Foods We Loved as Kids, Maybe Not as Adults
As children, some foods truly disgusted us. But the same ones—Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and spinach all come to mind—we now dream of roasting, braising in butter, and creaming with ricotta. As adults, there are still plenty of foods we can look back on and agree—they are better left for the kids.
Joe Posnanski lists what he calls "Pixifoods," or "any food substance that is highly pleasant to the taste as a child and tastes shockingly unpleasant once you become an adult."
Some examples he includes: cotton candy ("cotton root canals"), Fig Newtons ("fruit chunks wrapped in death"), and Spaghetti-O's ("plastic and ketchup"). While many of the descriptions send shivers down my spine—Beanie Weenies are a no-brainer—I still snack on and enjoy Marshmallow Fluff and Pop Tarts from time to time. So, serious eaters, what childhood foods disturb your taste buds as an adult? [via Metafilter]
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101 Comments:
I would have to say sour candy or gummi candies. The sour thing just totally throws me off and the texture of gummi candy makes me nauseous. Not to mention, I can only eat chocolate in small quantities, say maybe 3 Hershey kisses and I'm done.
sassylady at 8:10PM on 08/26/08
I still like Fig Newtons. That's just crazy talk.
Jeffala at 8:11PM on 08/26/08
I still eat Fig Newtons, too!
Probably I couldn't hack any kind of [Meat] Helper meal now, though I always thought they were crazy tasty when I was a kid.
Nor could I eat canned Vienna sausages or potted meat (both Libby's?) made into sandwiches with mayo on them, both of which I once hoovered down.
Tokyorosa at 8:20PM on 08/26/08
S'mores, but for purely practical reasons. As a kid I easily downed several in one sitting. A few weeks ago, while camping, I bit into one (to be game, mind you) and the graham crumbs went right down the inside of my, uh, shirt front. Graham crumbs never bothered me as a kid because there was no, uh, you know, cleavage, but they're like grit. I spent the rest of the night picking them out demurely.
Just give me the chocolate bar and I'm happy.
moibec at 8:21PM on 08/26/08
Oh, the list could go on forever!
Pixisticks
Twinkies, HoHos and other Hostess goods
Wonderbread
Hersheys Chocolate
Canned green beans or corn
Fish Sticks
Soft n Chewy cookies
Nacho Cheese Doritos
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kats
White Chocolate
Necco Wafers
Dippin Dots
Processed cheese slices
...etc, etc
The trade off is I now appreciate fresh foods, fine dark chocolate and meals that require more effort than opening a box!
RudieCantFail at 8:22PM on 08/26/08
As a long time resident of Newton Massachuchetts, I still love the Fig Newton (orginally called just Newton), named for this town. And I love figs.
As a Boy Scout, I ate Spaghettios and Pop Tarts both cooked over a pamp fire. Niether was bad. Never cared for Fluff.
Don Luis at 8:23PM on 08/26/08
Kraft Mac & Cheese. It was a naughty treat in my tofu/brown rice household growing up. I still eat it once in a while now, because it's fast and cheap, but every single time it just makes my mouth sad.
elizabells at 8:31PM on 08/26/08
pixi sticks. ew. it's colored sugar in a straw and i would HOUSE them.
pop tarts i also loved but find them dry and carboardy now.
little debbies oatmeal creme pies. too sweet now.
megannesta at 8:34PM on 08/26/08
The other day I had a mad craving for Fluff and chocolate graham crackers, a favorite after school snack. Not so great as an adult. I then had to come up with creative ways to use the remaining Fluff, which included melting it over ice cream and adding it to my homemade fudgos (quite tasty).
Also, cinnamon sugar Poptarts, my breakfast as a kid, are insanely, tooth-achingly sweet as an adult. Why did our parents let us eat this stuff???
shalomblack at 8:35PM on 08/26/08
I used to get Pizza Lunchables as a treat when going on school field trips. I saw them the other day in the grocery store and was dismayed by the sight; white cardboard disks playing the part of "crust", tubes of bright red goo, and packets of white faux-cheese. Horrendous!
I never liked the plastic-wrapped American cheese slices or Fluff, but I still occasionally get a craving for frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts.
poke87 at 8:41PM on 08/26/08
Velveeta
Cheese Whiz
Cherry Mash candy bars
Good 'n Plenty
Boston Baked Beans (candy)
Black Jack gum
Orange slices (candy)
cream chipped beef on toast
Ugh...my stomach hurts just thinking about these :(
JEP at 8:50PM on 08/26/08
Any pasta in a can
Any cereal that lists the first ingredient as "sugar"
Otter-pops (or their generic cousins)
Chicken nuggets
Fruit roll-ups
Hot Pockets (any "flavor")
beth1 at 9:02PM on 08/26/08
dorritos. I used to love them, but they have to be the most detestable snacky-chip of them all.
american cheese. I still like it in certain situations...but I used to melt three slices into my campbells tomato soup. three! insanity.
AND... not that i've had it, it was after my time, but those candies that come in a tube that are like...gel or some crap that you squeeze into your mouth...it looks like it tastes like molten jolley ranchers...it just seems so gross...
I used to looooove fast food fried fish on a bun stuff, I guesse because fast food was a rare treat and thats what my mom liked. The thought of one now makes my stomach scared.
I would also like to add that peanut butter and fluff sandwitches are still really good, so are pop tarts, especially with peanut butter spread on them, and so are fig newtons. yea. I still like kids foods for the most part.
delilah at 9:08PM on 08/26/08
Bologna with American cheese "boats" cooked in the microwave
Cold hot dogs
Processed cheese food in all its forms
Ghostbuster's or Cookie Crisp cereal
Chicken & Stars soup
Microwaved eggs with cheese
darkfoxx at 9:28PM on 08/26/08
I still love fig newtons and pop tarts. I don't eat them very often anymore, but I won't pretend that I don't enjoy them.
A couple things I'm freaked that I used to eat & love:
ham & cheese loaf (think bologna with embedded cheese cubes)
spaghetti-o's
fish sticks
any and all Little Debbie snacks
sharsd at 9:30PM on 08/26/08
Nostalgia always gets the better of me.
I use to love eating chicken (mc)nugget happy meals, and recently made the mistake of eating those mysterious nuggets of gloom - drowned in pools of syrupy bbq sauce.
Plus, I have to second the Fig Newtons - pure sugar. I used to try to convince my mom that they were healthy snacks.
miamia at 9:33PM on 08/26/08
I remember when kids in my school were sniffing pixie sticks. Needless to say, they were banned afterwards.
browntown at 9:42PM on 08/26/08
Pixie sticks seems like a common one. I remember a variant of that: they might have been called Dippin' sticks? I remember a sugary stick (like an elongated tylenol) that you could dip into grape, cherry, and maybe even lime powder. It was interactive, sugary, and I loved it. The whole thing gives me a sugar headache just thinking about it now.
The other item that used to make me very happy: "spray cheese." *Shiver*
buttonwillowsix at 9:51PM on 08/26/08
Anything sour apple flavored.
smile at 10:01PM on 08/26/08
froot loops. used to love them, but just the smell of them now makes me run from the room.
there's quite a long list but i'll leave it at that.
cybercita at 10:02PM on 08/26/08
Velveeta. It's basically orange shortening.
Jos Louis - though in my defense, I only ate them maybe once a year, as contraband.
But hey, Fig Newtons are awesome, even if they aren't super healthy.
piccola at 10:06PM on 08/26/08
@buttonwillowsix - You are referring to Lick'm-Aid Fun Dip - usually available with 2 flavours of powders - grape and orange or lime and cherry. Of course you couldn't get grape and cherry together... That would have been too good! I did get a special edition one once which had 3 flavours of powders - grape, orange, and cherry. I should have bought a case of those! The best part was munching on the stick after the powders were gone. It was very bland but delicious. Can you tell that this was my candy of choice after recieving my allowance? I had to save up because the Fun Dip was 25 cents and I only recieved 10 cents a week.
PeanutButter at 10:19PM on 08/26/08
lucky charms. i munched my way through a quarter of a box not half an hour ago, and with each sickening chalky crunch i felt more nauseous.. but i just couldn't stop in my desperation to reclaim the giddy joy they used to induce. it didn't work and now my tongue is blue.
cdcdcd at 10:23PM on 08/26/08
I still love Spaghettios. I remember when I used to make them in the microwave and then be so excited to eat them that I burned my tongue almost every time. And now when I burn my tongue, I always think fondly of them.
JigsawJones at 10:28PM on 08/26/08
Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies - I used to go crazy for them (my parents only bought them once in a while) even though they were so sugary that they actually made my throat hurt when I ate them. I don't really do much processed food these days....
Mia Rose at 10:28PM on 08/26/08
I would have to say Koolaid and Tang, the drink of the astronauts. I used to drink it as my morning juice, believe it or not. Also those Hostess Snowballs, or whatever they are called, cream-filled devil food cake surrounded by marshmellow, dyed pink and covered with coconut. I still see them in the store, and they give me the willies.
I could tolerate the occasional devil dog or hostess cupcake (sometimes enjoy the NYC gourmet cupcake version) but those snowballs were definitely too extreme. ICK. I even once ate ones that were colored lime green. Shudder. It's almost like that Ray Bradbury short story about the horrors of childhood.
sugarstack at 10:30PM on 08/26/08
I have to add Lucky Charms to the list. Is that cereal still around? I can't believe any of that stuff like Fruit Loops still sells. Can't imagine any parent who would give it to their kid these days!
sugarstack at 10:33PM on 08/26/08
Anything Hostess, or the like. Vienna sausages (still good, but not the eat-five-cans-in-one-sitting good). Lunchables, Fruit Loops, Pop Tarts. Gummi worms were mentioned earlier, and I can still wolf them down. Great, now I'm hungry.
PeteRepeat42 at 10:33PM on 08/26/08
I'm happy to see such a large pro-Newton contingent - those are great, and still often serve as my vending machine snack of choice (they seem slightly healthier than most of the other options).
I always loved eating at my best friend's house as a kid because her mom would serve boiled hot dogs on nice squishy wonder bread buns, accompanied by red Kool-Aid. My stomach is churning just thinking about it.
jessie at 10:44PM on 08/26/08
Those cheap cookies shaped like flowers with a hole in the middle and Hawaiian Punch. This was our snack in nursery school circa 1980.
Totally agree about Luck Charms. Fruity Pebbles too.
What is better than I remembered is bologna. Ate it everyday for years then not for a long time...and went back to it...still good! (BTW, this is deli bologna, not Oscar Mayer.)
krisp at 10:48PM on 08/26/08
the dreaded bologna cup!
a slice of bologna with some cheese heaped in the middle stuck under the broiler until the ends curl up.
i can still taste the grease.
they were pure joy when i was 6.
VioletCrumble at 10:58PM on 08/26/08
Oh man, Doritos! I used to have a bag for lunch when I didn't want any school food, but now I know better. It tastes and smells terrible, not to mention you get that powder all over your fingers and under your nails... I cringe when I smell that Doritos scent. But alas, High School kids just LOVE doritos, so I'm surrounded by it for another year :(
forsheezy at 10:58PM on 08/26/08
oh man, when i was a kid there was so much that i ate that i would never eat now. hot pockets, spaghettios, beeferoni, pop tarts, hostess cupcakes. My parents never let us have sugar cereal, candy or soda, but nobody gave thought to all the processed food then. And now, I love most sugar cereal and candy.
sarag22 at 11:07PM on 08/26/08
Peeps...ewww.
barbara_flay at 11:07PM on 08/26/08
As an adult, I have graduated from normal Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to the far classier Three Cheese kind.
Hostess Cupcakes: I still buy them sometimes but it's not nearly as tasty. Did they become drier in the last 20 years or something?
mschlock at 11:46PM on 08/26/08
Coco Pops, Fruit Loops, grape-flavoured Bubbleyum, Sour Apple sweets, lime-green popsicles. Basically, anything that changes the colour of my tongue makes me wanna run in the opposite direction.
Yu Ming Lui at 11:46PM on 08/26/08
I'm with you guys on the Doritos.
Also:
Pop Rocks
Alphabet Soup
And before I ever heard of Fun Dips, my classmates and I would dip plain old lollipops in baggies of Kool-Aid powder. *gag*
In defense of the fig newtons, I really like the 100% whole wheat ones. That actually is a healthy snack.
buffy at 11:48PM on 08/26/08
@barbara_flay - I like to buy peeps just so I can put them in the microwave and watch them blow up. Try it sometime, you'll feel like you're getting even with them for how disgustingly marshmallowy and sugary they are!
littlesalsi at 11:59PM on 08/26/08
what's a bologna cup?
beth1 at 12:07AM on 08/27/08
Wow, guys, seems like us Lucky Charms lovers are in the minority. How about Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk aka Cinnamilk? Still a yuck factor with that? :)
Allison Hemler at 12:25AM on 08/27/08
I still like Fig Newtons! I put them in my saddle bag when I'm going out for a long ride.
I used to scarf down Hostess fruit pies; I'd make a special trip to the corner market when I had enough change. You couldn't keep me away from Doritos. Now -- bleech!
ride&cook at 7:33AM on 08/27/08
PEEPS. blech. i used to fire them down by the trayful. my mother STILL insists on sending me, oh, ten, twelve boxes every year, for every major holiday, no matter how many times i tell her that i hate them. i can't GIVE them away!
i do still love newtons. and hot pockets. and kraft mac-n-cheese.
amaher40 at 8:31AM on 08/27/08
My standard school lunch used to be a Hostess Cherry pie and a bag of BBQ chips. I can still do the chips but my teeth hurt even thinking about the pie. I can't eat Twinkies any more either-the cake isn't as spongy and tastes like lemony cardboard. Oh yeah-those giant jawbreakers that made my friends and me look like we had some sort of massive mouth tumors. I've not seen them in years but that's probably a good thing as they'd certainly be labelled as a choking hazard these days.
Rottenmom at 8:58AM on 08/27/08
frozen pizza bagels.
kraft brand mac n cheese.
soups from a can.
bologna.
i still eat spaghettios, but only amy's brand - same with boxed mac n cheese - only amy's brand.
ceforrester at 9:01AM on 08/27/08
As the child of a hippie-vegetarian-heathfood-nut who got to eat pretty much only what came from our farm or the co-op, I LOVED Cap'n Crunch (with Crunchberries, of course) and Wonder Bread. Neither is as appealing now as fresh fruit and greek yogurt or a good crusty baguette. For years I coveted a taste of Hamburger Helper, but once I finally ate some, in my early 20s, I never EVER needed to go there again. Sigh. I guess Mom was (ack!) right.
When I stayed with my Dad, his wife would let me eat potato chips with ketchup. Not a combination I would ask for today.
AliceBlue at 9:02AM on 08/27/08
I hated fig newtons as a kid, but I love 'em now. I just tried a Slush Puppy this weekend for the first time in over ten years, and it was ghastly to say the least. I also used to like the pillsbury toaster streudels, but now I can't stand most of them. The cinnamon ones are passable, but that's about it. I've never been a fan of Spaghetti-Os, but I did really like the Chef Boyardee ravioli. Nowadays, I can't even handle the smell of them.
jboylan at 9:05AM on 08/27/08
I agree with EVERYONE'S notes--although I haven't had Pop Tarts in 10 years--I don't want to taint the good food memories I still have of them.
I lived for Hostess, once upon a time, now they taste like beef tallow--ditto loving Oreos and being disappointed by their sweetness.
I love beth1's description of Hot Pocket 'flavors' btw--there was indeed only one flavor, hot molten lava, a mix of meat and cheese in a solid, steaming mass. And yet I ate them all of the time--why?
To add:
Girl Scout cookies (sigh!)
Baskin Robbin's ice cream and soft-serve with sprinkles
HOT DOGS (sorry meat-eaters)
Fried clams
All sugary cereals and processed breakfast foods
Jelly beans
Animal cookies (crackers)
I haven't had Fig Newtons in ages--but I think I'd probably like a bakery version rather than the Nabisco kind.
HeartofGlass at 9:07AM on 08/27/08
FIZZIES! Does anyone remember those? They were an Alka-Seltzer-like product that flavored water just by dropping a tablet into a glass. It would dissolve and when it was done you had a wonderful sweet fruit-flavored soft drink. It was pulled off the shelves in the early 70s because of cyclamates, an artificial sweetner that allegedly caused cancer in lab rats. Anyway, about 10 years ago it was re-marketed and I bought some for old time sake. BLECH!!! It was disgustingly sweet and really vile. So we had a "Happy Fizzies Party"; we dropped all that were left into the john.
RichardCrystal at 9:31AM on 08/27/08
sugary cereals, poptarts, cheese balls (the crunchy orange snacks)
DJ Dedd at 9:37AM on 08/27/08
Hostess fruit pies, I loved them as a kid but they are so foul.
maggiehc at 9:52AM on 08/27/08
I still like Spaghetti-O's, but just the basic meatball & tomato sauce. The ones with the franks creep me out and the ones with cheese sauce are rather unpleasant. Regular old Spaghetti-O's are a nice comfort food once in a great while, though.
worldcupfever at 10:04AM on 08/27/08
Ding Dongs. And I always ate them upside down and to poke the bottom so the chocolate was all crumbled. Every time.
Montana Eats at 10:19AM on 08/27/08
I'm surprised at all the dorito-haters out there! Do you all dislike nacho cheese now as well (like the Taco Bell kind / Cheez Whiz)? Mmm... artificial cheese is something I haven't gotten over yet.
I do have to agree with the opinions on sugary cereals, fruity candies and Hostess fruit pies, though. We used to call them "fat pies" in high school - don't they have somewhere around 500 calories in them?
ameliep at 10:21AM on 08/27/08
There's nothing really from my childhood that I have eschewed, but there are a few things that I just don't clamor for anymore. The Chef Boyardee ravioli, for one. Now it just seems to leave a metallic twang in my mouth, it might have 15 years ago as well, but it didn't seem to bother me then. I used to be big on Little Debbies but now the only kind I eat is the white Christmas tree cakes at Christmas.
I got Barbie cereal for Christmas the year it came out and I was ecstatic. Very exciting.
@krisp, the cookies you remember are called butter cookies. They still sell them, they're cheap, and I love them to this day.
DCraver at 10:33AM on 08/27/08
Fig Newtons. Bc they are wrapped in deathly dry gluck.
BUT In their stead I eat Newman's fruit bars, fig or otherwise. Delight!
jdshd at 10:50AM on 08/27/08
i still eat the "once in a while" Newton, i still think they are good.
How can anyone think there is something wrong with Hersheys chocolate??? that's just sacreligious! granted Gharadelli and Scharfen-Bergan make better chocolates but a good old Hershey bar is just classic americana.
As for food that just scares me?? velveeta is right up there, it's not cheese, it's orange evil... but Whiz still belongs on a Philly Cheesesteak (the only place it belongs) Peeps hurt my teeth, along with Pixisticks, Lik-m-aids and the like.
dozertx at 11:16AM on 08/27/08
Lick M'Aid Fun Dip!! I saw it in a candy store while on vacation this summer and of course had to have it. I had not eaten a Fun Dip in many years but as a kid it was always my first choice on the rare occasion I was allowed to buy candy. I ate the whole thing with my husband laughing and gagging the whole time. I cannot say I actually enjoyed it (achingly sweet and made my tongue sore) but the nostalgia factor was great. I can probably wait another 25 years before I have another.
mrsmoosie at 11:17AM on 08/27/08
Cheap chocolate, cheese product/food (as opposed to real cheese), and those hot cocoa mixes with the dried, nubby marshmallows. And Chips Ahoy cookies. Those are just crazy hard and crumbly.
OneWallKitchen at 11:21AM on 08/27/08
Yodels, Drake's Yankee Doodles, Ring-Dings, Velveeta but Fig Newtons are still okay!!
deefine at 11:23AM on 08/27/08
I still love most of the things I loved back then because my tastes haven't really changed. Even when I was a kid I wasn't into lots of sugar and candy. My favorite cereal was always shredded oat squares and most of my Halloween candy went to my dad's office jar. We never really did fake cheese in the house, though I liked those crackers that had the cheese section and the little red stick to smear it on.
I started keep kosher a while ago, so that automatically gets rid of a lot of the things that I liked then and would probably still like now. Of the things I can still have, the only things I'd happily eat then that I rarely to never touch now are bologna, straight juice, and soda. The first just strikes me as icky now and the other two are way too sweet for me.
Stufsocker at 11:36AM on 08/27/08
Canned Vienna sausages.
Steak fingers.
Hershey's chocolate.
jayevee at 12:51PM on 08/27/08
I just wanted to mention that Joe Posnanski is pretty much my favorite sportswriter. His baseball stories are insanely good...and he writes for the hometown paper of my favorite team, the powerfully bad Kansas City Royals. Go, Joe!
sloppy at 12:52PM on 08/27/08
Bologna... There's no way to class that up. As kids, my brother and I would make sandwiches using the cheap store-brand white bread, one slice of American cheese between two slices of turkey bologna (it was "healthier") with potato chips or, for a treat, generic cheetos, and if my dad made the sandwich, ketchup. Thinking about it makes my stomach turn. I distinctly remember getting mad at my dad in 1st grade for putting ketchup on my bologna and cheese sandwich because it made the bread soggy and pink. After that, I made my own lunches.
Of course this came from the man who still, at nearly 50, prefers to drink Tang in the morning. No wonder my brother and I don't really like orange juice - we were being brought up to be Astronauts!
orangeobsession at 1:14PM on 08/27/08
I ate a lot of bologna and cheese sandwiches as a kid. I now despise both bologna and american cheese.
I used to beg my mom to buy me those Chef Boyardee things but she never ever did. When I finally tried it as an adult, I was completely horrified. It's canned crap.
I looooved Milk Duds when I was a kid. I remember trick or treating, and seeing a basket of milk duds left on someone's porch. I dived to the floor and wrestled my friends for them. I ate a mini pack from the basket of candy I was giving out last Halloween. It was horrible. :(
LHSK12 at 1:20PM on 08/27/08
bubble gum ice cream. I had some the other day and I have no clue how I choked that stuff down (or what happened to all the gum I ate in it!) when I was 6.
csbrown at 2:06PM on 08/27/08
When I was a kid, I had an unholy and inexplicable love for Vienna Sausages. The little meat tubes in the little can. Blech.
I also really liked Campbell's Wonton Soup, prepared from concentrate. And anything starting with "Chef" and ending in "Boyardee".\
We ate a lot of Hamburger Helper and similar knock offs, but I can't claim to actually like those.
nita at 2:23PM on 08/27/08
I remember liking Spaghetti-O's, Twinkies and Fruity Pebbles as a small child. I think pre-elementary school, actually.
But I don't remember eating them into grade school. I think it was Doritos and Pop Tarts after that. But by high school, I wasn't eating any of that stuff.
I remember my older sister going through a bizarre late love affair with Cap'n Crunch and Berry Kix, and I remember that I thought that stuff was stomach-turningly vile. The mere unnaturaly cloying smell was enough to send me into retreat.
fuuchan at 2:56PM on 08/27/08
Canned soup- especially Campbell's chicken noodle. I know what noodles should look/taste like, and whatever is in that can is surely not it.
Swiss cake rolls- just because something is brown and sweet does not mean it is necessarily chocolate.
Kerosena at 4:31PM on 08/27/08
I still like Spaghetti-Os! Whatchu talkin' bout! Am I supposed to be ashamed?
Chew on That at 5:10PM on 08/27/08
Sunny Delight.
gogocroquette at 6:10PM on 08/27/08
slim jims. when i was little i thought they were yummy but now i think they smell and taste like ass and tires.
bionicgrrl at 8:10PM on 08/27/08
bagel bites...one of my favorite things in middle school but i ate them not too long ago and i guess i just dont have a thing for rubbery cheese anymore...
hungrygrl7 at 8:43PM on 08/27/08
So I had a hankering for a Frosty. A good ole non-specifically-flavored Frosty from Wendy's. I forked over the dollar-something and prepared for the frozen blast from my past. Did you know that Frosty's really aren't that tasty? I mean- they don't taste like chocolate. They don't taste like vanilla. They taste like... well they taste like... Frosty? Sigh. Maybe they were good because of the french fries I dipped them in rather than their own merit.
And don't get me started on Pez...
AverageJane at 9:02PM on 08/27/08
Chef Boyardee.
Cheetos.
My boyfriend still eats everything on this list.
Laurel E at 9:57AM on 08/28/08
Oscar Mayer Cheese Dogs: A once in(toxic)ating mixture of jet-injected bologna and cheese wiz. I'm sure I washed down each one with an ice-cold can of Jolt.
ileanwong at 10:06AM on 08/28/08
When I was a kid, my mom would never buy Fruity Pebbles no matter how much I begged. So on the rare occasions I could get a bowl of those flourescent colored flakes of sugar-death, it was an awesome experience. Now I retch at the thought of eating them.
And here's another vote in favor of fig newtons. I think I actually like them more as an adult than I did as a kid.
Thomasj at 10:42AM on 08/28/08
I pretty much can't eat anything overly processed now, including any sort of pasta from a box (mac & cheese, hamburger helper, etc) or can (the aforementioned Spaghetti-Os). Also ramen, white bread, processed cheese food slices. All the stuff that I ate as a child because we were poor, and my mother neither had time to cook, nor wanted to (if she can't make it in the microwave or toaster oven,it's not worth making). Especially the ramen.. I physically cannot eat that stuff now, because it makes me nauseous. Also anything that's too sweet. Most candy is ok, but sugared cereals or prepackaged pies/brownies/etc are not.
randomeater at 10:45AM on 08/28/08
Oh right, also unnatural fruit juices, and Sunny Delight, which we used to drink a lot. I was given a bottle fairly recently because someone's mother sent her a case, and it was horrible.
randomeater at 10:47AM on 08/28/08
OMG, to all you Marshmallow Fluff lovers in or near Boston: Union Square in Somerville, the birthplace of Fluff, hosts an annual party honoring that local hero, entitled What the Fluff. I don't know what's in the works for this year, but last year there were all sorts of performances and activities, plus every kind of treat you could possibly make from Fluff. I ate at least three different kinds of Fluffernutter - with and without apples, on artisanal bread, with nuttella, etc...
The Brave Potato at 4:42PM on 08/28/08
Wow!!! I remember Fizzies; dating myself here probably LOL...oh how I loved them, used to remember thinking they were better than soda (childhood and one's strange beliefs); had no idea they were available today, but don't think I want one now...you can add me to the "say YES to Fig Newtons" group, really go well with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. I was never a big fan of those little fruit pies, my favorite still to this day is those little box pies by tastykake, or even in desperation the small round ones with the tiny pie plate underneath them. Occasionally I get a yen for canned meat ravioli, not much difference between chef boyardee and the store brand, I like to doctor them up with a bit of garlic powder, oregano and grated cheese, or melt some provolone slices on top, make them taste like "real food".
but put those horrible orange marshmallowy things they call "circus peanuts" near me...we are talking YUCK factor and possible reflux, even the smell...not even remotely peanutty!!! Never could figure out the logic in calling them peanuts, even an elephant wouldn't want to remember them! Also marshmallow fluff, can't understand HOW I could like that >shuddering now at the thought of the mouthfeel
iamon02 at 6:35PM on 08/28/08
Oh. So simple. Betty Crocker chocolate icing in a can. Just eat with a spoon. However, I still have a fondness for Pilsbury Cookie Dough (also eaten with a spoon, closer to room temp).
cheapandevilgirl at 9:37PM on 08/28/08
I eat Chef Boyardee Meat Ravioli once a week. 55 years old.
They were a treat growing up. Ultimate comfort food.
andywho at 10:47PM on 08/28/08
bionicgrrl 's comment on slim jims is so accurate. used to love them, even the orange grease on the inside of the plastic. then one day, in 6th grade, i read the ingredients.... for some reason the words "mechanically separated chicken" made me slowly put it down and never enjoy them again.
delilah at 12:34AM on 08/29/08
I live in new orleans, and we have Hubig's Pies, which are so good! I tried the hostess variety once-cherry- it was cough syrup goop inside surrounded by a thin greasy pie crust. but I can't say I don's love the fried pie things, Hubigs are the bomb!
delilah at 12:37AM on 08/29/08
um, Warheads--anyone remember those things?
looking back on them i have to ask, just what was their appeal?
"this candy will kick your ass!"
has the "painful candy" fad passed? i don't really see any of that kind of crap in gas stations and grocery stores anymore, so i guess so?
rasellers0 at 12:49AM on 08/29/08
OMG! I love the comment about slim jims tasting like ass and tires. LOL! Okay, and to all the fig newton haters out there...what are you thinking?? Newtons are the best! I can eat a whole sleeve with a pot of tea. Comfort!!!
However, I'm 100% on board with the Chef Boyardee Meat Raviolis...BLECH. I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE when my mom would serve me them...and now the mere smell sends me lurching from the room gagging.
I also used to eat a Hostess apple pie in high school every day for lunch, with a bag of Doritos and a nutty bar. And I weighed 98 pounds soaking wet! Now of course, I cannot imagine how I have any teeth left in my head at all.
juliebugsmama at 11:26AM on 08/29/08
What the hell happened to Icees? You know, the snowy-textured slush with the polar bear logo? Or did I change? Anyway, I used to live for them; I had one at a movie theater recently for fun and I gave it away to my friend because I found the taste so strangely un-cherrylike.
andywho, you are my hero. I still love the ravioli, too.
BangieB at 11:29AM on 08/29/08
Growing up in Nebraska, one of the most popular dips for potato chips was bacon horseradish, I used to love it as a kid. I tried some a few years ago and it was nothing like I remembered, I couldn't even eat it! Also, my grandparents always have Braunschweiger, I used to love it as a kid, but I tried it a few years ago and nearly gagged. Maybe I was a weird kid.
I love fig newtons, when I want a quick store bought snack.
Like most of the above, all those tooth-achingly sweet things that are marketed to kids (pop-tarts, sugar cereals, twinkies) are impossible to swallow now, though I do occassionally like a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll or Peanut Butter bar (the layered one). I tried both twinkies and ding-dongs again in grad school and couldn't finish them.
I never cared for any of those Chef Boyardee products, canned meats, and I only like hot dogs cooked over a fire when camping.
aprille at 2:58PM on 08/29/08
Things that are pink.
Sanna at 11:18AM on 08/30/08
Apple Jacks. With the best milk afterwards. I used to live on the stuff. I can maybe do it once a year now but only one bowl (used to do at least three each morning) and then I have to chuck the rest of the box. But the milk is still awesome.
I'm surprised by the Doritors haters. Was never a nacho cheese fan, but the cool ranch???? Can eat a bag of those in one sitting to this day. And the habanero ones they had recently were really good. Though I think I lost a layer of stomach lining because of them.
tkln at 11:51AM on 08/30/08
Ugghhh... bologna sandwiches with mayo on white bread (crusts trimmed off). Even the thought of it now makes me shudder. And I'd have it with a glass of Hawaiian Punch - even worse!
Oh, and my mom used to make this disgusting casserole with hot dog chunks, elbow macaroni, and canned tomato soup that for some unknown reason, I loved as a child. (By the way, my mom really is a great cook - don't know what was going on with this recipe...)
kimberlymac at 2:14PM on 08/31/08
sloppy joe from the lunch truck that provided lunch to my school (you know, the kind that goes to construction sites?) with strawberry milk. i might eat the sloppy joe now if i wasn't vegetarian, but the combination of the two. ew.
al oof at 1:02PM on 09/01/08
PEEPS...my stepmom sends me a package each Easter specifically so I may have the thrill of microwaving those neon-colored chicks of sugar death. I am not a violent lady by nature but watching those things expand and explode is FUN! Just a suggestion...spray the inside of the microwave oven with a very thin coat of cooking spray or something like it, because you'll be using every ounce of elbow grease you possess to clean it! LOL Although cleaning it up would be good exercise...:-)
skyeyes at 10:22AM on 09/02/08
Gad! You execute Peeps -- for fun! (Gulp!) I adore Peeps, and I'm probably old enough to be your grandmother. I also still like Moon Pies, but I nuke them so they become s'mores-like. I also have learned to love exceedingly dark rich chocolate, assorted organ meats and all the other frou-frou foods favored by self-proclaimed gourmands. The difference, I believe, is that in childhood we only THOUGHT we could have eaten Peeps for breakfast, lunch and dinner; we couldn't have then anymore than we could now. All things in moderation -- even Peeps.
expat39520 at 11:43AM on 09/02/08
Ramen Noodles. That pure salt seasoning packet and those waxy noodles. My friends and I used to LOVE them for an after school snack. They are the one food I absolutely can't stomach anymore.
I loves me some Skettios, though!
Calidaho at 7:25PM on 09/02/08
Am I the only person who cannot eat Captain Crunch cereal as an adult? OMG the stuff shreds the roof of your mouth and put you into insulin shock. What was I not thinking?
RI Swampyankee at 7:30PM on 09/02/08
Snowballs (yeah the pink things), Candy Corn, those stupid orange peanut shaped marshmellow things (what were they supposed to taste like anyway?), anything marshmellow including Mallow Mars, But for some strange reason I like a smores (only made over an outside fire) maybe once a year.
I always hated bologna, didn't like hotdogs (unless drowning in ketchup) until I was a teenager (and discovered really good mustard, not that yucky yellow stuff) and now I only eat them at the "game" or grilled crispy from The Blarney Stone. Guilty pleasure - and then I am sorry, Big Mac, Chocolate Shake and fries (only once a year) considering you can get a sublime burger with MacDonalds quality fries in so many places in NYC. Must be that special sauce. Always hated any cold cereal and still eat oatmeal (from scratch) the way my mom made it with milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon - a true comfort food on a crisp cold winter morning.
Love:
Snickers
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
but Lindt Chocolate is the adult thing, oh those truffles!
Boo on who said Girl Scout Cookies, support a good cause, eat the thin mints and tagalongs (another guilty pleasure that I insist on sharing with my entire family).
I am a New York food snob and a former restaurant professional so I crave the stuff I can't make myself. Never got into frosting in a can or brownies from a mix. I can make it faster and better.
DISTROY ALL PEEPS! Must try blowing them up in the microwave, thanks for the idea.
quaxo at 10:34PM on 09/02/08
If I get a craving for a childhood food I have to cuccumb to it no questions asked. The only thing that I will not eat now (thank God for no craving) is lamb and liverwurst that THEN i liked, now I won't touch it.
pjracz10 at 3:48AM on 09/03/08
Captain Crunch!
reader110 at 1:54PM on 09/03/08
I wonder if today's kids, 15 years from now, will be getting nostalgic about the same nasty kids foods. Definitely not Bourdain's kid unless she swears off game birds!
Allison Hemler at 6:58PM on 09/03/08
I still love Fig Newtons, too but will enjoy any Fig Newton 'knockoff". I did like popscicles but today find them too sweet and lacking in flavour. I even ate them through my university years but their allure was probably their cheapness... I was a pretty eager eater - loved all vegetables except parsnips which I now adore. I steam them lightly and caramelize them in butter and brown sugar - one of my many fave vegetables. I liked meat in my childhood but eat it rarely today. I loved hotdogs but don't enjoy them today. I'll eat one at a barbecue but I'd rather have something else. Foods are so nostalgic. We travel back in our minds to the very moment of tasting. I love the evocative nature of food as well as the taste.
Raki5 at 11:35PM on 09/05/08