I have a theory.
We like to believe we snack because we're hungry. But most of the time, we're just bored and looking to break the monotony.
Think soul-crushing Zoom meetings. Mindless Netflix. Driving home in traffic.
You open a bag. Take a handful. And off you go. The craving goes away almost immediately. You finish the packet because there's still some left.
Most supermarket snacks live by three rules:
- Crunch. Loud enough to convince our brain that life is happening.
- Flavour. (Read: salt.) Bold enough to keep you present.
- Aftertaste. Just long enough to make you reach for one more.
On the other hand, "Healthy snacks" spend all their energy solving the nutrition problem. And forget the important bit, the snacking problem.
A snack shouldn't feel like a compromise. It should feel like... satisfaction.
Probably explains why celery never caught on.
Nobody has ever sat down on a Friday evening and thought,
"You know what this movie needs? Two sticks of celery."
Now, celery might be an acquired taste, there's something else that isn't. Millets.
People will tell you they're ancient. And that they're sustainable. Someone will almost certainly call them a superfood. All perfectly true.
What matters more is that they're already quite good at being a snack.
They're crunchy, and have enough flavour of their own that they don't need to disappear beneath a mountain of salt.
Give them a try. If they don't become your thing, don't worry.
That bright yellow bag of crisps isn't going anywhere.
