I’ve got to credit the snacksmiths at Michael Season’s - they’re incredibly generous. I was grateful to the homegrown Illinois company already for sending me some of their Baked Multigrain Chips to review a few weeks ago. Apparently, Michael Season’s was satisfied with my review - I was pleasantly surprised, this morning, to discover a second box of Michael Season’s goodies, larger than the first, waiting at my door.

In eager anticipation, I peeled away the industrial tape and cardboard to find… Cheetos, Michael Season’s style. Not only did the “Natural Gourmet” gift me with its “Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Curls” - oh no. The Midwestern proponent of “Feel Good Snacking” also threw in its Cheddar Cheese Puffs in both Original and White Cheddar. To top this all off, they decided it would be a great idea to also include the healthier “baked” incarnations of the Cheese Curls and Cheddar Puffs. I laid the selection across my kitchen counter, feeling a bit daunted - being a lone reviewer, I had my work cut out for me!
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A few weeks ago, the snacking Goddess herself, Caitlin, asked if I’d be interested in reviewing baked multigrain chips. Naturally I accepted. When it comes to crunchy, salty snacks, Sun Chips are at the top of my list. That’s right - when it comes to chips, I’ve always preferred the multigrain variety to the potato- and tortilla-types. Pretty healthy, right?

Well, not really - Sun chips may be a lesser evil among our beloved sinful, salty snacks. But when it comes to being good for you, they have nothing on the Baked Multigrain Chips produced by Michael Season’s. The Addison, IL.-based company’s motto is “Feel-Good Snacking.” This seems to suggest that either you should feel good about eating such wholesome foods, or that the products taste so amazing, they’ll make you “feel good” with every bite. I’m guessing the PR department at Michael Season’s was going for the former interpretation.
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I was thrilled to learn, a few days ago, that the Mighty Snackerrific Powers-that-be consider certain drinks to be snacks. This has several positive implications for me. First of all, as a fan and near-daily consumer of exotic sodas and energy drinks, there’s a whole category of reviewable snacks that will require no extra effort or purchase on my part. I’ll also have the opportunity to share products with the snacking public which I’ve been using for a while.

Third, this will aid my ability to eat more healthy. Recently, I stepped on the scale to find the number less than acceptable, and pledged to lessen my caloric intake. Most of my favorite (non-alcoholic) beverages are either calorie-free or close to it. Thus, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share with this site’s readers a great soda which I’ve been drinking for some time now: Enviga Sparkling Green Tea.
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Most of us rush in and out of gas stations without a second thought. We spend our money, pump our gas, and buy coffee or cigarettes, if we must, to see us through the commute ahead. Focused on the final destination, be it the office, home, or some more pressing errand, who can blame us? Gas station shops are small and often grimy, with a heart-wrenchingly limited variety of cheap, over-processed snacks.

Or so it would seem.

In actuality, gas stations can be great spots to find local goodies and outright oddities. From fresh-baked Amish cookies in the Midwest to pickled eggs in the South and Mexican pastries in L.A., a visit to a gas station provides ample opportunity to glimpse (and smell, and taste) the local culture. Although Jim covered plenty of old favorites in a thoroughly enjoyable, nostalgic and somewhat irreverent Top-10 List of Gas Station Snacks, he neglected one snack seldom seen outside of gas stations.

Dear snackers, I give you… Old-Fashioned Beef Jerky.
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Snacks: we eat them all the time… sometimes until no room remains for actual meals. But the term “snack” means different things to different people. While most of us agree that a snack is smaller and less filling than a meal, some would consider a Starbucks Frappuccino a snack, while others might opt for a pack of edamame or a half-order of buffalo wings. No matter what brings us individual snacking pleasure, there’s one other thing most people tend to agree on: snacks are even tastier when they’re free.

As a former poor college student, and a cheapskate in general, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in finding free food. Some of what I’ve found over the years has been atrocious, but I’ve found a fair amount of four-and-five star snacking destinations also. Below, I’ve compiled a list of my top ten places to find free snacks. My rankings are based on several factors including free snack variety, quality, and ubiquity of locations. May your taste buds be satisfied, and your stomach - and wallet - never empty!
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