Tracking the snack

The Baltimore Sun

When it comes to our readers and their snacks, the heart and the head are duking it out over what goes in the stomach.

For our fifth annual Taste reader survey, we wanted to know all about your snacking habits. Nearly 700 people told us about their between-meal munching. Nearly all -- 98 percent -- said they ate snacks regularly, and two out of three do so at least twice a day.

As much as they enjoy their snacks, many readers are trying to eat better ones. At the same time, they're easily tempted. More ate vegetables or fruit for a recent snack than ate candy or chips, and nearly one out of three has cut trans fats out of his or her snack routine.

Our follow-up interviews showed that snack preferences can be surprisingly specific. Maria-Elena Perez, 54, of Dundalk reaches for kasseri cheese, a reflection of her Greek heritage. For Enzo Blanks, 22, of West Baltimore, a pack of Grandma's-brand chocolate-chip cookies satisfies his sugar jones. Thirteen-year-old Caroline Davis of Lutherville has been enjoying Berger cookies ever since she tried them while waiting for her mom to give birth to her little brother six years ago.

Yet when a co-worker brings in something unexpected and yummy-looking, or when there's nothing to do around the house, some of our readers become, well, flexible. About 47 percent said they generally reach for a snack because they're stressed, bored or just because it's available -- a number not so far behind the 52 percent who said they had a snack because they were hungry.

Among the survey's other results:

Salty snacks edged out sweet. More than a third of the readers said they recently had munched on crackers, popcorn, pretzels or chips, compared with the 24 percent who had had a cookie or candy.

Late afternoon was cited as a prime snack time by more than half of those who answered.

More eating of snacks seems to take place during the workweek. Sixty-six percent of the readers said they had a snack two or three times a day on weekdays; on weekends, that number dropped to 61 percent.

Those between the ages of 18 to 34 were most likely to have recently had a snack of vegetables or fruit; nearly 1 in 4 chose that category.

Though the health hazards of trans fats are much in the news, they were not top-of-mind for many of the readers who responded. While 28 percent said they would not eat snacks with trans fats, 35 percent said they would sometimes, and the rest said they'd never thought about it. (Of the men who answered the survey, 46 percent were in that last category, compared with 35 percent of women.)

Carl Birkmeyer, 44, of Northeast Baltimore was one of those who had recently eaten fruit -- in his case, straight from a 24-ounce jar of Dole mixed fruit. He keeps the jar in a refrigerator at the main Baltimore County Library, where he works, so that he'll have something healthful to eat when hunger strikes midmorning.

That doesn't always do the trick. "Of course, as you called, I'm eating a chocolate-chip cookie that someone brought to work," he said.

For many readers, snacks seem to provide psychological comfort as well as sustenance. Said Robert Hilker, 67, of Brooklyn Park: "As a child, we never had dessert after a meal. I guess I'm making up for lost time." He said the Klondike bar he often consumes in the evening is "reward for a good [or bad] day."

Like others, Ina Patel, 35, of Hunt Valley said she often finds herself having snacks she hadn't planned on because they're right in front of her, most often as she's baking cookies with her two children. "Easter is a horrible time of year for me because of jelly beans," she said. "I really have a weakness for chewy candy."

On breaks from her job as an administrative adjudicator in Washington, Joan Davenport sometimes buys a bag of peanuts from a street vendor. But Davenport, 54, tries not to keep snacks in her Walbrook Junction home. "It's always there, and I'll just go get it. ... The snack becomes the meal, if I'm not careful." Her weakness is Utz rippled potato chips.

Mikisha Bond, a 30-year-old consumer-affairs manager at Aegon, the insurance company, tries to have pretzels or carrots on hand for a snack around 3 p.m. "It helps the day go faster," she said. But Bond said that because she doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, she's able to resist the cakes that come into the office on co-workers' birthdays. Living with her parents in Lochearn, she gets enough home cooking to stave off eating a snack in the evenings.

Many readers were quite happy with the way they grab a snack and had no plans to change. "The way I snack hasn't really changed, ever," said Blanks, who works at a downtown boutique. "I have a really high metabolism so I can basically eat whatever I want to. So I stick with sweets most of the time."

But 56 percent of survey respondents said they wanted to either cut down on snacks or eat more healthful ones. Davenport has made a point of walking on her lunch hour to get a banana for later, rather than succumb to the Utz bag. Patel, a busy mom, is making an effort to sit down to regular meals so she'll eat snacks less impulsively. "I know I sort of want to practice what I preach to everyone else in my family," she said.

Perez said she has decided that having a cheese snack is better for her than the chocolate and ice cream she used to eat between meals -- for now. "I think that when I get into my 80s, I will go back to snacking on chocolate and ice cream," she said.

Though she still likes Berger cookies, young Caroline Davis has been adding healthful variety to her snack routine. "Now I like to eat things like grains, like quinoa," she said. "But don't tell my mom."

kate.shatzkin@baltsun.com

brad.schleicher@baltsun.com

BY THE NUMBERS

Why do you reach for a snack?

52 percent said they are usually hungry. But 47 percent were either bored, stressed or eating something because it was there.

How many calories were in your last snack?

53 percent answered between 100 and 300 calories. 14 percent said they didn't know.

How do you feel about your snack habits?

56 percent want to cut down on snacks or make more healthful choices. 42 percent are happy with their snacks.

Will you eat snacks with trans fats?

28 percent said no. 35 percent said sometimes. 38 percent said they've never thought about it.

Where do you eat snacks?

60 percent said the living room. Of those under 18, 76 percent said they like to eat snacks in the kitchen. 34 percent said they don't eat snacks at all at home; but only 19 percent don't eat snacks at work.

What did you have for your last snack?

18 percent said they had raw vegetables or fruit; 13 percent had candy.

When do you snack?

59 percent of women munch in the late afternoon, compared with 49 percent of men. But 51 percent of men had snacks in the evening; 42 percent of women did. 66 percent eat snacks two or three times a day on weekdays; on weekends, 61 percent do.

11% say they reach for a cookie, including Enzo Blanks of West Baltimore, who prefers Grandma's brand chocolate chip.

56% want to cut down on snacks or eat more healthful ones. Maria-Elena Perez of Dundalk used to reach for chocolate or ice cream, but now eats kasseri, a Greek cheese.

51% of men say they snack in the evening, including Robert Hilker of Brooklyn Park, who likes Klondike bars.

33% reach for a salty snack at work. For Joan Davenport of Walbrook Junction, her weakness is Utz rippled Potato chips.

18% say their snack was fruit or veggies. Carl Birkmeyer of Northeast Baltimore eats Dole mixed fruit straight from the jar.

DEMOGRAPHICS

680 total responses

Under age 18 13 percent Ages 18-34 15 percent Ages 35-49 27 percent Ages 50-64 29 percent Ages 65 and older 15 percent

Gender

79 percent were female; 21 percent were male.

Marital status

53 percent were married 30 percent were single 13 percent were divorced 4 percent were widowed

[Note: Percentages are rounded, which may lead to totals slightly smaller or larger than 100 percent.]

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