Do you live in an ‘ingredient household?’ TikTok’s latest family trend has everyone talking

Eggs. Milk. Butter. A bag of Nestle chocolate chips. These are some of the things that you most often commonly see in an ingredients only household, the newfound trend that has become a phenomenon on TikTok.

The ingredient household meaning, according to TODAY, is a home that stocks the ingredients used to make meals rather than ready-to-eat meals or snacks. 

Many users took to TikTok to share their thoughts on ingredient households, and I must say that the reactions are quite hilarious. People are talking about how they were raised in an ingredients only household. People are loathing the idea of ever existing in such a way. And many others are sharing their shocking revelations of finding out that they are indeed an ingredients only household.

One video shared by @eggcitables read, “I used to complain to my mom about her not buying any “good snacks” 😅 I think I owe her an apology lmao.”

And now that I think about it, I believe that I owe my mom one too. Because at 24-years-old, it seems that I am indeed #ingredienthousehold😭.

I wasn’t always so fond of this lifestyle, though. Growing up in a home amongst my eight siblings, I was always frustrated because we “had no food in the house”—or so it seemed. In reality, we had food, but there were rarely snackable items, such as bags of chips, Cheez-Its or Fruit Roll-Ups. 

I remember making impromptu trail mix concoctions by grabbing a ziplock baggie and throwing in some Cheerios, Rice Chexs and chocolate chips. Or making homemade nachos by throwing a plate of tortilla chips and shredded cheese into the microwave. I definitely remember grabbing a spoonful of peanut butter from time to time. Or,  if we wanted something sweet, my siblings and I would toast a piece of bread and add some butter and cinnamon (honestly so good).

We made the best out of whatever our kitchen cupboards held—mostly because we had to in order to keep our hangry-ness at bay 😂.

But now, as a mama and a wife who has my own home and does the bulk of the grocery shopping, it seems as though what I once despised, I have now become. Guess it all goes full circle, right? 

Personally, I’m not sure if it’s because my husband was never a huge snacker or if the prices of prepared meals and snacks just keep getting higher and higher, but I rarely buy them anymore. If anything, there’s mainly snacks for my toddler.

Our cupboards are locked and loaded with pasta noodles, rice, cereal, bread and an occasional bag of popcorn. Our shelves are stocked with brown sugar, baking powder, flour and spices. Our fridge is not short on eggs, milk, butter, cheese, condiments or fruits and veggies. And our freezer is piled with chicken thighs, steaks, shrimp, salmon and other meats.

So yeah… we have food. It just has to be made. 

It’s honestly hilarious that this new term is now trending, because we finally have a name for what it seems so many other people have despised our household for. With it being the holidays, we’re hosting family in town and almost everyone has complained about how we have no food.

My husband and I always keep a steady response of, “Yes we do, you just have to make it.” But, some people just don’t want to. They want grab-and-go snacks and meals at the tip of their fingers. And honestly, I understand. I sadly just think that some weird cycle of karma has come around and made me into the very thing that I once detested (LOL).

But honestly, I’ve never felt so seen and explained. Because with the millions of TikTok users who have weighed in on this trend, I know that I’m not the only ingredient household around.

People in the comment sections also weighed in on the trend.

“IS THIS WHAT THIS IS!?! Is this a thing??!?!??”

“Always complained about having to stand in the kitchen and eat chocolate chips… now i stand in the kitchen of the house i own and eat chocolate chips.”

“Opening and closing the fridge every 30 seconds to check if something appeared.”

“My god this reminds me of growing up when I’d here ‘there’s plenty to eat.’”

“Can’t afford snacks in this economy 😩”

“I feel this in parts of me I didn’t know existed.”

So what’s your status—ingredients only household or not? Do you have loads of snacks in your pantry and oven pizzas in your freezer? Or do you have all the ingredients to make everything you need? 

Whatever your predicament may be, I’ll just say that I love my ingredients-only household. Yes, the struggle may get real sometimes when I want a midnight snack and I have little to no options (so help me then lol). But in this ingredients-only household, we spend a lot more time in our kitchen and everything is made with love.