About Healthy-Snack-Ideas.com

About Me

Hi there! My name is Daniel Ng and I am the creator of this site. I began Healthy-Snack-Ideas.com back in July of 2008 at the age of 15.

First of all, let me tell you that I never in a million years thought I would be creating a site about healthy snacks. To tell you my story, I will have to go back to the very beginning, starting with the very backbone of my being…my family.

My Family...

I grew up in a Chinese household. Fortunately for me, that household valued food as if it were life itself (and as it should be). On weekday mornings, I could expect scrumptious scrambled eggs, smoked sausage and a glass of milk made by my father. My mother made fantastic Chinese stir-fry noodles or braised vegetables in chicken stock for lunch. Dinner was always left entirely to my grandfather.

The Real Chef...

Out of my entire family, there is only one true cook, one true baker and that is Grandpa. My mother told me that he use to own a bakery shop in Taiwan. When he came to live with us in New Jersey, I felt as though his entire bakery had been shipped here as well.

I believe I developed my love of food from him more than anyone else.

I use to stand on my tiptoes in front of the counter every Saturday morning just to watch in awe and fascination as he turned flour, eggs, and water into tiny little pastries. I gazed up at him as he chopped vegetables and marinated meat. Every night for dinner, we ate like kings.

Not Like the Other Kids...

Ever since that early age, I have been passionate about cooking. I make my own breakfast and lunch now simply because I know how to cook – I taught it to myself.

Most kids flip on the TV to watch cartoons. I grew up watching the Food Network. That’s where I learned my knife skills (or makeshift knife skills), how to cut an onion, and basically how to make food taste great.

Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse, and Ina Garten become my idols. Yet, they remain a step lower than my grandfather even to this day. Sorry Food Network. :P

Then Came an Epiphany...

For almost all of my childhood, I thought of snacks as being only one thing: store-bought, prepackaged bags. When snack time rolled around at school, I simply reached out for my bag of Doritos or bag of buttered popcorn.

It was as if I was on autopilot.

I didn’t think about what was in it or how many calories it had. All I knew was that all the other kids had them too and that they tasted good. What could be wrong?

Then, one day I literally got sick from munching on the store-bought snacks. I finally realized why they called them junk food.

I felt as though all the energy was drained out of me. I felt depressed and empty. I did not feel nourished at all. Strangely, the only thing I craved for was another bag of junk food.

That’s when I set a goal for myself to improve my eating habits. I was determined to create my own snacks right out of my kitchen. Why should my love of cooking stop at just breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I asked myself.

I discovered that I could make delicious and nutritious snacks on my own. After a couple of weeks of making my own snacks, I felt rejuvenated, healthier, and stronger than I had ever been before. I just felt so…natural.

Not a Perfect Role Model...

Although I created this site to share my healthy snack ideas, I am by no means an expert. Nor am I a perfect role model.

I still munch on the occasional bag of chips (this time usually sun chips, if it makes any difference). I still pop the bag of microwave popcorn once in a while. I still buy stuff from the vending machine.

Why? Well, to be honest, I get lazy sometimes. Actually, I get lazy quite often. The vending machine will always be there, and it is sometimes easier to go to it then fix up a snack.

I am still very much a normal 16-year-old boy. I am still very much human.

I would like to think that I am just like you (if I may). I still struggle with healthy snacking on a daily basis, but I try to make a conscious effort to do so.

To healthy snacks and a future free from vending machines!

Yours truly, Daniel :)

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