Hungry Hungry Hippo

One of my biggest challenges has always been snacking at work. I find that sometimes the snacking is legit because I’m hungry after playing hockey the day before or messing up my dinner routine, but others I am snacking out of sheer boredom between projects and to kill the time. Being a multi-tasker, snacking is an idle past time and with a high metabolism, always seems to be on the back of my mind throughout the day.

Over the years I have varied up my snacking some - trying to switch from large snacks like rice cakes, pretzel rods, and cheese doodles, to more manageable dry cereals, nuts, and bite-sized cookies. I try to keep my snacking somewhat balanced throughout the day - my work snack drawer containing a mix of salty, sweet, and savory, as well as some go-to granola bars for the days that a simple snack just won't do. Fruit is a staple. The Dollar Tree is my friend for bargain friendly snacks to keep my snack drawer stocked up.

This week’s challenge was to find a couple of new and slightly healthier snacks to curb cravings between meals. I won’t commit to going strictly health-food guru, but I can make some improvements.

 

Ham and Cheese Roll Ups

Quantity: 3, cut into bite-sized pieces 

• ham
• cream cheese
• dill pickles

1. soften cream cheese on the counter for a bit. pat 3 ham slices dry with a paper towel. Do the same to 3 dill pickle spears.

2. spread a knife of cream cheese over the ham, add 1 dill pickle to each slice, and roll-up. Cut into bite-sized chunks (approx. 3-4 per roll) For less messy cutting, put rolls into the fridge for 1 hour, then cut.

 

This snack was an accidental Pinterest find that Facebook recommended. This was one of those "my phone is listening to me moments." I was talking to the boyfriend about ham and cheese wraps and looking up some other options. The next time I'm on Facebook, this recipe was staring me down. Although creepy, I'm grateful to not have had to hunt far.

My first impression of these is "oh my god, so yummy!" Seriously. I've been telling everyone they need to try these. This snack immediately solved the salty and savory cravings I get, especially the day after playing hockey. As I had previously gone on a pickle-making spree over the summer from my garden, this also creates a great opportunity to utilize my homemade goods.

I saw some suggestions online that people tend to add a sprinkling of @TraderJoe's Everything But The Bagel seasoning on the cream cheese before rolling. As I dislike everything bagels in general, I can picture my own twists: jalapeno and horseradish pickles instead of dill, or a small squirt of spicy mustard with turkey and ham instead of cream cheese to make a twist on a Cuban. 

I have already discovered bread and butter pickles work but do not work well. For one, they tend to be juicier, and for another, they don't balance the flavor profile in quite the same way as dill pickles. The same goes for whipped cream cheese - I thought it would make my snack prep shorter as it's easier to spread on the ham. However, whipped cream cheese does not taste like regular cream cheese - it's less rich. It is definitely worth the wait for it to come to room temperature to spread. Lastly, honey ham also works but was a bit saltier than regular ham and also didn't fit my personal flavor profile in the way that I had intended.

I'm sure I'll continue to experiment over the next couple of months and discover other delicious combinations. I can see eventually switching to low sodium ham and a low-fat cream cheese perhaps if I wanted to gain a slightly healthier value to the snack bites. I'd rate this snack five stars and am sure it is going to become one of my new favorites.

 

Tuna Salad on Crackers

• tuna
• garlic powder
• mayonnaise 
• diced celery (optional)
• Ritz crackers or wheat thins

1. Drain a can of tuna in water and mix mayonnaise and garlic powder in to taste. Less is more with the mayonnaise as the tuna will get runny/soggy if too much is added. Add diced celery if desired and mix. 

2. Top Ritz crackers or wheat thins when ready to use. 

 

I immediately liked the tuna on the crackers snack, although it did leave for a stinky breath the remainder of the day, especially with the use of masks being worn all day long during the pandemic. I felt that this satiated my hunger mid-morning and could be substituted as a quick, light lunch if desired. This recipe should create 2-3 days' worth of snacks - approx. 6-8 crackers a day. I don't recommend making these the day before as the crackers will get stale and mushy, however, the tuna mix can be made and stored in a container for quicker morning prep. Again, for healthier variations, I would use lite mayonnaise and whole grain Ritz crackers. I would rate this as a 4.5 out of 5 stars only for the stinky value.

It's a Wrap

Sometimes you don't find interesting food products, they just find you. After a recent conversation with a coworker about the Crystal Farms Cheese Wraps she found at the store, I was intrigued. Why hadn’t someone thought of this type of product sooner? The wraps could be a viable bread-free option for those of us who like to snack but still want to stay healthy. I mean, who doesn't like cheese?!

I was given a package to experiment with by that same coworker. Here are my thoughts...

First, the package itself has good-sized wraps, but it was awkward to store leftovers once opened. Packaging does boast being resealable but don't assume it will as mine immediately didn't reseal properly. Either plan to use all the wraps all at once or keep a Ziplock bag on-hand. I'm sure I could have found a Tupperware container or Saran-wrapped them, but I don't think it would have kept the delicate wraps moist enough for a day or two in the fridge. With only 6 wraps included in the package, there is little room for error.

I was impressed, however, that Crystal Farms had thought to separate the individual cheese wraps with parchment. It made things much easier for me while prepping my snack to pull one out of the packaging without damaging the remaining ones below. Additionally, the parchment created a makeshift "mat”, so the wrap was directly touching my counter as I filled them. The wraps are about 1oz each and are both Atkins and Keto diet-friendly. They come in a limited variety of flavors including mozzarella, cheddar blend, and marble jack.

When discussing the product with my coworker my initial thoughts were these would make excellent Philly steak and cheese wraps. Boy, was I ever wrong on this one. Mistakes were made!! I cooked up a mixture of shaved steak, mozzarella cheese, milk, spices, fresh chopped garlic, bell pepper, and diced Portabella mushrooms. The mixture was incredibly yummy; however, the wrap was incredibly flimsy under the weight of only 2 tablespoons of fill. I believed my error at first was that the mix hadn’t cooled enough before loading on the wrap and had melted through. 

My second attempt with the Pilly steak filling the following morning with cooled mixture didn’t fare much better. The mix was just too heavy and wet to be supported by the wraps. I ended up eating my lunch like a horse at a trough while sitting in my car. Not my best "look" at work, for sure. 

My third trial idea was to use tuna salad. Prepped the night before work, the result at lunchtime was a slightly squishy wrap that stuck to my fingers. I wouldn’t recommend rolling the wraps the night before, though I can see prepping the tuna salad and storing it in a container overnight for quicker morning prep. My wraps each fit about 3 TBSP of tuna salad comfortably and did not split as anticipated. I did cut the wraps in half once rolled to better handle them.

Now knowing the current limitations of the Crystal Farms cheese wraps, I can see doing variations using anything lighter. Next time I'll try lettuce and tomato, ham salad, or any deli meat. I would like to see these improved by the company over time - thickened a smidge the better support more filling options and to act more like a traditional tortilla wrap. I'd rate the Crystal Farms Cheese Wraps three stars on versatility, and 4 on taste with the trails so far.