I’ve always been a grazer. I snack on whatever is in the cupboard, especially when stressed, and for the past year my bad habits have thrived.

Whether it’s sweet or salty, crunchy or smooth, whatever can be pulverized by teeth or melted on the tongue is fair game even if it’s been lying around at the bottom of an open package and seems to be intact.

Think stray chocolate chips or the near-crumbs of a package of peanut butter-filled pretzel bites are off limits? Nope. When desperate, I’ve been known to tear open an intact package of chocolate chip morsels to get my chocolate fix.

Sugar calms me. I discovered this during the harrowing parts of our five-thousand-mile trip in our 32-foot boat. When the boat was tossed around like a cork in a washing machine, I’d hang on tight and make my way from the steering station to the galley and find anything sweet. Sometimes it was a spoonful of honey. Usually a candy bar. (I kept an emergency stash).

Once, driving home from an airport in torrential rain, I was so nervous I stopped at a convenience store and bought a giant Hershey bar and ate the whole thing. Then I continued on my way, feeling a little calmer as the sugar kicked in.

Pandemic snacking has been a bit different. I’m mostly in the house, so I can run to the refrigerator with a spoon, yank open the freezer compartment, and wrestle off the lid of the ice cream container. Unsanitary? Absolutely, but it’s just me and Capt. Mark and his ice cream is generally a different flavor, although I’m not picky.

To be fair, I also keep apples and whatever fruit is in season in a handy bowl and one of my frequent snacks is popcorn, not bad if you nix the butter. (But who does that?)

By the end of the pandemic—I’m hopeful it will end—I may need a new wardrobe. So far, my clothes fit, but I always buy them loose and I admit the waistbands are feeling a bit tighter.

Does anyone else have food enticing you into bad eating habits? Oh, I forgot. There’s also an election.

Happy snacking.