There’s a spot in my grocery store, just beyond the produce section, that I find irresistible. Shelves of clear cellophane bags, filled with all sorts of nuts, dried fruits and little crunchy snacky things that call my name. If it happens to be a Monday and I’ve just stepped on the scale after a weekend of socializing, I manage to walk past with my cart, full of fruits and veggies and ignore those calls. Though, any other day of the week, you’ll find me standing there, staring for a bit, then tossing bags of this and that into my cart. I cannot claim complete reckless abandon. I do try to stick to things that are low in fat and have no added sugar. The important thing to me is that they satisfy my tastebuds and give me a bit of crunch. That’s where wasabi peas come into the picture.

Wasabi peas have the most wonderful crunch and the perfect amount of heat that makes my mouth happy. I tell myself that these probably count as a serving of vegetables, making it completely acceptable to eat by the handful.

Then, there are these Asian rice cracker snacks. Alone, they don’t taste like much, but paired with the wasabi peas…hmmmm.

I was perfectly happy snacking on this stuff. Until one day I needed something sweet. Well, a bunch of chocolate chips happened to fall into my hand at the same time I was munching on this stuff…and that is where it all began…