Awesome Snacks

Gamers and feudal Japan fans: this samurai-themed snack box is packed with Japanese treats inspired by protagonists Nate and Yasuke from the upcoming game Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Inside are 15 Japanese snacks, limited-edition Japanese KitKats, a Tenugui towel, and an in-game digital trinket, redeemable when the game drops 2.14.2025.

Tortilla chips are Mexican food, so it’s a little strange to see a Japanese factory cranking out chips by the millions. Process X visited Koikeya to see how they turn corn kernels into deliciously crunchy snack foods. After boiling corn, machines mash it up into a doughy paste, cut that into triangles, bake and fry those before adding seasonings and packaging.

Lay’s teamed up with IHOP to bring breakfast flavors to potato chips. These special edition snacks blend natural and artificial flavorings to make them taste like pancakes with strawberry topping, maple syrup, and smoky bacon. Walmart had them on sale for a limited time for just $2.99 a bag, but prices are already rising on eBay for the things.

Here’s a great Valentine’s Day gift for men. Meathearts are tasty morsels of beef jerky cut in the shape of hearts. Like those classic Conversation Hearts candies, each is embellished with a romantic phrase like “Kiss Me,” “Meat Me,” and “Beef Mine.” Choose from Original or Spicy – with just slightly more racy words. Each gift box comes with about 16 pieces.

Japan Crate hand picks the trendiest treats from Japan and boxes up a different variety of tasty goodies each month for mailings. Filled with colorfully-wrapped individual servings, it’s a party in a box, often including brands like Lotte, Calbee, Kit-Kat, and Crunchyroll in unusual flavors not found stateside. Sold in 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month subscriptions.

When we’re dragging, one of our go-to snacks is peanut butter and cheese sandwich crackers. They offer a savory mix of carbs and protein and help us power through. Science Channel’s How It’s Made goes inside the Lance factory to see how they’re baked, cut, and assembled, and where that orange color comes from.

Now that we know about the history of mustard, it’s time to learn about one of its companion foods. Mental Floss’ Food History is here to explain where the first pretzels came from, how they evolved from a religious food into the popular snack we know and love today, and why we have both soft and hard versions.

Send a big aloha to our Hawaiian friends by checking out Big Island Coffee Roasters. Not only do they roast the very best Hawaiian coffee, they make ingenious coffee-to-go in bar form. Espresso Bites look like a candy bar but are a solidified version of espresso instead of chocolate. Don’t just drink your coffee. Eat it!

Combining and balancing flavors in an unexpected yet delicious way, these 36% milk chocolate bars have been infused with Sriracha hot sauce and a dash of pink Himalayan salt, resulting in a perfect mix of sweet and spicy. The 2.5 oz. bars also come in 55% dark chocolate and 70% dark chocolate versions.

Popcorn is a tasty and addictive snack food most associated with carnivals and movies. But who first discovered that certain kinds of corn would pop when heated, and how did popcorn eventually make its way to the concession stand? Find out in this brief history lesson from TEDEd.

Inspired by that commercial where the guy plays drums on his Pringles cans, Eric and Tony G from EMCproductions made their own set of drums out of potato crisp (and Gatorade) cans. They replaced the plastic lids with balloons as drum heads and used their metal bottoms as “cymbals.”

This goofy-looking gadget reminds us of Wolverine’s bone claws. The SNACTIV is designed to keep your fingers free of Cheetos and Doritos dust while performing other tasks. They work sort of like a pair of chopsticks, but they require none of the operational skill.

While they might not be good for us, Little Debbie snacks are a serious guilty pleasure. Weird History Food delves into the origins and evolution of the company that gave us classics like Star Crunch, Swiss Cake Rolls, and Oatmeal Creme Pies. And yes, Little Debbie is a real person.

This satisfying compilation video from Food Kingdom takes us on a tour of five factories in Korea that make different kinds of foods. We start off with rainbow-colored cake layers, followed by corn chip snacks, deep-fried and stuffed tofu pouches, chocolate nut mini brownies, and chocolate cakes. We’re so hungry now.

Matt Thompson loves to build things to make life in and around his house more convenient. Among his many creative inventions is this lawnmower tray which lets him snack, enjoy a cold beverage, and watch the game while cutting the grass. He’s also made a version for his treadmill.

Taking a page out of Back to the Future II, Hawaii’s Holomua Kitchen makes and sells skinny slices of freeze-dried pepperoni pizza, packed in an airtight bag. We haven’t tasted this crispy, crunchy snack food yet, but the 5-star reviews on Etsy sound quite promising.