The Joy of Sunflower Seeds

I never knew how great sunflower seeds are. I'm not sure why. I just never tried one. I mean, I remember someone giving me some sunflower seeds when I was younger, and telling me not to eat the outside. But in my confusion about how to get the inside out without eating the outside, I simply sucked the salt off and went on with my life.

I was driving to Grand Teton National Park in July with my dear friend Nicholas, who picked up a bag of sunflower seeds for the ride. I was kind of hungry, so I asked, "What do I do? How do I eat this?" Nick said, "You've never eaten a sunflower seed? I feel like I don't even know you!" Once he got over the initial shock, he explained how you gently ease the shell open with your teeth, work the seed out of the shell with your tongue, and then remove the shell from your mouth before chewing and swallowing the itty-bitty seed.

At first it seemed like an extraneous amount of work for one little snack, but now I'm hooked. I can enjoy the salty satisfaction literally all day, for only one Weight Watcher point. Brilliant!