Traveling Munchie #10 - Papas fritas from Mexico

Good old Jairo. He just brought back a whole bag full of different papas fritas (potato chips) from Mexico. I really like the Sabritas chips. Sabritas is the Mexican cousin of Lays as it is also owned by Pepsi Co. Of course they have been duly entered into the virtual potato chip bag collection.

Traveling Munchie #9 - Choc Koala from Australia

Got another contribution from traveling muncher Shar who sent in this chocolate koala bear from Australia and writes:

G'Day Mate, here's a fair dinkum munchie from Down Under.

Took this picture in Sydney, Australia. The zoo in Canberra had some baby platypusses, called "puggles." They were swimming and cavorting in some bubbly water but, alas, no pictures were allowed because they are shy.

Thanks for the munchie Shar! Keep 'em coming.

If you would like to submit a traveling munchie to the blog, send your photo to travelingmunchies@gmail.com.

Fotoflexer: A new flavor of mashed potato heads

Doh! I wish I had known about FotoFlexer before I did my Potato/Head Mashup.
FotoFlexer is a fun and easy website that lets you manipulate photos, store them online, or share them on photo and social networking sites. Way cool! Look for more munchie mashups in the future.

Potato/Head Mashup - Try 'em All

While doing research for the Traveling Munchies the other day, I happened to stumble upon some pages on the U.S. Potato Board site written by the President & CEO of the U.S. Potato Board, a Mr. Tim O'Connor. Immediately I was struck by the uncanny resemblance to none other than Mr. Potato Head himself. This got me thinking. Isn't it ironic that the head of the potato board is a twin of Mr. Potato Head?

Then I got the idea.

How about a "Potato / Head mashup" of the head of the potatoes with Mr. Potato Head? Of course, mashing up 2 heads is not all that fun so I decided to throw in Dabney Coleman, because, well, he looks like Mr. Potato head too. Play the potato/head mashup for yourself here.

Traveling Munchie #8 goes to Chile

Traveling Munchie #8 continues its tour of South America with a visit to Santiago de Chile. Here is a picture of the the well-travelled Nutri-Grain bar visiting the famous "Centro Artesenal de los Dominicos" as seen on the back of the 2000 pesos bill.

Traveling Munchie #8 - American Nutri-Grain in Mexico

Jairo took a Nutri-Grain bar from Connecticut, USA to Guadalajara, Mexico to see the sights. Here are a couple of photos of the munchie's tour.


TM#8 contemplates its own mortality as a perishible food item as it looks at a statue of "La Muerte".


TM#8 Enjoys the lighter side of Mexico City art.

Visit the Web Album here.

Utz Potato Chips - For The Dumb But Healthy

On this bag of Utz potato chips, the Utz copy writers proclaim that their recipe has:
"the lowest sodium level among leading chip brands"
Then they go on to say:
"We have never advertised that fact, but we thought those concerned with their sodium intake would want to know."

Apparently writing and distributing that fact on millions of bags of potato chips is not considered advertising. I could let that one slide, but the part that really gets me is the fact that they write this drivel right next to the government mandated Nutrition Facts box which clearly labels the sodium level of the chips! So I suppose what they are really saying is:

"If you're concerned with your sodium level but you are not sure if 95 mg (4% daily recommended value) is good for you, well let us reassure you that it is less than those other guys."

Maybe I'm being to hard on the good folks at Utz. They really do make a tasty chip. Plus, just to make sure their less than smart clients understand the nutritional value of their snacks, the Utz website includes a handy PDF document called How to Read Nutrition Labels. This informative document will straighten everything out with simple to understand descriptions such as:

"CALORIES: Lists the number of calories in the serving stated above."
"TOTAL FAT: Lists the grams of fat in a serving of the food."