import re
str_1 = "& peers & & apples & & lemon juice & & Strawberries & & Mellon & "
print( [x.strip() for x in str_1.split('&') if x.strip()] )
aW1wb3J0IHJlCnN0cl8xID0gIiYgcGVlcnMgJiAmIGFwcGxlcyAmICYgbGVtb24ganVpY2UgJiAmIFN0cmF3YmVycmllcyAmICYgTWVsbG9uICYgIgpwcmludCggW3guc3RyaXAoKSBmb3IgeCBpbiBzdHJfMS5zcGxpdCgnJicpIGlmIHguc3RyaXAoKV0gKQoK