Judgment? Here? Never! Angie, it's almost reassuring that you too have a junk food weakness!
This thread is a blast. Louise, I cackled out loud when I read your story!
Our snack cupboard mostly consists of different types of flavoured rice and corn cakes (dill, cheddar, sea salt and lime, salsa fresca etc). They make me feel less guilty than chips and are just as delicious. They're also in much smaller bags, so if my willlpower switches off and I finish one it's not a disastrous calamity.
I also adore dark chocolate and keep a container of Valrhona bitter-sweet collits in my pantry at all times. Just a few of those will scratch any chocolate itch I happen to have (70 per cent cocoa)! I use callebaut chips for baking, but the Valrhona are better for snacking on. Both these brands have delicious milk chocolate offferings, for those who are interested.
My biggest weakness comes to the fore when chocolate and peanut butter unite. Dangle peanut M&Ms, Crispy Crunch or snickers in front of me and I'm gone. That said, now I want some of the chocolate almonds someone mentioned earlier! Plain almonds are delicious too.

Angie, I'd love to snack in your cupboard. We have a shelf for snacks in the pantry. DH has no sweet tooth but loves salty things. His favorite is fresh popcorn. We both like cheese and crackers although his needs to be low fat. Pretzels.
Since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I eat lots of nuts and yogurt (low carb). I miss dried fruits but they are high sugar. I have frozen blueberries in the freezer that serve as my answer to ice cream. Chocolate has gone from semi-sweet to dark...the darker it is, the more I can have. I look for 80-85% and even eat straight unsweetened baking chocolate or cocoa. It's amazing to me how one's taste adapts. Now anything sweeter than dark has no flavor for me. I've come to appreciate bitter.

That's interesting, Joy!

Louise, you crack me up.

AJ, I only like classic cheetos. No variations will do!

Julie, how sad that Ben has a nut allergy. Poor bloke!

Ele, the best milk chocolate in the world is Swiss, Belgian, German and South African. Toblerone, Ritters biscuit, Lindt, Cote d'or and the right Cadburys (South African, Irish or Canadian) are our favourites. I'm afraid that British Cadburys is not quite as good - trust me, I have tried them all. I take my milk chocolate very seriously! Milka is quite nice too.

Barbara, there are many things I love about America - but your chocolate is not one of them

How fun to read about your snack cupboards. Now you know that Greg and I have very sweet teeth.

Reading this before having dinner has been a very bad idea. :O

I have the tastebuds of an 8 year old. In a perfect world (one that was calorie and heart disease free) I'd have a snack cupboard full of Smartfood cheddar cheese popcorn, Doritos, gummi bears, Reese cups and Twizzlers. Yum.

As it is, we have on hand sunflower seeds, pistachios, almonds, Sunchips, and popcorn. I also love Gala apples with very sharp cheddar cheese.

I don't have much love for American chocolate generally. I prefer English chocolate even over Belgian. The last time I was in England, I stuffed my suitcase full of chocolate to take home:) There were these lovely orange-flavored chocolate slices (looked like a Pringles chip) that were delicious. I can't find them here, sadly. I actually hid the last box from DH. :O

Cheetos? *shudder*

But then, I share BethW's affection for Twizzlers, so I'm not one to talk.

My poor children- I don't keep many snack foods in the house. No candy/chocolate, crackers (unless I make homemade high fiber ones), cookies/biscuits, or chips/crisps on any regular basis. The two kids and I are home all day most days and that is just too much time for possible snacking. Snacks at out house are usually fruit, cereal, toast/bagel/english muffins, homemade microwave popcorn, cheese,yogurt or nuts. Sometimes I buy the popsicles made from real fruit. I have to be a nazi about food because of my dd's Gi issues, so no artificial sweeteners and nothing fried.

Oh goodness. All this talk about good chocolate reminded me of my best diet ever. I was a teenager visiting a friend and her family in Switzerland, and had my first introduction to Swiss chocolate. SWOON! For 19 days I subsisted on nothing but the chocolate bars there, with a fresh orange thrown in here and there to mix things up. My friend's mother was in despair over my diet. "You need protein!" she would exclaim. I would point to the almonds and hazelnuts in my chocolate bars and would tell her there was my protein!

Somehow I lost oodles of weight doing that. I'm still not sure how that happened and have never managed to replicate it.

Michelle, you certainly know your chocolate! Valhrona and Callabaut, mmmm . . . .

Angie, you nailed it on where the many good chocolates come from. Now I just need a chance to try South African chocolate ~ never had that yet.

LOL, Sparky, I went on the European chocolate and oranges diet when I was sent to live with my uncles and aunts in Germany. Actually it was chocolate, oranges, bread and butter, in all possible combinations (well, the butter only went on the bread, but so did the chocolate). Yum.

Oh, stop it, you naughty things - it's dinner time and you are all making me hungry! And extra naughtiness for you all, because I'm on a diet and my debut as part of "bridesmaid at wedding of the year" is next weekend - putting ideas in my head like this - I'll never fit in my dress at this rate!

I must admit that I have very borrrrrrrr-ing snacks at home, because I'm trying to be one of those mothers that makes her children eat healthy food. Sooooo, can I tempt anyone with some air-popped popcorn, some sultanas or carrot sticks?

(PS - Promise you won't tell hubby about my secret stash of chocolate, will you?)

I used to be good about keeping something in the fridge for DS called the Help Yourself Shelf. I kept things there that could be grabbed quickly (already cut up and ready to go) but that were still good for you: carrot sticks with a cup of ranch dressing; yogurt; sliced cheese; ants on a log. He's at the age now where he rejects anything that seems too "little kid," and places the Help Yourself Shelf into that category, so it has gone by the wayside. But we still keep plenty of good snacking food around. No choice -- the child is a lean eating machine who's grown about 7 inches in the past year and a half.

When I was a kid, if you had given me anything overly processed and individually packaged, I would have been all over it. My son, on the other hand, much prefers real food to packaged snacks and will say, "Could I have the kind of snack that you, you know, make?"

All of this sounds so delicious. I'd probably be a LOT thinner if I didn't snack -- it's my weakness. I could make a meal out of snacking. This week I have been on a pita crackers and hummus kick. Yum.

Marianna- I find that I do a lot better if I *do* have between meal snacks. I think it's what you eat and how much of it. For me, a snack is usually under 200 calories. I eat a piece of fruit and a slice of cheese, a handful of almonds, a greek yogurt, veggie sticks with hummus, or a bag of home made microwave poopcorn. Having some protein in my snacks seems to be helpful, too.

Khris, but I am demented and cannot eat just a *little* snack on most occasions. But I don't feel like discussing that today.

I understand! *hug*

Angie, I ADORE Leonidas Belgian chocolate, which I am convinced is the best chocolate in the world. Having lived in Europe where I practically BATHED in various wonderful chocolates, I know what you mean about American chocolate. Although I DO enjoy an occasional all-American Hershey's kiss or Nestle chocolate, which is actually Swiss-style. I have sampled dozens of European chocolate brands and Ritter Sport, from Germany is, IMHO, the best 'everyday' eating chocolate. Their white chocolate is to die for!

Snacking on cereal is a very foreign concept in this household. But not in yours!

Marianna, figs are in season and we have them everyday at the moment - it makes me think of you

Sparky-Anne, its hard to believe that South Africa makes the best milk chocolate in the world, but they truly do. Try their Cadburys.

Barbara, I like your Euro chocolate selection! High five on those taste buds.

Angie, yum! I LOVE figs. I need to buy some too!

Marianna, I've been on a pita chips + hummus kick too. They're just so good!

This has been fun and hunger-inducing to read.

My snack cupboard is full of:

Sun Chips (French Onion), 60% cacao organic dark chocolate OR semisweet baking chocolate (which I like to munch on as much as I like to bake with), Nutella, wheat crackers, pink lady or granny smith apples, an assortment of cheese, olives, red grapes, strawberries, clementines, Goldfish, jalapeño smoked almonds, and sesame shiitake dressing which I use for dipping baby carrots and sliced bell pepper.

I love snacking! Couldn't live without it.

Maya, I love Nutella. I had never even heard of it until I lived in Europe. It's fab on whole wheat crackers or Triscuits. Now I'm hungry....

Marianna, I love eating fresh figs with cheese and crackers.You too? (And I like to match a certain cracker to a specific cheese - details!)

Maya, have you tried Nutella WITH wheat crackers. Very delish.

My snacks cupboard is pretty bare at the moment...the result of not being home so often so I haven't needed to stock. Mostly we have goldfish crackers and chip and salsa at the moment and corn kernels to air pop.

Angie, any suggestion for some German milk chocolate I could purchase while on a layover at a German airport?? The only European chocolate I've ever had would have been purchased in the US.

Yes, Melllls! Choose your favourite Ritter, Lindt and Milka flavours of chocolate. I love Toblerone too - so that gets a special vote.

Wrt to the Ritters - I like the one with the tea biscuit. Hazelnut is fab too.

Thanks for the quick response! Is Lindt chocolate in Europe different than the Lindt chocolate available in the US?

I will have to try that tonight Angie. I love sweet and salty! I just finished off some chocolate covered pretzels a house guest brought last week. Soooo tasty. Of course if I have nothing else, I will absolutely eat Nutella straight from the jar with a spoon...

I forgot to mention multi grain tortilla chips and tomatillo salsa. I don't eat multi grain and wheat for health reasons--I just find them tastier!

Mellllls, I think Ritter Sport is THE best German chocolate. Lilla Pause by Milka, and Ferrero are also wonderful. I lived near Heidelberg for 12 years, and tried them all!

Lindt is Swiss and fabulous!

Angie, great minds think alike! At least when it comes to German chocolate and Nutella with wheat crackers. LOL.

I should add: Aside from M&M's which I grew up with by default (my dad worked for 25 years at the corporate headquarters), I also prefer Euro chocolate. American chocolate is too sugary and acidic by comparison. But I will still eat it. Chocolate is one of my favorite things in the world.

For all the Aussies out there, I absolutely envy you and your Tim Tams :(. I used to get care packages full of assorted Tim Tams before my friend in Australia left for Germany. I have had a hankering for them for YEARS. There must be an Australian grocer somewhere in NYC that I need to find. Incidentally, when Tam first revealed her name and location, the first thing I thought of was Tim Tams, and ever since then I have associated her with the delicious confections.

Tim Tams!!! I was waiting for someone to mention those. Maya, do you have a World Market anywhere nearby? They carry Tim Tams now, but under the name Arnott's Originals. Or you can order them online from the Simply Australian website.

Angie, generally I just eat figs plain as a snack, but I am a huge cheese lover, so figs with cheese and crackers sounds delicious. Yum!