The Best Snack to Eat While Doing Homework

What is the best food to eat while doing homework? There are an endless number of options, but I will look over a few of the most common food choices and examine them based on the following criteria, rating each attribute on a 10 point scale: 1) taste; 2) accessibility; 3) convenience.

First, what are these criteria? First, taste. The most straightforward one. This criterion measures how good, enjoyable, and overall delicious the snack is. Raw broccoli? 1. Michelin star appetizer? That’s a 10. Second, accessibility. This describes how accessible the snack is, in terms of price, availability (is the food only available in the deep south? northeast?), and how many people can actually eat it (dietary restrictions—for example, vegetarians can’t eat meat-based snacks). Finally, ease of eating. This describes how convenient the snack is to eat while doing homework, such as whether it makes your fingers sticky or if the packaging is hard to unwrap. In general, the more work you have to do to eat a snack and the less time you have to do homework, the lower the rating. Without further ado, we have:

Beef jerky—average: 7.3/10
Taste: 7/10
Accessibility: 6/10
Convenience: 9/10

Beef jerky is one of the inferior snack options, as it is lacking in all three categories. In terms of taste, beef jerky is hit or miss, as some people may not like the flavor or taste or texture of beef jerky. In terms of accessibility, much of the world is vegetarian, which means they can’t even eat the snack, and beef jerky isn’t always easily found. Beef jerky is also relatively more expensive per unit than many of the other options on this list, justifying its lower convenience ranking. Finally, beef jerky comes in individual packages, which makes it slightly more inconvenient to eat (each snack has to be unwrapped), but this also helps with keeping a clean workspace. Beef jerky is an okay option for anyone who really enjoys the snack, but otherwise I would steer clear. 

Chips—average: 8.7/10
Taste: 9/10
Accessibility: 10/10
Convenience: 7/10

Chips, a classic snack food. Chips are one of the best options because of their versatility. They come in many different flavors, and everyone has their own favorite: Lays, Doritos, Pringles, just to give a few. Chips are ubiquitous throughout the nation, available in almost every grocery and convenience store. Chips are also easy to eat while eating homework, because you only have to open the bag once, and you can grab chips one at a time. However, chips do have one major downside: they make your fingers oily, sticky, and simply not good for homework, especially if you’re typing. Overall, chips are a solid and versatile option, perfect for almost anyone. 

Popcorn—average: 9.0/10
Taste: 7/10
Accessibility: 10/10
Convenience: 10/10

Popcorn was almost designed to be eaten while doing homework. Popcorn itself doesn’t have a particularly strong taste; at least, not the types of popcorn sold in most stores, but it can still taste good. (However, bland popcorn might actually be a benefit, preventing long stretches of binge eating.) In every other category, popcorn is virtually unmatched. Accessibility: popcorn is extremely cheap for the amount you get, and popcorn is available in almost all supermarkets in many forms (premade and microwavable) Furthermore, there are virtually no dietary restrictions in terms of popcorn—it’s just made of corn and a little bit of flavoring. Finally, popcorn is extremely convenient; relative to most other snacks, popcorn won’t leave any powder on your fingers and is easy to clean up any large pieces that may fall on the ground. Overall, popcorn is a great choice—and if your homework is a clown fiesta, at least you can pull out the popcorn and watch.