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Snack

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A snack is a small portion of food. Most people eat them between their main meals.

Bowl of Popcorn (Unsplash)
Bowl of Popcorn (Unsplash)

You can make snacks at home using fresh ingredients like fruit or nuts. Some snacks are packaged foods from a store. These are made to be quick and easy to carry. They are often designed to stay fresh for a long time. Some people even enjoy a special snack right before they go to bed.

Gorp
Gorp

Many snacks are made by mixing different tasty things together. Trail mix is a common example using peanuts, raisins, and candy like M&M's. In the Middle East, people often roast nuts with spices and lemon juice. They also use nuts in desserts like baklava or kibbeh. Dips are another popular way to snack. Hummus is a blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic. You can eat it with pita bread or add olive oil on top.

Hummus from The Nile
Hummus from The Nile
Tanoreen muhammara
Tanoreen muhammara

Snack foods have a very long and interesting history. Peanuts arrived in the United States from South America. They later became part of cooking on southern plantations. In the 17th century, the Dutch brought pretzels to North America. For a long time, some people thought snacks were not very fancy. During the Victorian era, people thought food without utensils was lower-class. However, new packaging helped pretzels become very popular later on. By the 1950s, snacking became a major part of American life.

Partybrezeln
Partybrezeln

Different countries have very special snack traditions. In Canada, people enjoy ketchup chips and Nanaimo bars. In the Middle East, falafel is a famous snack from Egypt. These are small fried balls of chickpeas or beans served in pita bread.

In Japan, rice-based snacks like Mochi have been around for centuries. You might see people eating Taiyaki, which are fish-shaped pastries, at a festival.

Takoyaki
Takoyaki

Japan also has unique Kit Kat flavors like Matcha green tea.

Mochi with Red bean paste filling
Mochi with Red bean paste filling

Snacking is a huge part of how we live today. In 2010, the average Canadian ate about 300 snacks in one year. In the United States, a study showed children snacked six times a day in 2010. This was much more than children ate in the 1970s. The nut market in the Middle East was worth 119 billion dollars in 2022. Health groups like Health Canada suggest eating natural snacks like vegetables or fruit. Choosing healthy snacks is a good way to stay strong.

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🖼️ Images & Media (9)
File:Gorp.jpg
Gorp.jpg
File:Bowl of Popcorn (Unsplash).jpg
Bowl of Popcorn (Unsplash).jpg
File:Partybrezeln.JPG
Partybrezeln.JPG
File:Hummus from The Nile.jpg
Hummus from The Nile.jpg
File:Tanoreen muhammara.jpg
Tanoreen muhammara.jpg
File:Falafel_(3085478064).jpg
Falafel_(3085478064).jpg
File:Handmade_Chicken_Shawarma_Wrap_-_Lavash.jpg
Handmade_Chicken_Shawarma_Wrap_-_Lavash.jpg
File:Takoyaki.jpg
Takoyaki.jpg
File:Mochi with Red bean paste filling.jpg
Mochi with Red bean paste filling.jpg
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