We’ve gotten used to many new practices in the time of COVID-19 and the global pandemic. People eating COVID snacks, working from home, and wearing their pajamas around the clock are only a few of the changes we’ve seen this past spring and summer.
Living and working so close to your kitchen has probably increased the number of times you visit your pantry and fridge for snacks. Americans are eating more snacks during the COVID outbreak, but they are also eating more comfort snacks. This means they are breaking out nostalgic food like Chef Boyardee’s Spaghettios, Hot Pockets, and Pudding Pops to help them deal with the crisis.
If you’re one of the millions that have found comfort in quarantine by snacking on nostalgic food and yummy snacks, you’re not alone. Here are some of the top comfort food and snacks people have been noshing during COVID.
1. Cheetos
One of the most common signs of a quarantine lifestyle are the orange-tipped fingertips that you get from eating Cheetos. If you’re a Cheetos fan, unless you eat them with chopsticks or a fork, you can expect the cheese from the puffs to get onto your fingertips after the first few bites.
These cheesy, salty puffed snacks are a perennial favorite in households across the country. You can also get spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, or, for a Cheeto with a more international flair, try Cheetos Torciditos, Mexico’s favorite cheese puff.
2. Chef Boyardee Spaghettios
This blast from the past is slated to make a comeback during quarantine.
One of the top priorities for many shoppers and consumers these days is to buy food to store pandemic items. This means buying more frozen foods or foods that can be stored in your pantry for many months at a stretch.
Chef Boyardee Spaghettios can last a long time in your pantry and taste just like your childhood lunches. If you want to be even more nostalgic when you snack, try Spaghettios with Franks, the original Spaghettios mixed with sliced hotdogs.
3. Ice Cream Bars
All things dairy and delicious have also been flying off the shelves. Ice cream, ice cream bars, and ice cream sandwiches have all been top-rated during the lockdown as the combination of rich dairy and sugary sweetness comforts some people who have been anxious during quarantine.
If you’re like many, you may be relying on a subscription or delivery service to bring you your groceries. If this is the case, you may want to opt for the non-melting kind of ice cream treat, like Glico Giant Caplico Z Crispy. It’s a waffle cone with fluffy, crunchy chocolate; all of the delicious flavor, none of the melted mess.
4. Gummies
Sometimes, you want something that’s sweet but doesn’t have a lot of dairy, especially if you’re lactose intolerant like 65% of the adult population. Gummies, like gummy worms, gummy bears, or gummy raspberries, are some of the alternative comfort COVID snacks that will take you back to your childhood movie theater adventures.
If you’re feeling more adventurous, but are still stuck at home, you can opt for some of the more bizarre gummy creations, like chewy turkey treats or super-sized gummy sodas.
MunchPak has gummies from all over the world so you can indulge your sweet tooth and your travel bug at the same time while still remaining safely quarantined at home. Try Lotte Watermelon Jelly candies from South Korea. They have a sugar-coated crust and are bursting with real fruit flavor.
5. Chocolate
Everyone loves chocolate. And chocolate’s not just candy; it’s been touted as a superfood and a superior antioxidant.
Nowadays, you’re not just beholden to a simple Hershey’s bar, either. You can choose between milk, dark, or white chocolate. You can also get chocolate with additions from all over the globe, like red hot pepper flakes, sea salt, or fruits, and nuts.
You can also find them from every country, with awesome names like a llama bar or Mr. Brownies’s Galactic Brownies. So even though you’re still trapped at home, you can tour the world through your tastebuds.
6. Baked Goods
The quarantine has presented the world with the opportunity to stay at home for long periods unabated. For some of us, this has lead to lots of baking.
If you’re no Martha Stewart in the kitchen but still enjoy cakes and cookies, don’t despair. You can get a wide assortment of cookie packs or tasty cake snacks without having to tie on your apron.
If you’re feeling very adventurous, you could try something daring, like MunchPak’s Birthday Cake Popcorn, the flavor of the year.
7. Salty Sweet Combos
Sometimes you wander into the kitchen and you can’t decide whether you want a salty snack or a sweet one.
With MunchPak’s subscription service that delivers snacks from every corner of the world, you don’t have to choose. Not only do they have an excellent array of salty and sweet snacks, but they also have some snacks that are a combination of both, like Tohato’s Caramel Corn Lemon Squash Puffs, which are salty, sweet, and crunchy.
If that doesn’t get your palate excited, maybe some Sour Pickle Balls straight from Texas or Wang Korepab Seaweed Snacks from Korea will entice you instead.
8. Soda
People have been turning to soda for a quick pick-me-up during COVID. Quarantine provides an opportunity for you to branch out and try something new and exciting.
Enjoy Ben Shaws Dandelion and Burdock Soda from the UK for a truly interesting taste sensation. A combination of licorice and marzipan flavors, this is a refreshing brew for a hot summer’s day.
The Last Word
Although we are all trying to do our best to remain socially distant, it can be trying for some of us to stay at home all the time. One way to escape the doldrums of living in the same space day-in and day-out is to have some culinary adventures.
If you’re looking for something new on your quarantine snack menu, subscribe to MunchPak, a company that will deliver tasty, crunchy, salty, cheesy, or sweet snacks from all over the globe directly to your doorstep.
Click below to learn more!
