A Light History of Snacking
As the weather gets cooler, I find myself hungrier. Does this happen to anybody else? As the seasons change and the weather starts to feel less inviting outside, I find myself wanting to hibernate and get cozy inside. And that usually means with some type of hot drink and a snack. I think it is a natural reaction that our bodies have. They realize that we need more food to stay warm and from that comes our desire to snack and eat especially warm, comforting foods.
Many times, unless we are small children, we are told that snacking is bad for us. But did you know that it really depends on the snack that you reach for? If you are reaching for fruit, nuts, veggies or something similar, snacking will definitely be to your benefit. If you are reaching for something a little different, snacks aren’t that great. But snacking is really part of life and we all do it. We often need a little boost throughout the day and as long as we are reaching for something healthy or even just trying to balance our chips with some carrots, snacks are something we shouldn’t shy away from.
A snack use to be whatever was on hand or leftover from dinner or the previous meal. Snacking wasn’t as common when meals were set and cooked by a household staff or servants. A food industry dedicated to snack food did not grown up until the turn of the century. Many of the famous American snack brands actually got their start during the Great Depression. With the popularity of such things as charcuterie borders and spreads, I don’t think snacking is going anywhere soon!
Personally, I love snacking as my family will tell you 🙂 But we all have our favorite snacks that we reach for time and again. And we are going to be exploring some of the most popular and long lasting snacks like popcorn, pretzels and granola this month! What’s your favorite go-to snack?
