Traveling Munchie #11 - Baby Star snacks and other Asian munchies

Traveling muncher Joe just got back from Hong Kong and brought us a delectable assortment of snack foods. Included in the bunch were Shrimp Chips, Hot and Spicy potato chips, Smoked Flavor Roller Coasters which appear to be some sort of potato snack shaped like Calamari, and some noodle snacks with great cartoon directions on the back which are titled "Way to Eat". The directions go as follows:

"Can eat by hand
Can eat from bag
Suits the time when drink beer or tea"

This munchie adds Asia to the list of continents from which our munchies have traveled leaving only Africa and Antarctica to go. So if you are a scientist freezing your buns off in Antarctica send us a picture of whatever it is you eat down there for snacks. Send your pictures to travelingmunchies@gmail.com.

Video: How Potato Chips are Made

Ever wonder how potato chips are made? Check out this video available on MetaCafe that shows the process. The best thing I learned was there are about 36 chips in the average potato. So that means we the bags we use for the Virtual Potato Chip Bag Collection contain about 1 potato each. peapod.com (a grocery delivery service) has Yellow Potatoes for about 50 cents each so that is about 50 cents for a bag of chips, whereas it cost 85 cents in the local vending machine. Not bad!

It's Raining Potato Chips! - For more funny movies, click here

Twinkie the Grandkid not as talented as his father

This Hostess Twinkie showed up in the vending machine this week and I have to admit I didn't recognize it at first. What is with the retro color scheme and even worse, what is with that new character on the front? I came to the conclusion that it must be Twinkie the Grandkid because that is definitely not the Twinkie the Kid I used to know and love.

Simply compare this YouTube video with the heroic twinkie rescuing a runaway train and compare it to that amorphous pseudo-phallic blob of a cowboy they have on the package now and you will see what I mean.


The grandkid has really squandered his father's legacy and let the twinkie product go to pot. The one I had was really rather disappointing. I hope Hostess takes notice and fires the grandkid, because he clearly does not know his way around a bakery.

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.