Did You Grow Up In An Ingredient Household Or A Snack Household?

When you came home from school as a kid, would you run to the pantry and grab the nearest box of goodies? Or were you forced to assemble a makeshift snack using the ingredients you had lying around? If you know the latter all too well, you may have grown up in an ingredient household.

According to TikTok, there are two types of households in this world: snack households and ingredient households. Those who lived in a “snack household” likely had pre-made snacks or packaged treats ready at their disposal — Little Debbie sweets, Oreo cookies, Cheez-It crackers, you name it. But if you lived in an “ingredient household,” the only way you could enjoy a snack at home is if you made one using different, well, ingredients. Nothing was prepared ahead of time, and let’s be real: the end result was never a snack you actually wanted.

Per Know Your Meme, the phrase “ingredient household” started making its rounds on the FYP in late 2022. One of the earliest TikToks to highlight the phenomenon came from @enbyybabyy on Sept. 17, 2022, when the user wrote, “I live in an ‘we have ingredients’ household,” alongside a series of clips of the creator preparing what looks to be a homemade pizza roll. “I just want snacks,” the user captioned the video. This is just one viral example of the creativity needed to thrive in such a household.

Clearly, the TikToker’s struggle was one that many people could relate to, because the hashtag #ingredienthousehold has been viewed nearly 184 million times as of June 21, while the tag #snackhousehold only has 82.7K views. Looks like the ingredient householders win this round.

According to this video from @druzy_witch, some of the ingredients typically found in an ingredient household might include pickles, shredded cheese, pepperoni, and more. Sure, some of these bites can be enjoyed alone, but what kid wants to snack on croutons after school? Ingredients are just that — edible puzzle pieces that need to be fit together with others to result in a satisfying bite.

To explain what it was like growing up in an ingredient household, @mckenzieisom gave a peak into some of their favorite “snacks” growing up, which ranged from sweet bites like chocolate chips and a spoonful of peanut butter to improvised eats such as crushed ice and “flour tortillas straight out the package.” Basically, anything that seems like it’s missing a crucial aspect (the cookie that comes with chocolate chips, an apple to dip into peanut butter, or fillings for inside a tortilla) is a valid snack in an ingredient household.

User @cloudycastle0, on the other hand, got creative with their ingredients, and would make snacks like “melted/burnt cheese on a plate,” shots of lemon juice, and a “giant burnt microwaved marshmallow.” Sure, these don’t sound like things that would typically make waves on #FoodTok, but their comment section was full of people confirming these are all ingredient house staples. One person even asked how long the marshmallow should be cooked for... so it’s clear the creations from ingredient household children are kind of genius.

Though ingredient household kids probably dreamed of living in a snack household, Olivia Williams (aka @oliviagracewilliams_ on TikTok) revealed the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side. Williams explained that because their parents didn’t cook, the creator spent their “whole life” munching on things like ramen, Goldfish, and fast food, and the snack household mentality has followed them into adulthood as a result.

“Now, as an adult, I don’t cook, one, and two: I am always having snacks,” the TikToker admits. “If I’m not going out to eat, I am solely surviving on snacks.” In a world where rat snacks reign supreme, there could be some pros to that, though.

No matter which sort of household you grew up in, there’s no denying that both lifestyles definitely came with some perks. If you think about it, though, most of #FoodTok’s best snack trends were created by mixing random ingredients, like Fruit Roll-Ups ice cream bites and cheese-covered pickles, so maybe ingredient households were right all along.