The Veggie Snack Box

Trucker and I are both prone to rampant snacking. Generally this is when we are either bored or hungry but too lazy to cook anything. During those times, it is all too easy to grab chips, candy or cookies. And we all know how easy it is to snarf down a while tin of Pringles in one sitting (just me?).

Daikon and watermelon radishes,
celery, purple/orange carrots

As a preventative measure I've started prepping vegetables for easy snacking. This takes the effort out of prep during those lazy moments. Simply cut everything into an acceptable snack-sizes pieces. I like to do this while doing meal prep since I already have all the tools out and am in a groove. It takes an extra minute to wash a few extra stalks of celery or chop a couple extra carrots into coins.

Tiny French Breakfast radishes can be kept whole after trimming

I use whatever I grow or whatever I find cheap. At farmer's markets and farm stands, the best bet is to get whatever is in peak season. If everyone has it, the price will be lower than if it is an early harvest. Aldi often has great bargains on produce (I often find $.25 cukes). A "foodie" grocery in my area is kind of pricey, but they have outrageous produce bargains to get you in the door (things like $.50 bunches of radishes). Sales at the regular grocery store can yield good results. If your store has a manager's special produce rack, definitely check it out; just make sure the items aren't too far past their prime. Also check the prepped produce section. I often find fantastic prices this way and the work is already done! Buy items however they are cheapest. Sometimes I find that baby carrots are half the price per pound compared to full carrots; other times it is the opposite. Sometimes the cleaned, topped and bagged radishes are cheaper than the bunches with tops; other times I buy the bunches and use the tops in my cooking greens. The important thing is flexibility. Use whatever is cheapest that you like and get a good variety so you get a broad spectrum of nutrients.

Hakurei turnips, purple carrots
white radishes

We use a wide variety and the mix is always changing: radishes, celery, cherry/grape tomatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, hakurei turnips, cucumbers, certain summer squashes, sweet peas, young green beans (this was my favorite snack as a kid on the farm. My parents always planted the green beans next to the corn. My friend and I would hide in the cornrows and sneak the beans as soon as they were a few inches long. My parents never knew why all their beans did well except that one row, every year), broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, fennel, mushrooms, baby corn, scallions, kohlrabi, winter squash (I still don't know why more people don't snack on this raw. It has great texture and incredible taste), parsnips, or even chioggia or touchstone beets (don't use the traditional red beets as they stain everything, including your fingers).

Cherry tomatoes, vine ripened, are the ultimate snack food.

I keep most items mixed together in a container in the refrigerator. The exception to this is tomatoes. I refuse to use tomatoes larger than a large cherry since those require refrigeration after cutting and refrigerated tomatoes are an abomination. Tomatoes are washed and then kept in a cute shallow bowl on the counter.

It is more convenient to grab one of these containers and head back to the desk rather than to get a bag of chips (which I conveniently keep at the very top shelf near the ceiling so it can barely be reached without fetching a step stool). If we are going to take a road trip, we grab a large container and will easily hit our 3-5 servings by the time we arrive at our destination. Sometimes we will pile a bunch of items on a plate and watch a movie, while munching on crunchy snacks that aren't loaded with salt and fat. It also helps if I am making dinner in a hurry. The veggies are all chopped to roughly the same size, so it is nothing to toss into a skillet to saute and  serve over rice or pasta, toss into stock for an easy soup, or toss with olive oil and seasoning for a quick side of roast veg.

Our epic date night snack while playing board games:
 lunchbox peppers, Hakurei turnips, purple carrots,
 pickled Jimmy Nardello peppers, watermelon radishes,
cheddar cheese,  some caviar we found for a whopping $1.99
at the salvage grocer and  some store brand crackers.

This has helped us get a lot more produce into our diet, while at the same time reducing the unhealthy snacks that are too easy to indulge in. I've also found that since we use items we grow or find cheaply, it is much cheaper than any other snack food. We love the convenience and knowing that we are actively creating a healthier future with lower medical bills.