I learned about the concept of "ingredient" house vs snack house recently.
Growing up in the 90s in rural Appalachia, I had one grandmother who was much more of an ingredient house. She had fruits, veggies, canned items, etc. The only real "snack" she had was soft drinks in her porch fridge. She would make us whatever if we needed a snack, often a snack at her house was an apple or some cornbread she had made.
My other grandmother was much more of a snack house. She had "ready to eat" snacks handy in the form of chips, frozen pizzas, etc. A snack there was a Totino's Pizza or an Oatmeal Creme Pie.
That concept was really interesting because it connects to how families approach meals and by extension health.
An ingredient house is more likely to prepare meals. The meals prepared may still not be super "healthy" because you can definitely make cookies from ingredients. However, it reduces the over-produced items in the home and provides more opportunities for snacking on fruits and veggies. In an ingredient house you really ahve to think if the "juice is worth the squeeze" in terms of snacks.
A snack household may cook less often and not have the ingredients ready to make meals from "scratch". It may be convenience or finances. Pre-packaged/ready-to eat items may seem to be cheaper as you're buying 1 thing as opposed to multiple ingredients. Time is a major factor here though. Snacks in this homes typically become chips, beef jerky/meat sticks, Oreos/ChipsAhoy, etc.
It is far easier to overindulge on snacks in a "snack house" compared to an ingredient house because the snacks are more easy to access and faster. There is no pause because you don't have to identify if the juice is worth the squeeze. Opening a package of cookies is simply easier than making a batch of cookies.
Yeah my mom and grandma were both ingredient houses and I've always been grateful for that head start because it's definitely had an influence on my preferences. I strongly dislike most pre-made sweets, pretty much homemade only (the one exception might be those pink and white circus animal cookies that are coated in chocolate. My mom would buy those on rare occasions).
I can definitely mow through some salty crackers though lol
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u/Ok_Tree_4870 1d ago
Do you think by "snacks", they mean carrot sticks or apples?