Just like accents, food preferences can change dramatically from one region to another. And lots of factors contribute to this.
Climate, for starters, plays a big role. The bountiful seafood in Maine isn’t the same as the fresh avocados in California, right? Culture is another biggie. The rich, diverse tapestry of people that make up our nation brings their unique food traditions to the table (pun intended!).
Out of curiosity, we decided to dive into our data to uncover unique foods that are logged more often compared to other states. And spoiler: the results were pretty interesting!
The Method Behind the Madness
We used the information from our food logging database to learn about what people eat in different parts of the United States.
“We looked at the top 500 foods that people logged in each state this year,” explained Therese Suarez, Business Analyst at MyFitnessPal. “Then we compared which foods were logged more in one state compared to the whole country. For example, while bananas and eggs were popular everywhere, people in Mississippi logged a drink called ‘Loaded Tea’ a lot more than people in other states.”
Overview of High-Level Eating Trends in 2023
As of December 11, 2023 a whopping 10.23 billion foods were logged in the MyFitnessPal app — that’s an average of 241 foods logged every second!
As Therese mentioned, some favorites like bananas and eggs were overwhelmingly popular with all U.S.-based MyFitnessPal members (aka: logged a lot!). Chicken, blueberries, and avocados were also big hitters.
But, interestingly, we found that different states had their own unique preferences.
Our List of Unique Eats By State
- Alaska: Moose meat
- Alabama: Cheese grits
- Arkansas: Fried catfish
- Arizona: Low-fat cottage cheese
- California: In-N-Out Double-Double
- Colorado: Power greens
- Connecticut: Hard roll
- DC: Egg whites, pasteurized
- Delaware: Scrapple
- Florida: Yellow rice
- Georgia: Collard greens
- Hawaii: Portuguese sausage
- Iowa: Monster cookie
- Idaho: Fry sauce
- Illinois: Keto bread
- Indiana: Breadsticks
- Kansas: Crab rangoon
- Kentucky: Pimento cheese
- Louisiana: King cake
- Massachusetts: Steak tips
- Maryland: Old Tyme 647 Italian bread
- Maine: Haddock
- Michigan: Crazy bread
- Minnesota: Brat
- Missouri: Pork steak
- Mississippi: Loaded tea
- Montana: Elk burger
- North Carolina: Hush puppies
- North Dakota: Sourdough cottage bread
- Nebraska: Crab rangoon
- New Hampshire: Dry roasted edamame
- New Jersey: Pork roll
- New Mexico: Sopapilla
- Nevada: In-N-Out fries
- New York: Chicken cutlet
- Ohio: Oyster crackers
- Oklahoma: Fried okra
- Oregon: Medium cheddar cheese
- Pennsylvania: Soft pretzel
- Rhode Island: Garlic
- South Carolina: Grits
- South Dakota: Dakota-style 12-grain bread
- Tennessee: Buttermilk biscuit
- Texas: Mexican cheese blend
- Utah: G2G protein bar
- Virginia: Italian bread
- Vermont: Baby crispy green leaf lettuce
- Washington: Cosmic crisp apple
- Wisconsin: Cheese curds
- West Virginia: Pepperoni roll
- Wyoming: Elk burger
Analysis of the Results
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from these results is the range of foods across the country that made the list. From steak tips to cheese grits to power greens — it seems all the food groups are adequately covered.
Wild game made multiple appearances as a top pick in the form of moose meat (Alaska) and elk burgers (Montana and Wyoming). “Both are great options for lean protein”, says MyFitnessPal Dietitian Steph Tarnacki, “with moose meat racking up 25g of protein and only 1g of fat per 3 oz serving, and elk burger also delivering 25g of protein along with 2g of fat per 4 ounce serving.”
Crab rangoon, the deliciously crispy crab and cheese fried pastry, made the list twice (Kansas and Nebraska). So did grits in its cheesy (Alabama) and not-so-cheesy (South Carolina) forms. Craving this classic Southern comfort food? “Top it off with some lean protein like shrimp or chicken sausage to make it a complete meal,” suggests Tarnacki.
The Bottom Line: Learning From Logging
Whether or not your state’s unexpected food matches what you logged in 2023, it’s obvious that logging leads to some interesting learnings. And the more you log, the more you can learn about the food choices you make (and better align with your goals!). The MyFitnessPal app (free or premium!) can help.
After all, that’s what unlocking your potential through nutrition is all about. And when in doubt, MyFitnessPal can help.
