The 17 Snacks You Need to Survive the Australian Tennis Swing

Well I go snackin', after midnight, out by the moonlight, like we used to do...

Before I got the opportunity to actually fly to Melbourne and be there for the Australian Open, January always meant bundling up in a heavy sweatshirt under a blanket at my desk and fighting through my heavy lids to watch as much post-midnight tennis as I could. The only thing that got me through it was the snacks. Well, yes, and the tennis. But really, the snacks. The Aussie tennis swing was the perfect excuse to raid the snack aisle.

• String cheese. It makes me feel like a kid at recess. You can't be in a bad mood when you're eating string cheese.
• Cheez-Its. Standard. If they're too cheesy or you're more of a whimsical soul, Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Fish will do, too.
• Bagels. You know, because tennis.
• Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissants. I am not proud of this one. But seriously, they might even be better than the Burger King Croissanwich, which everyone knows is the best breakfast sandwich of all time. I don't even want to hear it from you McMuffin-ites. That shit is dry and tasteless.
• Cold pizza. Preferably Round Table. Pepperoni is fine but if you wanna feel like royalty get the Italian Garlic Supreme. Heaven.
• Blackberries and raspberries. I'm lazy. The last thing I want to do in the middle of the night is cut an apple or peel an orange. So some kind of fruit that you can easily finger-food is perfect. Grapes could work too. This is for the rare moment when you look at your box of Cheez-Its and dry heave a little.
• Coffee. Look, you're going to need caffeine at some point. Since I don't do soda or Red Bull, it's coffee and tea for me. I'm a massive coffee-nerd, so my set-up involves a Porlex hand grinder, yummy beans, and an Aeropress (inverted), but whatever floats your boat.
• All your leftover Halloween candy. Dudes, so perfect because they come in single serving sizes and you can still maintain some variety. I am rarely in the mood to kill a whole box of Junior Mints, but a well-timed 3-4 is perfecto.
• Beer. Not gonna lie. The 4am beer is a good beer.
• Holidrizzle popcorn. Have you guys had this shit? It is the BOMB and they sell it at BevMo.
• Kalbee Shrimp Chips. It's not just an Asian thing .They are delicious.
• Cup Noodles. Just handy to have on hand in the event you're craving warm soup belly.
• Bananas and Laughing Cow Cheese. A bite from one and then a bite from the other. Tasty brain food.
• Herbal tea. At some point you will need to wind down from all the caffeine and sugar.
• One oven-based hot snack. Totino's Pizza Rolls. Bagel Bites. Maybe just some tater tots. Something you can throw into the oven for 30 minutes and get a hot snack out of. It'll perk you right up by bringing back memories of cramming for a test in college, thus triggering fear-based adrenaline.
• Chex mix. The best.
• Sunflower seeds. Perfect for the stressed out fidgeter.