Snack Time...Grab the Salt Shaker

If you were to treat yourself to a snack right this very minute, what would it be? The Sweet Potato Queens - a very southern group of women, with several books dedicated to their own fabulous-ness - have proposed that all good snack foods must fall into one of four categories: salty, sweet, fried, or au gratin.

Where would your snack of choice fit in?

I have never been a "grab-an-apple" kind of a snacker. I enjoy chips and salsa (fried and salty), Whoppers and Reeses...okay, anything chocolate (sweet), Flaming Hot Cheetos with Lime (so hot, so salty and so so so fried), and leftovers. I guess if it's leftover Funeral Potatoes, I can count it as fulfilling the au gratin category. Most of the time, I head for a salty snack.

Mmmmmm, salt. I love it.

Love. It.

Whenever we go to Chili's and order the chips and salsa, I immediately grab the salt shaker and have at it. And when Troy turns his head, I salt them again.

McDonald's salt, in the little packets? It's so powdery and fine - and is it just me, or does it taste better than household salt?

My current snack of choice in the salty category, is this:

Don't laugh - it's delicious!

And this is why. No wonder I like it so much!

See the handy little portions? Right out of the freezer.

You make a big slit in the top.

Pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes.

It's pre-cooked - this is just heating it up nicely.

Careful - it's hot!

Dump it out on a plate...

and sprinkle that salt all over it.

When it's on a different plate, you can really see how salty it gets.

Can you see the extra tiny sprinkles of salt - sometimes I even add a

few shakes from the salt shaker.

I know what you're all thinking...hey, isn't she on high blood pressure medicine? Yes, but I 'm sure it's genetic - my diet has nothing to do with it. Probably.

Choose the plumpest, saltiest one...

And lick the salt right off of it.

Then squeeze the pod gently. I said gently!

Those soybeans will shoot across the room, I tell ya!

Then pop it in your mouth! Squeeze the other one in too. Lick your fingers and repeat.

I usually use two hands.

It's a very satisfying way to eat a snack - earthy and tactile. Like eating sticky, sauce-covered riblets and licking your fingers and lips, pulling a cheesy nacho from the pile and pushing the whole thing into your mouth, lest it drip, plunging your fingers into a bowl of buttery, salty popcorn, bringing it to your mouth again and again. And again.

I don't really suggest eating these in front of other people.

My biggest problem with the edamame?

Keeping him away from my plate.

His first question when I called him over so I could take his picture?

"Is there a ton of salt on it?"

He just wanted to make sure.

What is your favorite snack?