Goodbye, Crumbs! 7 Nifty Tricks to Make Eating Less Messy

Ever had a feeling that you turn into a complete slob when you eat? Do bread crumbs love getting all over your face? Does your spaghetti sauce really enjoy getting on the front of your shirt? Do you almost always manage to get frosting on your upper lip or ketchup on your chin? Well, this unintentional PDA with food is a problem that many of us suffer through. And that’s why we bring you these nifty tricks to make eating less messy, especially when you’re on the go or have no privacy!

1. The Banana Problem

The banana is a great (and healthy) eat-on-the-way snack when you’re running late in the morning and haven’t had time to grab breakfast. Hate the white strand-like thingies that stick to your banana or your fingers? All you have to to do is peel the banana from the other side – NOT from the side of the stem, the way we learnt to do it as kids. Ta-da – no more white strands! tricks to make eating less messy 1

2. The Spaghetti Sauce Attack

Use your fork (and a knife, if needed) to slice through a few strands of spaghetti. Then twist the spaghetti around your fork and devour. No long strands hanging from your mouth, no sucking and no spaghetti sauce down the front of your shirt. Smooth move to try for date night! tricks to make eating less messy 2

3. Frosted Lips

Life is unfair – there is only so much frosting for the top of your cupcake. And since you can only open your mouth that wide, at least some bits of frosting will get on your lips and not inside your mouth. But with this simple trick, you can ensure that there is frosting in every bite. After peeling down the liner, use a knife to horizontally slice the cupcake in half. Turn the top bit upside down; you now have frosting in the centre. Use a spoon to dig in, and it’s frosting in every bite and never on your lips! tricks to make eating less messy 3

Image source

4. Dunking Those Cookies

We love dunking our cookies in a glass of milk or our Britannia Marie in a hot cuppa. But don’t you just hate it when the damp bit falls off leaving you with half a cookie or worse, cookie rubble at the bottom of your mug? Well, according to Justin Timberlake, you should dip your cookie for exactly 7 seconds for that “just right” yumminess. Also, before you dip, get hold of a spoon. Just in case there’s some mushy bits to pick up, you can save the day quickly and scoop it up before it turns into a pile of rubble! tricks to make eating less messy 4

5. Puff Problems

Cheese and corn puffs are made in heaven, but eating them comes with the curse of grubby fingers. Especially if you’re at work and you can’t exactly start licking your fingers. Trick: carry a disposable fork with you, pierce the puff and consume. And this trick works when it comes to eating fruit chaat too. (Now you know what to do with all those plastic forks that they send with your food when you have it home-delivered.) Even the Queen could learn a thing or two from you! tricks to make eating less messy 5

6. Ripping into That Pack of Crisps

You are in a deathly silent office space. Your stomach is growling, the packet of crisps on your desk is shouting out to you. You want to gobble them up, but opening you know that ripping that pack open (in the absence of a handy pair of scissors, of course) will sound like Godzilla stomping through the city, and chances are that several of those crisps are going to fall out. To open the bag with minimal clamour, pinch the centre of the pack and make a tiny hole with your teeth. Peel the pack around the hole until you have a bowl to pick your chips out of. Genius!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DIxmr6nm-Rs

7. That Crunch When You Munch

To make the least possible chomp-chomp, place a crisp in your mouth, move it towards the back of your mouth, close your mouth and chew on it slowly. Too much effort? We think so too! But some situations call for desperate measures – you don’t want your professor figuring out what exactly you’re up to while he’s lecturing, do you?! tricks to make eating less messy 6

P.S.: Always, ALWAYS carry a pack of tissues with you to wipe your hands (and desk and phone and computer) down after your snack is done! MUST-READ: Dirt Alert! 10 Things You MUST Clean Every Day MUST-READ: #LifeHacks: How to Deal with Public Loos in India

06 May 2016

Shaistha Khan