Sadly, this is not a picture of the snack mix. My roommate ate it before I could snap a photo. No joke.

Thanksgiving to New Year’s (and the few days after when you’re lying around attempting to kick the hangover) is pretty much the universal stuff-your-face time period. It’s suddenly acceptable to drink gallons of Starbucks holiday drinks and eat desserts like there’s no tomorrow.

It isn’t the healthiest thing, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow when our ambitious “go to the gym at least 5 times a week” resolution kicks in.

Or we won’t, because there are some things in life that are more important than your flat abs, and this snack is one of them. Seriously, this stuff is the reason I go to the gym. Not to burn off the calories from eating bowls full of it, mind you, but to work up an appetite so I can eat more of it.

My grandma has been making this snack mix for years and it never fails to make it into my belly. It’s just the perfect combination of salty and sweet resulting in a savory, dessert snack mix combo. It’s super easy to make, looks great in a bowl on the table and will be the hit of any party you may be throwing. It also happens to go swimmingly with long study sessions, a few back-to-back episodes of 30 Rock, or when you’re barefoot and standing over the counter late-night.

Or, you know, whenever.

The good news? You can adjust the ingredients to make it your own. You can use dark chocolate to make it a bit healthier, or mix all three for a fun (and delicious) tie-dye batch.

Ingredients:
10 oz. pretzels
1 can (14 0z.) cashews
5 cups corn Chex
5 cups Cheerios
2-12 oz. packages of white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Recipe:
1)    Mix pretzels, cashews, corn Chex and Cheerios in a large bowl. Set aside.
2)    Melt the white chocolate and vegetable oil in the microwave (2 minutes).
3)    Add chocolate mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until covered.
4)    Spread out on wax paper and let cool (it will dry into one big block).
5)    Break into pieces and eat away!!

Warning: Do not sit in front of the bowl, I repeat: DO. NOT.  It is extremely addicting and you will eat the entire thing. Instead grab handfuls as you pass through the room to control consumption.

If it’s one thing we’ve learned here at CC, it’s that all people are fascinating (Yes, even your econ professor). Let’s face it – people love to glimpse into the lives of other people. Disagree? Then please explain why you’re currently looking at your friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s photos on Facebook. Or reading about the latest Madonna/Jesus dramz in this week’s tabloids. Yeah we thought so.Fact is we connect to others by learning about them. And everyone has something to share (even if it is a story about that time you stayed in the library for 18 hours straight…)

So to give you yet another reason to procrastinate, we started ‘The Five Questions We Ask Everyone’ (and five just for that one person) because we know whether we’re schmoozing with an A- list celeb or your local bartender, you’ll be equally entertained. 

Let’s be honest here: who hasn’t read at least one Jodi Picoult book? Most of us, in fact, grab ‘em and read ‘em as soon as they hit bookstore shelves. Picoult has a knack for writing that most authors dream about. Her combination of research and talent come together seamlessly in books that are impossible to put down: My Sister’s Keeper, The Pact, Salem Falls… and those are only a few of the 15 books she’s written.

Jodi Picoult is smart (Princeton for undergrad and Harvard for her masters!), she’s talented (Um, have you read her books?!) and we got to talk to her! Read on to get inside our favorite author’s head. Read More »