Thursday, June 17, 2010

Why Does Everything Taste Better On, or In the Form of a Stick?


I don't know if you are familiar with Terra Chips.  They are "potato" chips made out of root vegetables, such as sweet potato, yuca, and parsnip, to name a few.  I think beet juice is used for coloring.  Afterall, part of the attraction is the contrast of colors - the red, the orange, and the golden brown.  It would not be nearly as fun to eat,  if all the chips were the same color.

Some people don't care for Terra Chips.  Personally, I could eat the whole bag, just like I could eat a whole bag of regular potato chips.  I try to keep potato chips (and any imposters) out of my house, for that very reason.  For me, it's all about the crunchy texture and the salty flavor.

Recently, though, I found myself in the chip aisle at the nearby Whole Foods. 
I had been having a "crunchy snack" craving for over a week, and I knew that I had to approach this problem from a tactical point of view -

           Get in, get out - get on with my life.

In other words, buy the bag of chips, dive right in (enjoying every bite), and deal with the consequences later.  At least, since I was at Whole Foods, I was hoping to find something that was not as fattening and unhealthy as regular potato chips. 

That is when I stumbled upon Terra STIX. 

For some reason, I love anything that comes in the form of a stick.  Remember those potato sticks that come in the cylindrical container, with the plastic, peel-off lid?  LOVE those!

Potato      chips      are      good. 
Potato sticks?   EVEN BETTER. 

Remember the corndogs on a stick that they used to serve in the school cafeteria?  I think they still serve the corndogs.  I doubt they still serve them on a stick, however.  Though I don't remember anyone ever getting injured from their corndog stick, apparently, it is much too unsafe for today's sheltered children.

At my favorite Chinese restaurant, as an appetizer, you can order beef, chicken, shrimp, or salmon..........................ON A STICK!  My kids LOVE these. 

Nothing beats the Renaissance Festival, though.  I am not a big fan of the massive turkey drumsticks that some people like to tear into with their teeth, like some uncivilized rogue, but............................cheesecake on a stick?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

So, I bought the bag of Terra Stix, and wow, were they good.  I say "were", but there is still one-third of the bag left, which technically means one-half of the bag, since the other third was full of air.  So, since I ate one- half the bag, that means I ate the equivalent of four servings.  One serving equals one-hundred and fifty calories.

You do the math.

Of course, that does not include the Corona that came (complimentary) with the meal.  Though, I normally do not associate calories with anything that comes in a liquid form (denial), and it could have been worse.  I could have eaten the whole bag.  I'll save the other half for yet another day, when I cannot resist the temptation. 

In the meantime, MY dinner has been taken care of, but what do I feed the kids?


(Leslie Morrissete - photo credit)
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