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Railroader · May 20, 2009, 08:57 PM

Bought a bag of sunflower seeds today on a whim. I haven't had any in about 20+ years and it brought back and amazing set of memories of my childhood. But I was talking to a couple friends about it today and the one guy said he hated them because of the shells and his wife thinks it's disgusting. The other guy looked at him funny and said "You don't swallow the shells?" So we had a long "argument" about eating or not eating the shells.

Alas MacNN Lounge Forum brothers, sisters, and others, how do YOU eat them?

iranfromthezoo · May 20, 2009, 09:00 PM

I stick a handful in my mouth and crack open each one and spit the shell out while eating the seeds.

Taken from Davvid's Sunflower seed site.

he activity of “seeding” is neither a science nor an art; It’s a Snacktivity™. All it takes is a bag of DAVID Seeds and an appetite for seeds. Follow these steps, practice and put your seeder skills to work.

Step 1: Pop a handful of seeds in your mouth
Step 2: Store seeds in one side of your cheek
Step 3: Now, transfer one seed to the other side
Step 4: Crack the shell with your teeth
Step 5: Remove the seed with your tongue
Step 6: Spit the shell, eat the seed and repeat!

Don’t be shell-shocked at first, and remember there is no wrong way to eat DAVID seeds! Watch ball players for some helpful hints, and in no time, you’ll be the natural, top seeder among your friends!
Here are the official levels of DAVID Seeder status:

ROOKIE Seeder: The beginner! You like to eat a few seeds at a time, savoring each seed!
CASUAL Seeder: The occasional seeder. You are on the way to seeder success, keep it up!
ALL-STAR Seeder: The pro! You like to eat seeds by the handful, grabbing a big bag daily!

harbinger75 · May 20, 2009, 09:10 PM

Any good, red-blooded American baseball fan eats 'em by the handful. End of story.

Doofy · May 20, 2009, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

Alas MacNN Lounge Forum brothers, sisters, and others, how do YOU eat them?

From thousands of miles away, using your mouth/neck/stomach/intestines/etc..

angelmb · May 21, 2009, 02:56 AM

I buy them dehulled.

Anyhow, all we need is Beaker's expert opinion.

Cipher13 · May 21, 2009, 02:59 AM

Whether by my own invention or not, I've always associated sunflower-seed-eating with sociopathy.

osiris · May 21, 2009, 08:34 AM

I hate sunflower seeds unless they're already shelled. Spitting is disgusting, and watching a stadium full of spitters spitting everywhere is vile.

harbinger75 · May 21, 2009, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by osiris

I hate sunflower seeds unless they're already shelled. Spitting is disgusting, and watching a stadium full of spitters spitting everywhere is vile.

Lulz.

Thorzdad · May 21, 2009, 09:51 AM

Ugh. Nasty little things.

besson3c · May 21, 2009, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by osiris

I hate sunflower seeds unless they're already shelled. Spitting is disgusting, and watching a stadium full of spitters spitting everywhere is vile.

Yeah, but what if they hire cheap labor to deshell the seeds orally as described here?

Dork. · May 21, 2009, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by harbinger75

Any good, red-blooded American baseball fan eats 'em by the handful. End of story.

Unless they're eating bulk shelled peanuts, of course. I don't remember ever eating sunflower seeds at the park, but I ate tons of peanuts.

harbinger75 · May 21, 2009, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

Unless they're eating bulk shelled peanuts, of course. I don't remember ever eating sunflower seeds at the park, but I ate tons of peanuts.

It's funny you'd say that, because I never remember actually eating the ballpark peanuts, but had sunflower seeds to munch on. And, of course, hot dogs. I love me some unidentified meat product on a bun.

besson3c · May 21, 2009, 10:47 AM

Can you de-shell a peanut with your mouth and tongue?

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 11:03 AM

I spent a good amount of time in college cleaning up the football stadium and the basketball arena both on a paid and volunteer basis, and I've grown to HATE people that that think the floor is a garbage pail and that it's appropriate to spit peanut shells and sunflower seeds there. Ridiculous.

osiris · May 21, 2009, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Yeah, but what if they hire cheap labor to deshell the seeds orally as described here?

Personally I thought you would've gone the suppository route...
but cheap help de-shelling my nuts orally doesn't really sweeten the deal. Perhaps some extremely expensive ladies of leisure doing the task for me would suffice. Yeah, that could work.

besson3c · May 21, 2009, 11:25 AM

Ladies of leisure, like Martha Stewart?

osiris · May 21, 2009, 11:28 AM

not quite.

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Yeah, but what if they hire cheap labor to deshell the seeds orally as described here?

Dakar V · May 21, 2009, 11:57 AM

It just doesn't get old.

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 12:05 PM

It came about because I had the hardest time actually figuring out what "orally" was supposed to mean until I looked it up in the dictionary and slapped myself in the face.

Dakar V · May 21, 2009, 12:08 PM

o rly?

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 12:15 PM

osiris · May 21, 2009, 12:39 PM

The good things never change.

Dakar V · May 21, 2009, 12:41 PM

Like the age of girls in high school.

osiris · May 21, 2009, 12:42 PM

Lay 'em down, smack 'em jack 'em.

ort888 · May 21, 2009, 12:51 PM

#1 but I'll occasionally just chew one up and swallow the whole thing. Not that I eat them often. They aren't exactly the most convenient snack. When I was a child I used to eat shelled peanuts whole. As in, I would just chew the whole thing up and swallow it, shell and all. The thought of doing that now makes me gag though.

Now for something really freaky... my wife likes to eat shrimp tails. Yes, the nasty crunchy tails. Whole. Blech.

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 12:56 PM

Sunflower seeds are a fantastic way to stay awake when driving at night. The logistics of spitting seeds out is a bit sketchy, but I'm sure they saved my life at some point.

paul w · May 21, 2009, 02:15 PM

I eat em by the handful, shells and all.

Dakar V · May 21, 2009, 02:16 PM

I don't even open the bag. I unhinge my jaw and swallow it whole.

paul w · May 21, 2009, 02:30 PM

That explains the "V" I guess....

Laminar · May 21, 2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar V

I don't even open the bag. I unhinge my jaw and swallow it whole.

I just put it directly in the toilet.

ghporter · May 21, 2009, 03:29 PM

I have tried the first method listed, and it was revolting. If I can't find them already shelled, I open them manually. This helps keep me from eating too many of them too quickly.

Shaddim · May 21, 2009, 03:45 PM

Usually one at a time, shell and all.

sek929 · May 21, 2009, 04:22 PM

I pop a handful, store it in my cheek and shell em one at a time spitting out the husks.

HenryMelton · May 21, 2009, 04:52 PM

While writing and researching my "Falling Bakward" novel, I had to decide how my characters, sunflower seed farmers, would eat them, and settled on the chew-and-spit method, raw and unsalted. This is often mentioned in the literature and I was surprised that it wasn't mentioned in the list. I tried it and it works pretty well, especially when you're out in the field and don't have to worry about floors or being near a trash can. The flavor changes as the kernels are consumed and you know when to spit the rest.