I've always thought the word "snack" was particularly cute. If it were personified, it might be a fluffy, pink-nosed bunny hopping in and out of the edges of your day, softly cooing, "Time for a snack! Time for a snack!" Yes, time for a snack. A mini treat. A pre-meal meal. Something small, right?

A lot of us grow up learning that snacks are innately insubstantial and menial, like a handful of peanut butter M&Ms or grapes or a bag of chips. We think of them as the doesn't-really-count prelude to a steak dinner. But a snack can be so much more. In fact, it can actually satisfy that hungry hole in your belly while being delicious, too.

One of our favorite ways to snack at the Cheese Shop is to get creative with our dips and spreads. Check out these three ways to have a snack that won't leave you wanting:

1. Bagels + Smoked Salmon Spread (pictured above) If you thought bagels were just for breakfast, you thought wrong. Spread a sesame bagel with some classic smoked salmon spread (made with dill and cream cheese, of course!), top it with some crunchy cucumber slices, and YUM.

2. Veggies + Dip Up your veggie intake by dunking raw carrots, zucchini, and celery sticks in our lemony and light artichoke tarragon dip (on the left) or our spicy pimento cheese dip (on the right). That pimento cheese is also wicked when melted on toast.

3. Pasta + Smoked Paprika Parmesan And when you need to go a little heartier, toss some hot pasta with a few healthy spoonfuls of smoked paprika parmesan dip and dig in. Not bad with a happy hour glass of wine too, I might add.

Eat hearty!