Veggie Straw Monster

I'll admit it... At first I was skeptical.

I had seen these Sensible Portion Veggie Straws, and assumed they were a fad-snack meant to make vegetables palatable for those who don't like them.

Today I do believe I could be classified as an official Veggie Straw Monster, made worse by the finding of a companion snack of the sweet kind.

Last summer, while having snacks at the pool, my friend Elisa, whipped out a bag of Veggie Straws and offered me some.

I had seen these before, but thought they were some kind of foodie trend. I mean, I actually like veggies, but come on, Veggie Straws? The name just turned me off.

However, being of the snack-y kind, (and not wanting to be rude), I did what any good eater would do: I tried them anyway. 

And was immediately hooked.

As a matter of fact, I kept reaching for more, and soon had to remove myself from the picnic bench for fear of embarrassing myself. After-all, my kids were off swimming so I couldn't even blame the near-empty bag on them.

I've pretty much kept a bag in my cupboard ever since.

Don't get me wrong. I know this is a snack food, not meant to be eaten as a vegetable replacement. I highly doubt they would even count as a veggie serving, but they're tasty...very tasty.

Its a sickness, my enjoyment of the Veggie Straws...they are light and crunchy, and potato-y...its like eating lightly salted air. It's replaced microwave popcorn, because you don't have to wait 3.5 minutes for it to cook.

But now, its ten-times worse.

Two days ago I was in my favorite buy-in-bulk-warehouse store and I spotted a new product by the makers of Veggie Straws: Apple Straws.

Seriously, its like eating a crunchy, lightly-sweet apple pie, but without all that unpalatable cooked fruit.

Sensible portions? I don't think so.

Don't let that modest handful of veggie straw trick you in the picture above (for heaven's sake, look at the size of that sandwich.) I ate one or fifty before the camera starting rolling.

So tell me...what is your favorite snack these days?