Snack habits
Guest blog entry by Heather Froeschl
My name is Heather Froeschl and I have a strange snack habit.
When I allow myself to get a bag of Doritos, with every chip I check to see which side is the cheesiest, and that is the side I apply to my tongue. Every chip, every time; there is no stopping the habit. It is something I do without thinking, I imagine much like lighting up a cigarette would be for those who smoke. Reaching into the bag, the chip is flipped from side to side, inspected for that glowing orange dust. I noticed this while driving around with my kids, looking at houses that were for sale. I noticed that this was probably as bad as talking on a cellphone while navigating the roads. I noticed that this was just plain weird behavior.
I started thinking about other snack habits I may have and what is weirder is that this really is the only one. True, I do flip Pringles over to the wrong side apparently, and savor the salty convex side instead of the concave, which naturally fits on the tongue better. But that’s Pringles’ fault, since they ought to put the salt on the side that fits the mouth better. I do hold my pinky finger out while drinking most beverages; I don’t know why, but maybe it’s the bit of English blood in my veins. Other than that I think my eating habits are pretty normal. So why the Doritos thing?
At least I’m not so out there on the cusp of madness as the brother on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Remember the one where Robert touched his fork to his chin with every bite of food? That was sort of a “jump the shark” episode anyway, but comparitively, savoring the fake cheese dust on tortilla chips is pretty average. Right?
What’s your snack habit? I promise not to laugh.
February 24, 2009 - 10:42 AM
RSS feed 
I do the Doritos thing, too. And the Pringles. It’s just a matter of maximizing the flavor, seems perfectly reasonable to me. In my opinion, a habit is only “weird” if there’s no practical reason for it…
me too, i want the most flavored side to hit my tastebuds… so un like robert you are weird at all.
When I eat M&Ms, I save the blue ones and the green ones for last. Then I eat the blue ones and save the green for the very last. I don’t know why but I joke with my husband and tell him they taste better!
I bite peanut M&Ms in half, then slide the candy shell off the peanut. Then I eat the vacant candy shell first. Then the half with the peanut. I do it every single time without even thinking. Seems to make the bag last longer.
I have two.
The first is with Oreos.
I wiggle the cookie sides together so that the creme pushes out and the halves form a whole. Next, I lick around the cookies edge until the creme is gone. Finally, I dunk the cookie in milk.
The second is Resses Peanut Butter Cups.
First, I poke the middle out so that it resembles a candy doughnut. I eat that part first because I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter. Then I break the doughnut in half and lick the peanut butter from the inside and savor the hard chocolate sides last.
Nona, I do that too! Also with M&Ms, I sort the last dozen or so in the bag according to color and eat the candies until there is the same number for each color left. Then I eat the candies one by one, one color at a time.
This is all kind of Obsessive-Compulsive, but I fit right in. I can’t eat sandwich cookies or crackers without breaking them apart and eating the insides first. I can’t eat Little Debbie nutty bars without pulling off each wafer layer and licking away most of the peanut butter first. I separate the shell off M&M’s (plain or peanut) inside my mouth and eat that before letting the rest slowly dissolve. Sometimes I eat the ugliest M&Ms first (the brown ones) and move up in ascending order to the prettiest ones (yellow, orange, red, blue, green).
If I have a pile of potato chips, I eat the broken ones first and leave the biggest ones for last. I’ll search through a bag for the curled ones. That’s why I love those kettle-cooked potato chips so much — sometimes you get double and triple curls!
This is just the beginning. I’m fully aware that I am weird.
I think we need a support group.
Oh, Brandi’s oreo cookie habit reminded me of how I eat ice cream sandwiches. I like to get them a little soft, then I lick the ice cream around the perimeter of the sandwich until there is a cookie over-hang. Then I nibble the cookie so it’s even with the ice cream and repeat the process.
If I really sat to think about it, I know I could come up with many more food idiosyncrasies.
I can’t just bite into an ice cream sandwich. I have to lick the ice cream on the sides until it’s almost all gone. THEN I’ll squish it almost completely flat. THEN, I’ll eat whatever is left. My fingers are ALWAYS very chocolaty when I’m done!
Now, my husband is a wet-eater. He needs extra mayo, mustard, ketchup, steak sauce or salad dressing every time. He will also drink enough iced tea in a restaurant to keep a waitress or waiter running constantly. This always results in my guilt for any poor server trying to keep up and a 20% tip.
Oh, and he always lets the server decide for him.
“Mashed or baked potato,” they’ll ask.
“You decide,” he’ll answer.
This will always result in a nervous look from anyone that doesn’t know him.
I snap the heads off of animal crackers, and do not eat them. Only the body. I had a roommate in college who would make me save the heads, and he’d eat them.
I knew I had some sort of habit, but couldnt’ remember what it was until Mark sparked my memory. Pringles.
When I put the Pringle in my mouth, I put it so it “covers” my tongue, then I mush it against the top of my mouth (rather than biting it first). I think it has something to do with maximum saltiness against the tongue…
How do I eat a Reeses? I put the whole cup in and chew.
Jelly beans – always one at a time to savor the jelly goodness.
Lori, you and I eat ice cream sandwiches EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. We’d be in the same chat room on the I’M A WEIRD EATER support site. And Amy would be in there with us. Haha!
Amy, your husband is smart to make the waiters decide for him. I suspect it’s because he’s a chef and he knows the servers always pick the better of the two offerings!
Rich, that may be the weirdest one I’ve heard yet
i believe it’s spelled “Doritos”
Hey, I eat ice cream sandwiches the same way! It must be the correct way since that is the way the majority of people I know eat them. Rich, I bite the heads off animal crackers, but eat the whole cracker. (maybe its the idea of something looking at me when I eat it?) And the oreo thing? the ONLY way to eat a sandwich cookie of any kind.
What about people who will not allow anything to touch on their plates? now THAT is crazy!! I have a friend who freaks if anything touches on her plate!! On the other hand, my grandma used to just pile everything on her plate in one big heap. It always grossed me out.
Rich – that’s a little disturbing, Freud would say.
Rich, tell me about you mother. hehe
I remember when I was a kid and my mom (Kathy) would put her peas on her mashed potatoes and eat them together. I thought that was GROSS.
If we are going beyond snack food, I tend to save the favorite part of my meal for last. For instance, last night I made hamburger steaks with gravy and onions with buttered rice. I put the gravy on my rice (of course) and since that was my favorite, I saved the majority of the rice & gravy for last.
Oh, and I have to submit this though it’s totally off topic: Edy’s has new flavors out for a limited time! They have Girl Scout cookie flavors – Thin Mint, Samoas and Tagalongs! I bought the Samoas flavor and it is YUMMY! No odd eating habits to report though.
I do the same thing with ice cream sandwiches! I have to lick the sides then eat the cookie part/repeat. With Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups I try to use my teeth to carefully remove the top shell layer so it doesn’t crack. Then I eat that chocolate disc, THEN I eat the rest of the cup.
I can’t think of a “snack” habit, but I have a dinner habit. I won’t eat soup unless there are so many crackers in it that it qualifies as a solid food. Also, I enjoy dipping my fries in mashed potatoes. I have actually ordered both before for that reason alone.
Gee, I forgot about the peas and mashed potatoes. It’s really good if the peas are in a cream sauce..mmmm. I also like ketchup on cooked cabbage, and white beans. Don’t ask why, used to do it as a kid to get past the smell and it just carried on…..
Danielle, my husband does the same thing with his soup. I’d better have lots of saltines in the cupboard if we have soup!