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Tuesday, October 09, 2012

What's Your Snack? -- Kandy Shepherd


Is it because I’m trying to lose weight that I keep thinking about favorite snacks? Not the delicious, low-fat meals I am enjoying and that, to be honest, are so filling I'm not hungry. Rather those delicious morsels that don’t seem to have a lot to do with hunger but with stress, want, and—yes—just plain greed!

On my Californian road trip this past July, I treated myself to a variety of toothsome snacks, some very difficult to get in Australia, where I live. First to be eaten with a great deal of pleasure was a double pack of Nestle Butterfinger, probably my very favorite of American candy bars.

Some swear by peanut butter cups--these are my peanut butter addiction.

 Next was a pack of Poppycock. I adore this sweet, nutty popcorn. I usually nibble on a pack—or two, or three—with my friend, author Cathleen Ross, when we share a room at the Romance Writers of America national convention. Sadly, Cathleen wasn’t able to come to Anaheim this year, so I bought a pack of Poppycock to take back home to her. Well, that was the intention. Greedy me succumbed to temptation on the plane home. But when I came back through Customs in Australia and declared I had some snacks, they specifically asked me if I had popcorn. If I hadn't eaten that pack, it would have been confiscated. What a waste that would have been!

I wonder if they put something addictive in this to  make me like it so much?

 Most of my snack passions tend to be sweet. But I was introduced to a new savory treat at a roadhouse in Burney, California. I thought I was ordering a side of fried zucchini but got served this amazing appetizer of crumbed zucchini sticks served with ranch dressing. How I love ranch dressing—and IMHO it doesn’t taste as good anywhere outside of the US.

I'm going to have to find a recipe to make this.

However, for all those scrumptious American treats, I have to say that the sweetest and most appreciated of all was the handful of blackberries gathered for me by my favorite little boys who live in northern California. “Eat them slowly, Kandy,” they admonished me, before they risked scratched arms and legs to go back for their own handfuls.

Picked and given with love--what a special treat.

And back home in Australia? Lovely Cathleen Ross just came back from a writer’s retreat with a gift for me of a pack of musk pencils. These are a hard version of the popular sweet, musk sticks, available only, to my knowledge in Australia and New Zealand. They’re mega sweet, have a floral type of flavor and a lurid color that probably isn’t very good for us at all! (And thanks, Cathleen, for not eating them on the plane before they got a chance to get to me.)

How to explain the appeal of such a sugary, brightly colored treat?

Of course the heroines I write in my novels also have a penchant for snacks. Cristy in  The Castaway Bride is stranded with a handsome stranger on a tropical island, their emergency food supply comprising chocolate bars. She thinks she’ll never eat chocolate again, but when things go wrong with Matt later in the novel what does she turn to? The chocolate in the hotel mini-bar. Allison in Something About Joe also turns to candy bars in times of stress. Heroines after my own heart (and sweet tooth)!

What about you? Do you have a favorite snack or treat? One that, perhaps, brings back happy childhood memories. Or one that you never want to eat again? I’d love to hear about it!



Please leave a comment to be in the draw to win a Love is a Four-Legged Word T-shirt.  Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you want to be in the draw.






Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction. Her books include The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is –they’re even better than a chocolate snack to relax with!



Visit Kandy at her website

20 comments:

Karen H said...

I'm a snack freak too! And I love Butterfinger candy bars and they now make Butterfinger Bites...a bag full of little, bite-sized pieces of Butterfinger candy. YUM.

Now, maybe you can't get Butterfingers in Australia, but you do have TIM TAMS. Those little treats have got to be the best cookies, EVER!

kareninnc at gmail dot com

traveler said...

I snack on Licorice Allsorts which have been a favorite since I was young. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Lil said...

My favorite snack: Cheetos. I adore them and my family rarely bought them. When they did, I would bargain with my siblings for their share of the snack. Ended up doing several more chores but always felt that it was worthwhile.

little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

Maureen said...

I love snacks but have been trying to stay away from them lately. Kettle Corn is a favorite snack of mine.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

Pat Cochran said...

Hershey's Dark Chocolate is one of my special
favorites!

Pat C.

Kandy Shepherd said...

Hi Karen, Tim Tams are delicious, one of Australia's famous treats. They are also good eaten frozen (believe it or not)! They are always bringing out variations but the original is still the best to me.

Kandy Shepherd said...

Good old licorice allsorts! They're a perennial favorite, aren't they traveler? We always buy my father in law a big pack for Christmas.

Kandy Shepherd said...

Met too, Maureen, trying to stay away from them, I mean! I nibbled on rather too many snacks on my US treat and they came home to roost on my hips... Yum to Kettle Corn, too!

Kandy Shepherd said...

I love your story of bargaining with your siblings for Cheetos, Li. My brothers used to hoard their Easter eggs and I'd eat mine straight away. Then I'd be doing the same thing as you used to so they would share their chocolate with me.

Kandy Shepherd said...

And the wonderful thing, Pat Cochran, is that they say dark chocolate is good for you! What a great reason to indulge in a favourite treat!

petite said...

Milk Chocolate Hershey's Kisses are always a nice treat.

Kandy Shepherd said...

I remember, petite, when I first visited the US, I straightaway bought Hershey's Kisses and Oreos. Characters in American novels always seemed to be snacking on them and I wanted to try them myself. I wasn't disappointed!

Cathleen Ross said...

I'm addicted to popcorn. I could eat a whole giant packet. The simplest thing for me is not to have it in the house because I don't seem to have an off button. Luckily at the moment, my daughter has me on a diet and won't let me break it no matter how much I beg. Seems to be working. She says I look almost normal now and not a "big fat blob".

Kandy Shepherd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kandy Shepherd said...

How insulting of your daughter Cathleen! I know for a fact you have never looked like a big, fat blob. Popcorn is a good low calorie, highfiber snack--not so much I guess with the nuts and sweetness of yummy Poppycock. Sigh!

Lory Lee said...

Chocolates! Specially dark chocolates, my brothers even call me a chocolate monster. ;p

Kandy Shepherd said...

Hi Lory Lee, fellow chocoholic--or fellow chocolate monster, both seem to fit. As you can tell, I love chocolate too! In fact it's my favorite of all sweet treats.

Eli Yanti said...

love avocado chocolate cake and everything about chocolates :)

Kandy Shepherd said...

Thank you everyone of your comments. It made me feel hungry reading about your favorite snacks!

The winner of the LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD t-shirt is Karen H. Please send me your snail mail address, Karen so I can mail it to you.

Kandy Shepherd said...

I've never had avocado chocolate cake, Eli, but I would imagine it would be delicious as I love both chocolate and avocado.