolerable)
  

This one was just peanuts and M&Ms, but it was still sad when some of it got dropped on the sandy path outside of Peekaboo Canyon.






Note to self: 7 miles!!! of trudging through soft, thick sand to get to and from this place? It was beautiful, but... Next time, rent a jeep.

Dave saves the (grey) day

Lately, the weather's been bouncing back and forth between days of grey city rain and days of brighter, cheerier sun. Both are appropriate to spring, of course, but that doesn't mean that the grey days don't sometimes get me down.

I was out of cereal the day on one of those recent grey days and didn't have time to run out to get another sort of breakfast. Frankly, I was feeling a little down in the dumps about it. Luckily, Dave had and offered me a Blueberry Crisp Clif bar.



Clif bars are weird. They look weird (see above). They taste weird. They're also super-dense, sweet, and a little too chewy. My jaw gets tired just looking at one. Some of the flavors are tolerable (I tend to choose Peanut Toffee Buzz or sometimes Chocolate Brownie). Other flavors have struck me as what I'd call "gross" (not that I've tried them all). Occasionally I crave a Clif bar, but I never wholeheartedly enjoy them. There's always a bit of an aftertaste.

I'm happy to report, as I'd never had this flavor before, that Blueberry Crisp was tolerable, if not amazing. The fruit managed to be a little tangy and the whole thing quite nutty. Not bad at all.

I guess this reads like I'm not that into the Clif Bar, but I do like them. At the right moment, with the right flavor, one can be just the ticket. This day, it was decent food in a hungry time - with a little energy boost built in.

Thanks, Dave!