Foods/recipes you grew up with that you would not eat today

lemurcat12

sheepotato wrote: »

I can't think of anything I would eat that comes from a can these days. When I was growing up most of the food lived in cans or boxes in the cupboard.

I'm still pro canned tomatoes. Not as good as fresh, of course, but tomatoes carted in from who-knows-where out of season are largely tasteless, and canned are far more convenient for red sauce sometimes even when fresh tomatoes are available.

Feeling compelled to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes was one of my things that I briefly experimented with when I was in an annoying "only natural" phase and got over.

(And this year I was trying to find a good fast recipe for a pumpkin dessert and found that basically everyone recommended using the canned pumpkin, since you have to drain fresh pumpkin. I've done pumpkin pie from scratch and didn't make it this year anyway, but I did end up deciding that my pumpkin would be used for savory dishes and whipping up a fast pumpkin cheesecake with canned pumpkin, not to mention store-bought cream cheese.)

Revonue

Canned soup, Ramen noodles, Chef Boyardee, and eggs (I finally figured out I can eat egg whites, but for some reason the whole egg makes me feel nauseous).

sheepotato

lemurcat12 wrote: »

sheepotato wrote: »

I can't think of anything I would eat that comes from a can these days. When I was growing up most of the food lived in cans or boxes in the cupboard.

I'm still pro canned tomatoes. Not as good as fresh, of course, but tomatoes carted in from who-knows-where out of season are largely tasteless, and canned are far more convenient for red sauce sometimes even when fresh tomatoes are available.

Feeling compelled to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes was one of my things that I briefly experimented with when I was in an annoying "only natural" phase and got over.

(And this year I was trying to find a good fast recipe for a pumpkin dessert and found that basically everyone recommended using the canned pumpkin, since you have to drain fresh pumpkin. I've done pumpkin pie from scratch and didn't make it this year anyway, but I did end up deciding that my pumpkin would be used for savory dishes and whipping up a fast pumpkin cheesecake with canned pumpkin, not to mention store-bought cream cheese.)

The farmer's market near my house goes crazy with it's pie pumpkins/winter squashes displays each fall & winter. My husband just has to buy them whenever he's alone picking up the week's produce. They are so cute he says, but I get so sick of them by spring. Canned pumpkin is butternut squash, try that next time. You won't have to drain it. I've been trying to eat mostly seasonally for the past couple of years because the store tries to stock mostly regional produce. It really means that I enjoy food way more in the summer when there are so many more things in season. Boring winters is the price for eating fresh food whenever possible.


That is a good point about tomatoes though, we still buy a few in the winter for salads and whatnot but I have used tomato paste or canned tomatoes to fill out my pasta sauce, chili and curries.

lemurcat12

I have more squash of all sorts than I can use at the moment (I have a farm share), although I should try desserts with something other than pumpkin when I ever get back to making desserts. (Plenty of canned pumpkin is pumpkin, though, and apparently a huge percentage of it is from my state, as I learned recently.) I honestly didn't find that the pie I made with a fresh pumpkin tasted different, although I'm more of a fruit pie person anyway.

I'm into seasonal as possible too, but at this time of year I go for non local versus having almost no choice. Part of this is that I'm a recovering obsessive and used to go way overboard, thus the prior refusal to use canned tomatoes and even a period researching locovorism which just seems so silly now and is one reason I find the extreme anti processed rhetoric you run into here sometimes so silly. (Really thinking about what trying to do all local would require here cured me, though I still try to do what's reasonable and fun. Which might include canning someday, who knows.)

evolution328

Kraft Mac and cheese with hot dogs mixed in and lots if soda

sheepotato

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I have more squash of all sorts than I can use at the moment (I have a farm share), although I should try desserts with something other than pumpkin when I ever get back to making desserts. (Plenty of canned pumpkin is pumpkin, though, and apparently a huge percentage of it is from my state, as I learned recently.) I honestly didn't find that the pie I made with a fresh pumpkin tasted different, although I'm more of a fruit pie person anyway.

I'm into seasonal as possible too, but at this time of year I go for non local versus having almost no choice. Part of this is that I'm a recovering obsessive and used to go way overboard, thus the prior refusal to use canned tomatoes and even a period researching locovorism which just seems so silly now and is one reason I find the extreme anti processed rhetoric you run into here sometimes so silly. (Really thinking about what trying to do all local would require here cured me, though I still try to do what's reasonable and fun. Which might include canning someday, who knows.)

Oh I should really look into do farm share, there are a few places that do it in my area. I think it would be neat to get into canning, one my grandmothers did that when I was kid. She loved to make picked things and jellies.

I don't know which state is a big squash producer but it's nice to have a claim to fame. The city I live in is known for it's watercress. Oddly, most of the watercress I've bought came from elsewhere so I don't know where they are being grown.

I'm not anti-processed foods, I like the 80% (not going to use the word because it seems to upset some people) food, 20% junk food idea. I just love opening my fridge to find it full of plants instead of boxes. It makes it easier for me to feel like cooking to visually see the clear plastic containers of my bulk goods in the pantry instead. It just appeals to my sensibilities, and makes me feel good about what I'm eating. I think if it started being an obsessive or overly complicated thing I would have to stop, I have been known to get too obsessive over things. I just don't find some foods I used to eat all the time palatable anymore, when I was thinking of can foods it was mostly the canned meats and premade pastas for kids that I grimaced at.

I grew up on beige food, so it's nice to eat in color.


Having a lower calorie count so it's harder to accidentally overeat and meeting more micros are a nice bonus. I enjoy it and it's easy to sustain for now, if that ever changes I'll have to adapt again.

Cardio4Cupcakes

Kid Cuisines (or any of those frozen meals like Hungry Man), Hamburger Helper, Hot Pockets, Pop tarts...the list goes on and on.

CooCooPuff

Cardio4Cupcakes wrote: »

Pop tarts

I went through an entire box of Oreo Pop Tarts during Christmas Eve / Day. They were great.

Unless you're talking about the strawberry Pop Tarts without frosting. My mom tried giving us those growing up because she thought they were healthy.

iheartinsanity

My grandmother made a "salad" with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and slathered it in mayo (maybe her version of cole slaw?). It's no wonder I had high cholesterol when I was 19. Makes me gag thinking about it.

Ribbittee

Bread and gravy. And yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Mom would tear up slices of Wonder bread and top it with gravy leftover from Sundays roast. We'd have this when Dad was working second shift; poor guy missed out. I loved it. I tried to make it for my ex when we first got married and he informed me that we didn't have to eat like it was the Great Depression.

lemurcat12

sheepotato wrote: »

I don't know which state is a big squash producer but it's nice to have a claim to fame.

Illinois, apparently, for the canned sort. I just thought it was funny when I ran across this fact when looking up pumpkin on wiki somewhat recently (the things that come up over dinner!). Of course, it's possibly not true, but it seems like the kind of thing that wiki would be reliable about rather than some kind of hot button political thing.

Anyway, I wasn't intending to accuse you of being anti-processed in some kind of obsessive or mindless way, and I'm sorry if it came across that way, just my train of thought to when I used to be opposed to cans in principle. We ate lots of canned veggies when I was a kid (probably winter, but I really can't recall having any other kind of green bean), and I think that's one reason I didn't appreciate them nearly as much as I do now. Canned veggies do mostly tend to be on my things I don't eat anymore list.

apparations

lemurcat12 wrote: »

sheepotato wrote: »

I don't know which state is a big squash producer but it's nice to have a claim to fame.

We ate lots of canned veggies when I was a kid (probably winter, but I really can't recall having any other kind of green bean), and I think that's one reason I didn't appreciate them nearly as much as I do now. Canned veggies do mostly tend to be on my things I don't eat anymore list.

Canned green beans are absolutely vile! I still have nightmares over that taste.

Elsie_Brownraisin

Spam fritters were ok back then, I find them pretty vile now.

But I've always hated eat brawn and tripe *Mr Burns shudder*

I make a sort of 'brawn' from a whole rabbit for my husband, but I can't face boiling a pig's head. I even bought one once and put it in the freezer, but I'm ashamed to say it ended up in the bin.

Like Ribbittee, we used to have white bread to mop up the gravy (heavy on the cornflour and Oxo) after a roast dinner too. Wouldn't do that now.

We used to eat a lot of boil in the bag sausages and ham shanks and things, very salty pork products.

My Mum also used to make pasta, with smoked bacon, cream cheese and sour cream. I loved that as a kid and still ate it as a young adult. I think I'd yack if I tried to eat it again.

sheepotato

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Anyway, I wasn't intending to accuse you of being anti-processed in some kind of obsessive or mindless way, and I'm sorry if it came across that way, just my train of thought to when I used to be opposed to cans in principle.

Oh I didn't think that at all. I meant to agree that eating fresh food does not mean that I'm some sort of processed food hater, but it's easy to get on a slippery slope with things like that. I am just thankful that I have the option to eat better than I did growing up, instead of burdened by it. I should really stop writing long spiels like that when I'm sleepy.

Ribbittee wrote: »

I tried to make it for my ex when we first got married and he informed me that we didn't have to eat like it was the Great Depression.

Haha I love that!