Handy dandy ... and howdy-ho

Mmm. Still dreaming about the delectable snack I just polished off: a handful of dark-chocolate-covered almonds.

Simple and convenient, but oh so tasty. Chock full of protein, anti-oxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. (But forget all that. Did I mention tasty?)

Yup, almonds, chocolate-covered or otherwise, are one of my staples. I cart them in my purse, knapsack, sports bag and even in the trunk of my car, usually packaged in a bottle or small zip-lock bag.

In case you haven't gathered, I'm big on snack food, especially the good-sense sort -- healthy, economical, time-saving, nutrient dense  --  the sort that sees you from mealtime to mealtime. Some of this enthusiasm for my (frequent) treats I'll now be funnelling into this new blog, Snack Castle. Think of it as a place where I'll be sharing a little about snacks, small meals, meal replacements, and the like. Some of the ins, outs and how-tos.

Hope you'll enjoy the forthcoming posts. And do chime in. I'd love to hear from you.

Who am I? And what the heck is SnackCastle?

Hi, I'm Sarah Mills, a woman who is enthusiastic — to put it mildly — about snack food. Even pecking away at this page, I've been pausing between keystrokes to nibble on a homemade mix of nuts and dried fruit. Yum.

For a person in her mid-[cough]ies, I'm reasonably active. I enjoy, often with my partner Fred, a hike, a bicycle ride, a Frisbee throw, an evening stroll. And to keep energy levels up, I'm what you'd call a grazer.

More about my snack habits

Aside from the usual three squares a day, I add in three snacking occasions: often mid-morning, mid-afternoon and early evening. With my "main" meals tending to be smallish, and my snacks tending toward substantial, I eat more or less six (modestly-sized) meals. Or seven, if the mood strikes.

Now maybe I'm lucky, but given this love for food, I've been able to maintain a healthy body weight. I'll attribute it to (boredom alert!) moderation and balance. But that pays off — with a little exercise and (largely) healthy choices, I've found I'm able to take quite a few liberties with my treats. Whoot.

So what the heck is SnackCastle?

I picture SnackCastle, this here new blog, as a place to share about the gastronomic delights I'm exploring. Hopefully, SnackCastle will grow into a big, fat stash of tips, tricks and tales of assorted treat-tinkering.

More about me

For the record, I live in eastern Canada, on the island portion of a province called Newfoundland & Labrador. It's pretty much in the middle of the North Atlantic, pretty far away from most everywhere, but for all that, the place is really, really pretty.

Something else for the record: As of this moment, my fave snack is dark-chocolate-covered almonds. Well, that's in the daytime.  :-)  My fave evening treat is a bowl of frozen yogurt, topped with __________. (Ha, think I'll keep you guessing. Deets will follow in one of my early posts.)

As for Fred, he says his favorite snack is ... me. (Um, I was hoping to keep this family-friendly. I'll push him for a G-rated answer soon enough.)

And besides snacking?

Hm, I already told you how I like to take advantage of the outdoors. As for other pursuits, I enjoy reading, watching movies, and travelling, whenever time and budget allow. And oh, lately, I've embraced the challenge of disuading my plants from crossing that Great Divide, or as most folk refer to the activity, gardening.

An invitation

I invite you to visit again and learn more about me, as well as about my ongoing adventures with snacks.

Stop by soon, and happy snacking!