Some people are in search of the perfect pair of shoes, the perfect outfit, the perfect spouse, the perfect job. My goals aren’t as lofty. I am in search of the perfect snack. And this snack is not for me, it is for the men/boys in my house. Since we all go through different stages of life, there has got to be the perfect snack for each of those stages.
When the boys were little, the perfect snack would be something that didn’t make crumbs, that wasn’t sticky, that wasn’t a choking hazard and that might be a little healthy. Instead, we went through a brief Entenmann’s chocolate chip cereal bar phase. Basically, they were one big crumb, delightfully accompanied by chocolate chips that would melt on their car seats and end up stuck to the back of their cute little backsides, would sometimes be mistaken for a diaper mishap…but that is another story. Son #1 enjoyed them for a brief time and then realized they were a little bit healthy and that Entenmann’s chocolate chip cookies were so, so much better. So much for whole grains.
My boys were also some of the many small kids who enjoyed a good Ziploc bag filled with Cheerios. These were not only snacks, but small weapons, targets for toilet training practice and when stepped on enough, a perfect substitute for real sand. They made everyone happy. Especially the seat cushions of the minivan around Passover time.
Fruit By The Foot—a decent parve snack, but too sticky if child is left unattended. Grapes, a decent fruit-substitute substitute, needed to be cut into small pieces if you wanted to plop your kids in front of the TV for a few moments of peace and quiet. Bananas, a great snack, make too much of a mess in kids under the age of nine or 10. But they are perfect for the high chair-aged toddler. Cut the banana into little pieces and put them into a bowl and let the fun begin. Mushed banana everywhere—best served right before bath time, does wonderful things for your little one’s complexion and really moisturizes the hair. More important than those fun facts, it is hours and hours of unadulterated fun that is also edible, unlike the pounds of Play-Doh that never get fully digested.
Another problem with snacks in my house is that the biggest man/boy of all, husband #1, has a very unique relationship with food. His very favorite snack? Drake’s Coffee Cakes. Needless to say, when the company stopped making them a few years ago, we had a serious problem. So serious, that I was making the kosher-for-Passover coffee cakes and freezing them by the dozen so he wouldn’t go into withdrawal. We tried coffee-cake substitutes, other companies that tried to copy the Drake’s masterpiece. It was a very hard time in our relationship. Thank goodness we got through it and thank goodness Drake’s started making them again.
His other snack time favorite? Stella D’oro Swiss Fudge cookies. His sons have followed him in his affection for these chocolate-infused treats. However, they can’t be too well done or they get tossed aside, like the Ugly Duckling. I once had son #1 with me at ShopRite and he made me go through each package for the perfect color cookie. Can anyone say, “Clean up on aisle 10?” (He was young at the time, he wouldn’t do that now, at least I hope not.) The best thing about these cookies? They are pareve, so after a gourmet dinner of chicken nuggets, they can be served for dessert.
What led me to think about the perfect snack was the crisis that was, fortunately, averted in our home last week. We were out of snacks. And poor husband #1 doesn’t know how to drive…to the supermarket. I had a recollection of seeing a package of Swiss Fudge Cookies behind the snack drawer. This meant that I had to take everything out of the drawers and then take the drawers out to get behind them to retrieve the package of cookies. Husband #1 stood there clapping as I finished finding him a snack (I am using poetic license here, so bear with me). When we looked at the opened package, the expiration date was March of 2016, but that was ok. My little/big boy was so happy to have his treats.
I guess I should be happy that he doesn’t have more expensive taste in snacks—like late-night sushi or chocolate-covered fruit. It’s the simple snacks in life that bring a smile to his face and I guess that is just the perfect snack all around.
As for my boys, I will keep buying them their favorite snacks until their wives have me arrested for being overbearing and all around nuts.
By Banji Latkin Ganchrow
By the time you read this, Banji Ganchrow will, hopefully, be in the Holy Land with son #2. She looks forward to sharing those adventures with you and wishes all of you a wonderful vacation.
