Have you ever wondered why junk food tastes so good compared to healthy food? 

Why do pizza, fries, donuts and chips seem to taste like heaven to our taste buds, while broccoli and cauliflower rarely get quite the same standing ovation? There’s actually a pretty interesting reason.

Historically, food was not as plentiful or predictable as it is today. Grocery stores, as we know them, are relatively new. The first self-service grocery store is generally credited to be a Piggly Wiggly in Memphis which opened in 1916. By the 1930s, larger supermarkets were beginning to bring meat, produce and packaged foods together under one roof.

Before that convenience, filling your dinner plate could be a much bigger challenge. A family might not know when the next illness, famine, drought or storm could threaten its food supply. My grandmother and her family grew much of their own food on a farm. The goal wasn’t simply to grow enough for tonight’s supper. They had to grow enough in one season to help feed the family for an entire year.

When food was scarce, our ancestors couldn’t afford to be too picky. People physically learned to crave foods that provided lots of calories and energy. Somewhere deep inside us is still that little survival mechanism saying, “If you find food, eat it!” And then along came the modern snack aisle.

It seems logical that I should crave a plate of fresh veggies more than a bag of chips. But modern junk food isn’t simply cooked and packaged. Much of it is carefully engineered to appeal to our taste buds. Food companies test combinations of salt, sugar, fat, texture and flavor to find that sweet spot that makes us want another bite, and then another. 

In other words, some foods are practically designed to advertise themselves to your brain. Nature has a tough time competing with that. Sweet and salty flavors are especially appealing because our bodies need sugars and sodium to function. Fat contributes to the satisfying feeling we get from eating. Let’s not overlook the crunch. 

Think about the foods our ancestors might have found growing in the wild. A crisp, crunchy plant could signal freshness. Today that same attraction to crunch can lead us straight to a bag of chips.

Putting all those things together, the crispy, salty, fatty, highly processed carbohydrates, and it’s easy to understand why our taste buds can become very enthusiastic about junk food. 

My senior-citizen palate and digestive system have become a little more discerning, sensitive and selective over the years. I’ve watched with some curiosity as the popularity of fiery, spicy convenience store snacks has exploded.

There on the shelves are offerings of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Takis in a variety of flavor options including Fuego, Blue Heat, Nitro, and Zombie. Apparently, we have decided that our snacks should not merely taste good. They should also make us wonder whether our tongues and stomachs will survive the experience.

At the food pantry, we offer areas where we display a variety of foods for people to choose from, including fruits, vegetables, proteins, and yes, chips. I have clearly taken note that one particular item seems to disappear almost as quickly as we can put it out, the XXX-hot Fire Breathing Dragon Chips. 

That has always fascinated me. When someone is facing food insecurity, why might the snack food be more tempting than the healthier choices sitting right beside it? 

Part of the answer may be that our bodies genuinely crave these foods. Eating highly palatable foods can activate reward and pleasure pathways in the brain. And when life is already hard, who wouldn’t be tempted by something that promises a little happiness right now?

But there is another piece of the puzzle that I think we sometimes overlook and that is knowing how to prepare food. I have observed that many people simply have never learned how to cook. That isn’t necessarily their fault. Cooking skills have traditionally been passed from one generation to another, but those lessons can be lost when families become busy, circumstances change or convenience food becomes the norm.

The truth is, healthy food doesn’t have to mean boring food. With the right cooking techniques, seasonings and a little imagination, vegetables can become something you actually look forward to eating. A few simple ingredients and some time spent in the kitchen can turn ordinary food into a really good meal. Perhaps one of the ways we can fight poor nutrition is not simply by telling people what they should eat, but by teaching them how to make healthy food taste good.

There is something valuable about the old-fashioned art of preparing a wholesome homemade meal from scratch. If your mother or grandmother passed along recipes and cooking skills to you, maybe you can pass them along, too.

Teach your children and grandchildren how to make something besides a sandwich. Teach them how to season vegetables, how to construct a pot of soup, and how to knead dough. Show them how to turn a handful of ordinary ingredients into a meal that feeds both the body and brings out a sense of wellbeing. While you’re standing together in the kitchen, something else can happen. You’ll talk. You’ll laugh. You’ll share stories. You’ll slow down.

In a world where so much of life happens at full speed, the kitchen can still be a place where we remember that good things sometimes take a little time.

Maybe the real goal isn’t to convince everyone to give up their chips. After all, I work at a food pantry. I know better than to get between a person and their favorite snack. Maybe the goal is to make the healthy choice every bit as satisfying. If we can teach the next generation the pleasure of cooking, eating together and caring for their health, we may be passing along something far more valuable than a recipe.

We may be passing along a tradition.

Janet Mills is the director of Cassville Pantry, located at 800 W. 10th St. in Cassville. She may be reached at [email protected] or 417-846-7871.