Snacks
Do you like to have snacks between meals? What kind of snacks do you like to eat? When do you usually have snacks? What kind of snacks do children in your country like to eat? What was the most popular snack when you were young?
Vocabulary
- Treat (noun) - a type of food that is eaten in addition to your usual meals, usually something sweet.
- Mid-morning (noun) - in the middle of the morning.
- Peak (adj.) - peak times are the times when most people are using or doing something.
- Sugary (adj.) - containing sugar.
- Prominently (adverb) - in a way that can easily be seen or noticed.
- Savoury (adj.) - savoury food is salty or spicy and not sweet in taste.
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Questions and answers
M: What kinds of snacks do you like to eat?
R: Well, I try and aim for the healthier ones like protein bars or low sugar treats, but it's not always possible, is it?
M: When do you usually have snacks?
R: Well, ideally, never after dinner, and if I'm going to have them it'll be mid-morning or mid-afternoon. They're my peak hours usually.
M: What kind of snacks do children in your country like to eat?
R: Well, too many if you ask any adult. They always seem to have something sugary or sweet. I don't really know the names of them, to be honest with you.
M: What was the most popular snack when you were young?
R: I think it would be easier to talk about the ones that we didn't have, to be honest with you. The ones I remember the most prominently are sort of the bar-like ones, but they were pretty much available in any shape and form you'd care to mention.
R: Well, I try and aim for the healthier ones like protein bars or low sugar treats, but it's not always possible, is it?
M: When do you usually have snacks?
R: Well, ideally, never after dinner, and if I'm going to have them it'll be mid-morning or mid-afternoon. They're my peak hours usually.
M: What kind of snacks do children in your country like to eat?
R: Well, too many if you ask any adult. They always seem to have something sugary or sweet. I don't really know the names of them, to be honest with you.
M: What was the most popular snack when you were young?
R: I think it would be easier to talk about the ones that we didn't have, to be honest with you. The ones I remember the most prominently are sort of the bar-like ones, but they were pretty much available in any shape and form you'd care to mention.
Discussion
R: Shall we talk about the grammar and vocabulary that our viewers and listeners can snack on?
M: Yes. Yeah. Oh, to snack on something. That's a good one.
R: Is that a phrasal verb?
M: I think so. Or it's a verb and a preposition, so, for example...
M: Oh, oh, boy. Okay, so for example, now I'm snacking on, I'm snacking on... What is this? Borodinskie hlebtsi. That was in Russian. So, dear listener, a snack. A snack is what, first of all? A snack is generally defined as any food eaten between meals. So it could be something like that. Or popcorn, even like a drink. A drink together with, something is a snack, it could be healthy or not healthy. Yeah?
R: I don't think it's... Well, I mean, it could be healthy or unhealthy, to be honest with you, but I guess it depends who you ask whether it's healthy or not. To do it, to snack.
M: To snack. Yeah, so a snack, to have a snack, to eat a snack or to snack. So I'd like to snack on something or I usually snack on fruit. Or Rory, usually snacks on what? Ice cream?
R: No, not ice cream. It's usually... Like I say it's usually something healthier. Cause I'm on a bit of a health kick right now. So it's like either not doing it at all, or when it is, it's like protein bars or something like that.
M: So Rory usually snacks on protein bars. But my favourite snack, dear listener, is a cucumber. Yes, you might think that it's very strange that I'm just eating a cucumber like this. But people eat like apples or peaches like this, you know? Why not a cucumber?
R: Why not indeed? It might even be better for you.
M: Yeah. So please make sure that you choose healthy snacks.
R: However, if you don't snack, then there's a couple of things in my answer that might help you. For example, saying that you try your best to avoid something or try my best to do something. Those are quite good structures to use in any circumstance. It could be talking about snacks or it could be talking about doing something else that's quite unhealthy or that requires a lot of effort.
M: I try my best to avoid unhealthy snacks.
M: Yes. Yeah. Oh, to snack on something. That's a good one.
R: Is that a phrasal verb?
M: I think so. Or it's a verb and a preposition, so, for example...
M: Oh, oh, boy. Okay, so for example, now I'm snacking on, I'm snacking on... What is this? Borodinskie hlebtsi. That was in Russian. So, dear listener, a snack. A snack is what, first of all? A snack is generally defined as any food eaten between meals. So it could be something like that. Or popcorn, even like a drink. A drink together with, something is a snack, it could be healthy or not healthy. Yeah?
R: I don't think it's... Well, I mean, it could be healthy or unhealthy, to be honest with you, but I guess it depends who you ask whether it's healthy or not. To do it, to snack.
M: To snack. Yeah, so a snack, to have a snack, to eat a snack or to snack. So I'd like to snack on something or I usually snack on fruit. Or Rory, usually snacks on what? Ice cream?
R: No, not ice cream. It's usually... Like I say it's usually something healthier. Cause I'm on a bit of a health kick right now. So it's like either not doing it at all, or when it is, it's like protein bars or something like that.
M: So Rory usually snacks on protein bars. But my favourite snack, dear listener, is a cucumber. Yes, you might think that it's very strange that I'm just eating a cucumber like this. But people eat like apples or peaches like this, you know? Why not a cucumber?
R: Why not indeed? It might even be better for you.
M: Yeah. So please make sure that you choose healthy snacks.
R: However, if you don't snack, then there's a couple of things in my answer that might help you. For example, saying that you try your best to avoid something or try my best to do something. Those are quite good structures to use in any circumstance. It could be talking about snacks or it could be talking about doing something else that's quite unhealthy or that requires a lot of effort.
M: I try my best to avoid unhealthy snacks.
R: I try my best to avoid hard work.
M: Good for you. What does it mean if I say I have snacks when I feel peckish?
R: Oh, when you feel peckish, it just means that you want to eat something but you don't want to eat a lot, you want to eat a little bit. So if you think about peck, like hands pecking the ground. Pecking, like that. And they don't eat a lot when they're doing that, they're just taking small bites of things, well, or attempting to find something to take a small bite from.
M: For example, oh, I feel a bit peckish. So I'm going to have a cucumber. Then what kinds of snacks do you usually have? Even if you don't, dear listener, please make sure that you have a list of your favourite snacks. For example, Rory, you mentioned what?
R: Well, I didn't mention any specific brands because we're not being sponsored. However, if there are any food companies out there that would like to sponsor us then please get in touch. I just was very general when I was talking. So I just said protein bars, or I use different adjectives to describe the kinds of treats, so low sugar treats, so something that doesn't have lots of sugar in it.
M: What is a treat? You didn't say a snack? You said a treat.
R: Yes, but it's like, it's like a reward. Something nice that you can eat, although a snack is usually something nice that you can eat as well. Usually. Some people eat really healthy and dry and tasteless things like yourself, and that's not so great. But most people would consider it a reward for something or something nice to happen to them.
M: And treats are usually like cookies or something sweet or chocolates. Something which is high in sugar, usually, treats. Oh, I have a treat. I'll have something like chocolate. So for example, dear listener, if you say, oh, I feel a bit peckish, I want to have a treat. So I would go for Turkish Delight. So something like, you know, really sweet and yummy. Yum, yum, yum. Some Turkish Delight. Also, what kinds of snacks? You can say I prefer savoury snacks or sweet snacks. What other snacks can we have? Like for example, savoury. What would be a savoury snack?
R: To be honest with you, most things at bakeries that break up when you pull them apart, they're, they're savoury. So they're drier than average. So things like I'm trying to think of a concrete example. Crisps.
M: Crisps, yeah, cheese. Roasted nuts, for example. Yeah, you can say like, oh, I prefer some nuts.
R: What's the best way to describe savoury? It's to do with like the drying sensation that you get.
M: Good for you. What does it mean if I say I have snacks when I feel peckish?
R: Oh, when you feel peckish, it just means that you want to eat something but you don't want to eat a lot, you want to eat a little bit. So if you think about peck, like hands pecking the ground. Pecking, like that. And they don't eat a lot when they're doing that, they're just taking small bites of things, well, or attempting to find something to take a small bite from.
M: For example, oh, I feel a bit peckish. So I'm going to have a cucumber. Then what kinds of snacks do you usually have? Even if you don't, dear listener, please make sure that you have a list of your favourite snacks. For example, Rory, you mentioned what?
R: Well, I didn't mention any specific brands because we're not being sponsored. However, if there are any food companies out there that would like to sponsor us then please get in touch. I just was very general when I was talking. So I just said protein bars, or I use different adjectives to describe the kinds of treats, so low sugar treats, so something that doesn't have lots of sugar in it.
M: What is a treat? You didn't say a snack? You said a treat.
R: Yes, but it's like, it's like a reward. Something nice that you can eat, although a snack is usually something nice that you can eat as well. Usually. Some people eat really healthy and dry and tasteless things like yourself, and that's not so great. But most people would consider it a reward for something or something nice to happen to them.
M: And treats are usually like cookies or something sweet or chocolates. Something which is high in sugar, usually, treats. Oh, I have a treat. I'll have something like chocolate. So for example, dear listener, if you say, oh, I feel a bit peckish, I want to have a treat. So I would go for Turkish Delight. So something like, you know, really sweet and yummy. Yum, yum, yum. Some Turkish Delight. Also, what kinds of snacks? You can say I prefer savoury snacks or sweet snacks. What other snacks can we have? Like for example, savoury. What would be a savoury snack?
R: To be honest with you, most things at bakeries that break up when you pull them apart, they're, they're savoury. So they're drier than average. So things like I'm trying to think of a concrete example. Crisps.
M: Crisps, yeah, cheese. Roasted nuts, for example. Yeah, you can say like, oh, I prefer some nuts.
R: What's the best way to describe savoury? It's to do with like the drying sensation that you get.
M: So you can say I prefer sweet snacks or savoury snacks or sweet and savoury. Also, you can say I prefer crunchy snacks. So for example, crunchy, is something that crunches. Like... Crunchy, you see. So this one is not really crunchy. It's like soft, this chocolate pie thing. It's not really crunchy. Right? Crunchy like apples. Like again, crackers. When do you usually have snacks? So, Rory, you said that never after dinner, so you have your dinner and then no snacks.
R: Well, ideally, never after dinner. I mean, actually, that's good adverb to have or to start off with, because you could say anything afterwards. But you're talking about what you would really want to happen. So ideally, never after dinner, although sometimes that's just not possible, because maybe dinner wasn't enough, or wasn't filling enough in this case.
M: And then an "if structure". If I'm going to have a snack, or if I want to have a snack, it will probably be the mid-morning. I usually have snacks in the middle of the morning or afternoon.
R: The mid-morning, the mid-afternoon, because they're my peak hours because I'm a primary school teacher now. So I have to work lots and lots in the middle of the morning and in the middle of the afternoon.
M: But also, dear listener, you can have a bedtime snack before you go to bed.
R: Yeah, if you hate yourself. What, I can't imagine anything worse than eating before bed. Do you do this?
M: Sometimes? Yeah, yeah. I'll have some cheese or some, for example, something savoury or sweet. What about children, Rory? What did you say about children?
R: I admit I had a little bit of fun with that one. So it's like, really, the question is about the specific kinds of snacks that children like to eat in your country. But instead, I took that to mean how much or how often they have them. So I said too many or too much. And so that's like a joke. And then you go into more details about what they have. But to be honest with you, and I'm wondering if this is just true in my country, or if it's true everywhere. Like, I think there's no limit to the different kinds of snacks that kids can have. So you can just say like they come in different shapes and sizes, different forms. They cater to a variety of tastes. And actually, that's a good use of taste here because we're talking about snacks and eating. And taste is what people prefer. So it all fits together quite nicely. And you haven't even given a very specific answer. Because, really, I mean, children enjoy different things, don't they?
M: Yes, they do. And usually, they seem to enjoy sugary snacks. So snacks with sugar, high in sugar, sugary snacks. What about the most popular snack when you were young, Rory? A long time ago, Rory was young. So...
R: But did I give an answer to that?
R: Well, ideally, never after dinner. I mean, actually, that's good adverb to have or to start off with, because you could say anything afterwards. But you're talking about what you would really want to happen. So ideally, never after dinner, although sometimes that's just not possible, because maybe dinner wasn't enough, or wasn't filling enough in this case.
M: And then an "if structure". If I'm going to have a snack, or if I want to have a snack, it will probably be the mid-morning. I usually have snacks in the middle of the morning or afternoon.
R: The mid-morning, the mid-afternoon, because they're my peak hours because I'm a primary school teacher now. So I have to work lots and lots in the middle of the morning and in the middle of the afternoon.
M: But also, dear listener, you can have a bedtime snack before you go to bed.
R: Yeah, if you hate yourself. What, I can't imagine anything worse than eating before bed. Do you do this?
M: Sometimes? Yeah, yeah. I'll have some cheese or some, for example, something savoury or sweet. What about children, Rory? What did you say about children?
R: I admit I had a little bit of fun with that one. So it's like, really, the question is about the specific kinds of snacks that children like to eat in your country. But instead, I took that to mean how much or how often they have them. So I said too many or too much. And so that's like a joke. And then you go into more details about what they have. But to be honest with you, and I'm wondering if this is just true in my country, or if it's true everywhere. Like, I think there's no limit to the different kinds of snacks that kids can have. So you can just say like they come in different shapes and sizes, different forms. They cater to a variety of tastes. And actually, that's a good use of taste here because we're talking about snacks and eating. And taste is what people prefer. So it all fits together quite nicely. And you haven't even given a very specific answer. Because, really, I mean, children enjoy different things, don't they?
M: Yes, they do. And usually, they seem to enjoy sugary snacks. So snacks with sugar, high in sugar, sugary snacks. What about the most popular snack when you were young, Rory? A long time ago, Rory was young. So...
R: But did I give an answer to that?
M: Yeah, you said something like a lot of bar-type sweets. So if I have a bar of chocolate, it's kind of like Snickers, a bar.
R: So like Mars bars and Snickers bars and things like that, again, you don't... How... Let's be realistic. How many people remember these kinds of details about their childhood? Like, oh, what was I eating other than the fact that I was enjoying it? Maybe you did have a favourite kind of sweet but if you didn't, you could just say like, there were bars, bars of chocolate or bar type sweets, you know, and the examiner will get the idea. And really, like realistically, how many people remember these specific products from, well, in my case, it was 20 years ago. So what we were eating back then will be different to now.
M: You can also say that my snacking behaviour is what?
R: Well, you could make a comparison between now and the past. So what, my snacking behaviour hasn't changed much over the years. So it's the same thing. I still eat chocolate bars and I ate chocolate bars back then.
M: Also, make sure that you avoid, you do your best or you try your best to avoid emotional eating. And also emotional snacking. So snacking out of boredom. No, don't do it. Okay? This is not a good idea. Right, Rory, I have kind of a quiz for you. Not a quiz. But you're gonna now choose your favourite snack and, dear listener, write in the comments which snack out of the ones that I'm going to give you now would you prefer.
R: Is this the list that starts with...
M: Wait, wait, you're not supposed to read that.
R: Oh, okay. Sorry. This is the problem. Okay. Right, can we?
M: So, dear listener, listen, watch and write in the comments which snack is your favourite? Rory, you listen to me very attentively. Okay?
R: Okay.
M: And choose the snack of the day, the snack of the week for you. So first of all, bliss balls.
R: I don't know what that is.
M: You should Google. Just go Google it.
R: So like Mars bars and Snickers bars and things like that, again, you don't... How... Let's be realistic. How many people remember these kinds of details about their childhood? Like, oh, what was I eating other than the fact that I was enjoying it? Maybe you did have a favourite kind of sweet but if you didn't, you could just say like, there were bars, bars of chocolate or bar type sweets, you know, and the examiner will get the idea. And really, like realistically, how many people remember these specific products from, well, in my case, it was 20 years ago. So what we were eating back then will be different to now.
M: You can also say that my snacking behaviour is what?
R: Well, you could make a comparison between now and the past. So what, my snacking behaviour hasn't changed much over the years. So it's the same thing. I still eat chocolate bars and I ate chocolate bars back then.
M: Also, make sure that you avoid, you do your best or you try your best to avoid emotional eating. And also emotional snacking. So snacking out of boredom. No, don't do it. Okay? This is not a good idea. Right, Rory, I have kind of a quiz for you. Not a quiz. But you're gonna now choose your favourite snack and, dear listener, write in the comments which snack out of the ones that I'm going to give you now would you prefer.
R: Is this the list that starts with...
M: Wait, wait, you're not supposed to read that.
R: Oh, okay. Sorry. This is the problem. Okay. Right, can we?
M: So, dear listener, listen, watch and write in the comments which snack is your favourite? Rory, you listen to me very attentively. Okay?
R: Okay.
M: And choose the snack of the day, the snack of the week for you. So first of all, bliss balls.
R: I don't know what that is.
M: You should Google. Just go Google it.
R: Wait, you just told me to listen to you very attentively. And now you're asking me to...
M: Yeah, yeah, right, right. Okay, okay. So bliss balls. You can look at the picture that I have there for you.
R: Right. Okay.
M: Bliss balls. If you don't know what it means, go to Google and put bliss, bliss, balls. So, bliss balls. Alright? That's number one.
R: Oh, I know what those are. Right. Okay. I just didn't realize that's what they were called.
M: Bliss balls. Then apple with peanut butter. Okay? That's the second one. Popcorn. Watermelon. Okay? Guacamole. How do you pronounce that? Guacamole.
R: Guacamole?
M: Guatemala. Is that the thing from avocado?
R: Yeah, it's avocados and, I think, peppers are in it as well.
M: Humus. Humus. And the last one, Greek yoghurt with fresh berries.
R: Okay. And I have to choose the ones that are my favourite.
M: Yes, one. So one that you would like to have, and your favourite, yeah. Which one?
R: Probably the bliss balls, even though I didn't know what those were until I googled them there. I've had them before. They're nice. But I didn't realize that's what they were called.
M: Yeah. So bliss balls, you can google them. So they could be very creative. Could be savoury or sweet. And this is kind of like we have these healthy trends or trends of 2022. So bliss balls are on the list, dear listener. So now you do know what snacks you should have. And also if you show it off, if you show off your vocabulary in front of the examiner and say, oh, yeah, I prefer to have humus or roasted chickpeas, or for example, dark chocolate-covered almonds. You see, this is a different level of vocabulary. This is a different level of snacks. Even if you have only this, just in the exam, say something fancy. Alright? So for what band, Rory?
R: For a band nine score.
M: Band nine score.
R: However, if you're like me, and you're not a big fan of snacking, then you can always just give very broad answers using the structures that we talked about, because you're assessed on your grammar, as well as your vocabulary.
M: Thank you very much for listening! Thank you for pushing the like button and subscribing!
R: Booping the like button.
M: The link to the transcript is in the description. So thank you very much!
R: And we'll see you next week. Bye-bye!
M: Bye!
M: Yeah, yeah, right, right. Okay, okay. So bliss balls. You can look at the picture that I have there for you.
R: Right. Okay.
M: Bliss balls. If you don't know what it means, go to Google and put bliss, bliss, balls. So, bliss balls. Alright? That's number one.
R: Oh, I know what those are. Right. Okay. I just didn't realize that's what they were called.
M: Bliss balls. Then apple with peanut butter. Okay? That's the second one. Popcorn. Watermelon. Okay? Guacamole. How do you pronounce that? Guacamole.
R: Guacamole?
M: Guatemala. Is that the thing from avocado?
R: Yeah, it's avocados and, I think, peppers are in it as well.
M: Humus. Humus. And the last one, Greek yoghurt with fresh berries.
R: Okay. And I have to choose the ones that are my favourite.
M: Yes, one. So one that you would like to have, and your favourite, yeah. Which one?
R: Probably the bliss balls, even though I didn't know what those were until I googled them there. I've had them before. They're nice. But I didn't realize that's what they were called.
M: Yeah. So bliss balls, you can google them. So they could be very creative. Could be savoury or sweet. And this is kind of like we have these healthy trends or trends of 2022. So bliss balls are on the list, dear listener. So now you do know what snacks you should have. And also if you show it off, if you show off your vocabulary in front of the examiner and say, oh, yeah, I prefer to have humus or roasted chickpeas, or for example, dark chocolate-covered almonds. You see, this is a different level of vocabulary. This is a different level of snacks. Even if you have only this, just in the exam, say something fancy. Alright? So for what band, Rory?
R: For a band nine score.
M: Band nine score.
R: However, if you're like me, and you're not a big fan of snacking, then you can always just give very broad answers using the structures that we talked about, because you're assessed on your grammar, as well as your vocabulary.
M: Thank you very much for listening! Thank you for pushing the like button and subscribing!
R: Booping the like button.
M: The link to the transcript is in the description. So thank you very much!
R: And we'll see you next week. Bye-bye!
M: Bye!
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