英语散文:Snacks

　　Snacks are I suppose defined as things that we eat between regular meals. In fact, if you are eating something and it is not breakfast, lunch or dinner-time then it is a snack. So, if you are having an apple sometime in the afternoon then that apple is a snack. However, on the whole when we talk about snacks we are not really talki
ng about fruit and healthy things. The category of snacks is usually filled with things that are not so good for us.

　　What are these traditional snacks? Chips, or as they are called in Britain, crisps, are a favourite snack and as with most popular snacks they are not a healthy option (选择). Laden with grease (油脂) because of their origin in the fat fryer (油炸用的食品) they are the dieters curse (咒骂). Another great favourite is chocolate and again it is a food option that is well capable of converting a sleek (光滑的) physique (体形) into something a little more wobbly (不稳定的)!

　　Regarding the healthiness of snacks a big problem of so many of the regular popular options out there is generally their low quality. What you might buy in the stores on the high streets has been mass produced with all sorts of rubbish added to boost the flavour at minimum (最小的) cost. If you were to actually get many of these snack types made at home then they would probably be a lot better for you. For instance, chocolate comes from South America. The original examples of chocolate are very different to what we are now used to. Our chocolate has so much sugar and fat added to it that it would be quite unpalatable (不好吃的) to someone used to the traditional version. However, because we have all been brought up on food and snacks with no subtlety (狡猾，微妙) of flavour then we cannot appreciate the more traditional examples of snacks.

　　So because of this way our snacks are made we have developed a love-hate relationship with them. Our taste buds (味蕾) demand the satisfaction only snacks can give but the diet industry condemns (指责) them as the road to obesity (肥胖). So there is a conflict between the advertising of snacks and promotion of the lifestyle associated with them of having a good time and the attack on them as dangerous to our health from the just as aggressive diet industry. My advice, is to ignore the propaganda of both sides and enjoy snacks for what they are, which means bearing in mind that too much is too bad.