Night Time Snacker

I have a hearty appetite all day long, but I try to make sure to save some calories for the evening, and I don't mean supper time.  My favorite time of the day to eat is somewhere between eight and ten pm.  My favorite place to eat?  You guessed it.  The bed.  (Yes, we have stained sheets and it's a shame we don't have pets because there is enough food under and around the bed to feed a small village.)

My brother gets in on the corn action with us
in Thailand

My go-to snack of choice is popcorn.  I have it pretty much every single night.  On those unfortunate occasions that we have run out, there is knashing of teeth in place of the noshing.  You don't want to stop in for a visit on one of these nights.  It's like a crack addict going cold turkey.

I have a special bowl that I microwave my popcorn in.  I bought mine at Target and it is the most valued kitchen implement that we own.  You simply put in one half a cup of popcorn and microwave for three minutes.  That's it.  No fuss.  No muss.

Ice cream sandwiches rank as one of my top
10 snack foods of all time

Most of the time I eat my popcorn plain with a saucer of salt  on the side.  Nutty, I know.  Sometimes I use some "spray butter" but I've been marginalized and judged for this, especially since I'm trying to be a healthy vegan gal these days.  For a special treat, my sweet hub makes his special wok popcorn.  When we were living in Taiwan twenty odd years ago, I was so desperate for popcorn but we couldn't figure out how to cook it without a decent pot or a microwave.  Don discovered that by heating up olive oil on a low fire, he could make the most sumptuous popcorn I have ever tasted.  I try to ration myself on this stuff, though.  Oscars, Golden Globes, birthdays, anniversaries...

Yep, squid works too.  Love those tentacles!

My youngest daughter has recently started following in her mother's footsteps.  She's a corn fan, too, only she  prefers her corn frozen, not popped.  That's right.  Of course, she's also the gal who will get herself a bowlful of ice to suck on.  She's not going to have a weight problem when she grows up!

Pickles and carrots work well in the snack department, also.  Grapes are always a popular choice.  Just now - it's 11:29 pm - I finished off the olive oil popcorn Don popped for me last night (The SAG awards were on!), I had a fake chicken cutlet left over from Friday night's barbeque, and a small bowl of grapes and a soda water. I'm going to have to get up and brush my teeth and go to bed or the Quality Street chocolates Don thinks he is keeping hidden from me could be ravaged by the morning.

My sister and I snack on mangosteen in Thailand

That's the other thing: we are pretty much a whole foods household, at least when I do the shopping.  When there is prepared food, I will eat it.  Sweet, savory: it doesn't matter.  If it is in a bag and it can be ripped open and consumed, I will rise to the challenge.  When you look in our cupboards,  you will see very little that is readily consumable unless you don't mind cracking open a can of garbanzo beans, which I have been known to do; the fridge is brimming over with produce and condiments.

I may have gotten my snacking habit from my daddy.  Every evening he would rouse himself from the TV (still does) and amble over to the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal, some rice pudding, some bread and butter, or maybe heat up some leftover soup.  I'm a nosher like him.  He's a portion controller though: in the last few years he's taken to eating all of his food with a teaspoon.  (As I'm writing this I'm thinking I could call this the blog "My Freaky Family" not "Night Time Snacker!"  We are definitely a peculiar bunch of folks.)

Yes, those are my parents enjoying pickles at their 50th
anniversary party!

To avoid snacking, I try to keep my hands busy doing things like writing blogs or knitting, doing jigsaw puzzles or reading in the tub, but I still always manage to free my hands up and take time for a good old snack.  Yes, it does result in some grimy puzzles pieces, some crumby scarves and some waterlogged popcorn, but I'm not bothered.

Some people say that they can't fall asleep on a full tummy, but I can't fall asleep without one!  Some people also say that carbs are from the devil, but I think they're from the other guy.  Especially the carbs that make up popcorn and rye bread and baked potatoes.

Fortunately, I'm not at this place yet.

I'm not a skinny girl, that's for sure.  I'm also not a plus-sized gal, in spite of my constant snacking.  I owe it partly to a good metabolism, but I think I make healthy choices, too, even in my snacking frenzy.

You can take away my alcohol, take away my TV, take away my morphine (Okay, I kid.), but don't take away my snacks.The 80% good rule?  That about fits for me.

My only newstart is just a bit of a reminder to save a few more of the calories from the day for the night.  I'm not getting any younger and the metabolism isn't doing much revving these days.  I think I need to rein in the day time indulgences just a wee bit so I can feed the night time food vampire in me.

Marshmallows are another banned substance in our house.
Notice Emily's marshmallow vampire teeth!