At my last job, a bunch of us went through a huge and relatively time consuming phase of eating sunflower seeds on the job. Luckily, we weren’t in customer service because unshelled sunflower seeds can make a huge mess. But we definitely watched each other’s backs by noting when someone had a stray bit of seed in between some teeth or a shell in their hair or clothes (more common than you might think).

I don’t buy sunflower seeds regularly any more, but once in awhile I still pick them up in the store when on sale. This latest bag I got is a pretty ubiquitous brand called David (ConAgra Foods makes them) that comes in a 5.25 ounce bag. I got it on sale for 60 cents which is not the cheapest, though this package usually goes for 99 cents.

But one thing with sunflower seeds is that you absolutely do not want to get STALE seeds. We learned this the hard way when a co-worker bought a gigantic bulk tub of sunflower seeds. It was about the size of one of those huge tubs of laundry detergent and would have been better if it tasted like detergent. Stale sunflower seeds are possibly the grossest thing you can eat.

These David Sunflower Seeds, however, were perfectly roasted and pretty delicious. I know a lot of people who refuse to take the time to eat the “in-shell” version. You can buy the salted, shelled version for pretty cheap too. But what’s the fun with that? I mean, if Derek Jeter is so happy with his sunflower seeds in the shell, then by gosh that is AOK with me. I don’t understand how his teeth can be that white after eating so many of them. Maybe he has one of those Teeth Wipes on one finger while he pops seeds in his mouth with the other hand. Pop, crack, brush, repeat…

My favorite thing about this package besides Jeter’s smirking pic on it is the tagline which is partly obscured in the photo above. Their slogan is “Eat. Spit. Be Happy.” Sounds like a recipe for success to me, except I wouldn’t want to be the one to clean up all the hawked loogies on the ground at company headquarters. Little kids must love this slogan. “See mom, it’s OK to spit!”

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