The Gas Station Snack Game

An introduction to the latest summer craze as soon as I fill 'er up...

The Purpose of the Gas Station Snack Game (GSSG):

Gas stations are treasure troves for personal snacking, and careful consideration should be taken when making your selection.  The perfect combo should not only taste great and satisfy hunger, but be budget friendly and relatively healthy.

The Gas Station Snack Game Rules:

1.  When you stop to buy gas and get snacks for the road, what you spend on your snacks cannot exceed the price of a gallon of unleaded.

2.  The total calories of your snacks (drinks and food) cannot exceed 500.

3.  You are not required to buy a drink, but refusing to do so could potentially hinder your snacking experience.

4.  For every calorie of your snack combo that is fewer than 500, you are allowed to add a penny to the total cost of said combo.  For example, if your limit was $3.65, but the register rang you up for $3.75, as long as your total calorie count is below 490, you are safe.

5.  If your snack combo breaks these rules, you may finish your snack, but you have to do a push-up for every penny AND/OR calorie your snack exceeded the limit when you have reached your destination.

Example:

Today I decided to kick off the GSSG craze with a trip to the Hess on Route 30 in Amsterdam.  A gallon of unleaded was $3.65.  My snack selection was:

-1 1.5oz bag of Herr's Baby Back Ribs Potato Chips ($1.60, 210 cal)
-1 0.97oz Slim Jim stick Original ($1.00, 150 cal)
-1 16oz Coke Zero ($1.00, 0 cal)

Total:  $3.60, 360 calories (5 cents under budget, 140 calories under budget)

Ladies and gentlemen:  Your inaugural GSSG entry.

Combo Review:  First of all, the prices are estimates since they weren't labeled properly, but the total after tax was $3.60.  Watch out for that.  When the guy told me the price, I let go a sigh of relief, and he shot me a weird look, because I paid with a 5 dollar bill.  I wasn't going to explain the game to him just yet.

The combo itself was very beefy themed.  The Herr's chips were tasty.  I've always loved their Ketchup chips, so I knew I was in good hands when trying their "Baby Back Ribs" flavor.  Slim Jims always hit the spot, and are a staple of my road trip snack arsenal.  Coke Zero is a drink I routinely wash my snacks down with at any time of the day, and not having to add calories is a bonus.

Being 140 calories under 500, I've discovered that you don't always have to go with a diet soda or water to have a shot at staying in bounds.  So go ahead and get that Gatorade if you want it.

Not only did this combo make the taste buds happy, it was very filling as well.  Safe to say this was a very successful first attempt, and I highly recommend it.

It would be crazy, though, to think that this particular combo is your only route.  I will continue to search for alternative entries and relay them to you.

Of course, I'd love to see others participate in playing the GSSG, and I look forward to seeing your results in the comments section.  I know you guys are going to be driving somewhere this summer, and to do so you need gas and snacks to fuel your car and yourselves, so game on!