All Photos By Gail

Do you like to Snack? I sure do. For many of us, snacking choices are all about convenience — something that’s made to ‘grab and go’ around  a busy schedule — but we also want a healthier snack that still feels like an indulgence. Sound challenging? It isn’t at all. Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended the Editor Showcase Snack Attack edition of their quarterly brand showcase, held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, and had the chance to snack my way around the room, discovering all sorts of delicious and better-for-you snacks along the way.  From Chips and Crackers to Candy and Nuts, here are some the brands we think you’ll soon be craving.

Farmer’s Pantry is one of the hottest new companies to pioneer wholesome, substantial and irresistibly delicious snacks all grown on American Farms using original American Recipes. Like the name suggests, Farmer’s Pantry is passionate about creating scrumptious, hearty snacks using the kind of authentic, identifiable ingredients you would find in a farmer’s pantry! Every snack is lovingly crafted from some combination of meats, grains and vegetables.

At Snack Attack, Farmer’s Pantry debuted two new snack lines. Farmers Pantry Cornbread Crisps, available in Original, Jalapeno, Honey-Butter and new BBQ flavors, are a crispy, savory baked snack made from fresh corn and other whole grains. Farmers Pantry Meal Snacks are the only snacks on the market that combine protein-packed meat plus a side dish of vegetables, cornbread crisps or fries in one innovative package. Pictured above are the Chicken & Waffle Crisps, made with Chicken Jerky and maple waffles, and Steak’N Fries variety, made with Beef Jerky and french fries. It’s a snack revolution!

With a history dating back to 1885, G.H. Cretors Popped Corn is a line of obsessively delicious popcorn in flavors that include bold, uniquely crave-able favorites like Chile Jalapeno White Cheddar and Dill Pickle!

My favorite is The Mix, a one-of-a-kind blend of rich, buttery caramel corn and premium, aged cheddar cheese corn together  in one bag, for a mouth-watering mix of sweet and salty — the taste is truly crave-able! Crafted in small batches in Waukegan, Illinois, all G.H. Cretors popcorn varieties are made with real, high-quality ingredients, using Non-GMO popcorn, and no artificial colors or flavors. Available in 9 different flavors, snackers can enjoy G.H. Cretors at home, on-the-go, or anywhere else when the craving strikes.

If you are a lover of  chips, but grow tired of the same old potato or tortilla chips brands, Snack Attack had many alternative options to tempt your taste buds. Good Health Natural Products, Inc. is the creator of crunchy, crave-worthy snacks that make it easy to make better choices. A trailblazer in common sense snacking, Good Health’s robust portfolio of snacks are made with better-for-you ingredients, like olive and avocado oils, whole grains, sweet potatoes and vegetables – all so you can Enjoy Being Good (as their slogan implores) without sacrificing great taste!

Good Health Black Bean & Rice Organic Tortillas are dynamite with dips, guacamole and salsa, and they’re absolutely unbeatable with cheese! Serve them proudly alongside all of your homemade Mexican favorites! Their Gluten Free Pretzels are also a must-have party snack!

Sharing booth space with Good Health, we found the Snikiddy snack line; delicious snacks created by two moms and made from simple, wholesome, real-food ingredients. The brand recently underwent a product line upgrade and now offers organic Grilled Cheese Baked Puffs and Mac N’ Cheese Baked Puffs (both so crunchy and cheese-e-licious), plus whole grain Purple Corn Puffs, and Baked Fries, made with organic corn and sunflower oil. All Snikiddy snacks are certified Gluten Free, Kosher, Non-GMO and contain only healthful, natural ingredients.

Hain Celestial, a leading organic and natural products company, offers a selection of delicious snack options, including: Garden of Eatin’ tortilla chips made with organic corn; family-friendly Sensible Portions Garden Veggie straws and chips; and TERRA real vegetable chips.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m at a party and I see a bowl of  TERRA chips,  I will pick out all of the sweet potato chips and eat them myself. New at Snack Attack were two flavors of TERRA chips: Sweet Plantains and regular Plantains! Yummy!

Crunchmaster Crackers are a sturdy, bold-flavored cracker made with whole grains, seeds, and . . . that’s about it.

Showcasing at Snack Attack were several new Crunchmaster varieties:  Protein Snack Crackers with five grams of plant-based protein per serving,  Tuscan Peasant Crackers (perfect for topping with your favorite cheeses, spreads or tapenades), and a new seasonal flavor, Pumpkin Harvest, with a savory pumpkin flavor, which will be available in the fall — just in time for the holiday entertaining season!

Never fear: there were plenty of sweet snacks to give the crackers and chips a run for the money! If you’re not already familiar with Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle, the crispy brownie snack, then you have some catching up to do! The Brownie Brittle family continues to expand to include new gluten free Brownie Brittle in two varieties: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, and Chocolate Chip!

We were also introduced to (I can’t even believe I am about to type this) Brownie Brittle Cookie Bites: crisp morsels of chocolate chip cookies covered in creamy Milk Chocolate. Insane!

It may have all started with the Teddy Graham, but the Teddy brand of baked treats is about so much more.  Brand new on the shelf are Teddy Soft Bakes, fluffy, soft-baked filled treats in the fun shape of a bear. Teddy Soft Bakes are individually-wrapped, snack-size cakes with a hidden flavored filling that kids will love to discover. They can be an ideal snacking option that helps spark playful moments of discovery and natural curiosity.  Teddy Soft Bakes come in two varieties: Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Filling, and Chocolate Cake with Vanilla filling.

A perfect treat for the Back-to-School lunch box, Teddy Soft Bakes are the Bomb.

If I had to choose just one item as my Favorite Thing of Snack Attack 2017, it would be Bakerly Crepes Snacks. Bakerly Crepes are made from an authentic French recipe using simple, pure ingredients like milk, eggs wheat flour, chocolate, real fruit and other natural flavors, and they are baked by artisan bakers! Once you taste them, you will have no doubt as to why Bakerly Crepes are the #1 snack in France! C’est si bon!

Here, we see a variety of delicious Bakerly Crepes held in the loving hands of Brand Ambassador Franck, who gave me a most generous amount of samples — including the flavors Chocolate, Strawberry, and Crunchy, featuring Crispy Rice Cereal and Chocolate Hazelnut filling — to snack on at home. Merci, Franck!

Bakerly Crepes, Everyone!

National S’Mores Day was just celebrated on August 10th, but in case you missed it,  Snack Attack reminds us that all of the ingredient in everyone’s favorite campfire treat — a warm, toasted marshmallow and piece of milk chocolate sandwiched between to graham crackers —  can be made right in your own home, or even your own backyard! The brand trio of Honey Maid Grahams, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate and Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows has named S’Mores as the Official Dessert of the BBQ! In addition to receiving one of every item  pictured on the table above, Editor Showcase attendees learned about fun and easy recipes for making S’Mores Skillet Pizza, and . . .

S’Mores on a Stick, which is a delicious, no-bake treat! Find those, and other summer recipes, at This Link!

You may have grown accustom to seeing Bahlsen cookies around the Christmas holidays, but did you know that over 125 years, generations of the Bahlsen family have baked European cookies to be enjoyed across the globe? From their crisp butter biscuits to the indulgent chocolate selection, there is something delicious for every occasion. All Bahlsen cookie recipes are made with love, using only the very highest quality ingredients, for a truly exceptional cookie.

My favorites are the Choco Leibniz (above, right) — with a lavish layer of European Milk Chocolate atop  the original Leibniz butter biscuit — and the Waffletten (above, left) made from a crunchy wafer rolled into fine, crisp layers, and then dipped into rich European chocolate (these are so great with ice cream). Don’t wait for a special occasion to serve these excellent baked goods; treat yourself and your family to a box (or two) of Bahlsen cookies right now!

Do you like chocolate? I got yer chocolate right here. Merci’s Finest Selection offers fine European chocolates especially chosen and packaged to give as Thank You gifts or as any gesture of sincere appreciation. Known as Europe’s famous gift-giving chocolate, Merci offers something for every taste. What a great idea!!

Each slim, stylish box contains eight unique, individually wrapped flavors including Milk Chocolate, Coffee and Cream, Hazelnut-Almond, Hazelnut-Creme, Marzipan, Dark Creme, Dark Mouse and Praline-Creme.

Merci is available in grocery stores nationwide, and can also be ordered online with your owncustom packaging if desired (shipping domestically or internationally) at This Link.

HI-CHEW Candy has long been the #1 soft candy in Japan, but it also has a large fan following in America. Sometimes, I even make a special run to my favorite Asian Import Store downtown, just to stock up on my most-addicted-to HI-CHEW flavors! Similar to a Starburst in texture (but far superior in taste), HI-CHEW is made with real fruit juice and purees, and comes in Strawberry, Green Apple, Mango, Grape, Cherry, Banana (the best!), and Melon. HI-CHEW Sours come in Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit, while new HI-CHEW Bites, offered in Grape, Strawberry, Mango, and Orange, provide your favorite HI-CHEW chewiness with a hard candy shell. Excellent!