How Often Did You Eat Out As A Kid?
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Not that often. My mom cooked dinner, and for lunch I would pack my Holly Hobby lunch box and she would usually give me a sandwich and some fruit and the treat would be a Little Debbie snack, usually my favorite, Oatmeal Creme Pie
My mom grew up in the country so she liked making fresh food, I remember helping her snap fresh string beans, clean fresh collard or kale, shuck corn on the cob, etc. She never bought jar spaghetti sauce, always made her own.
I remember we would sometimes get McDonald's but that was usually just for lunch. My Dad would treat us out sometimes on Sundays, maybe twice a month, I remember going to Bob Big Boy's. We were a family of 5 and limited budget, so it was limited. I also remember the great summer barbeques and all the good homemade food: the ribs, hamburgers, mac and cheese. I remember even the sweets were homemade, like the cakes and the peach cobbler. I remember one lady's peach cobbler was so good my Dad would pay her to make it for him. I like this question, brought back really good memories of childhood and family 0 -
I very rarely ate out as a kid-we would go out for my grandmothers birthdays and maybe a few other times a year. When I was in college...a lot. We had KFC/Magic Wok/ etc on campus, everything else imaginable nearby, and the 1st apartment I lived in was practically next door to a Wendy's. That was when I put on weight-when I moved out on my own. (I commuted my first 2 years of college, so I still got Mom's home cooking the majority of that time)0
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Pretty much only on roadtrips.
My dad worked 2 day jobs and my mom worked nights, since my dad had us at dinner time it was a lot of spaghetti, tacos, goulash, and Kraft Dinner. He always made a salad though to go with it lol
They did what they could.0 -
Once a week...usually pizza or mexican food. Once I became an adult and was working nights...every single day.0
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A few times a year at most.0
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i would eat out once a month, if that. it was guaranteed right around the report card times, though. i'd go to mcdonalds to wendys or out for sushi with my mom as a reward for getting straight As every semester (grade 4-11). i was still a chubby kid.0
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My parents had me in a lot of extracurricular activities as a kid - - we sometimes wouldn't get back home to eat dinner at night until 10pm....and that was quite often fast food. At the very least 4 times a week all throughout my elementary school - jr high years. As an adult I try to cook my own meals..........but that fast food still lures me back in sometimes.0
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We ate out a few times a week over most of my life. When my parents moved me in first grade they felt guilty and EVERY DAY after school I got a Happy Meal. I didn't ask for it they just did it out of guilt. Luckily I didn't eat much then so I didn't gain weight but who knows the other damage done. After that year we moved back and began eating better. There was still a bunch of frozen pizza after school for my brother and I. I ate a lot of pb&j at school and never had school lunch. We lived on Coke instead of water. I am not sure how I wasn't way more overweight. Now I have two kids of my own and plan to do things a bit differently. My parents are great but I don't want as much soda in my kids life and really don't want that much fast food either.0
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Up until I was around 9 years old most of my suppers were cooked by my parents with lunches and breakfasts supplemented by cereals or soups. I remember it being pretty healthy and fruits and other healthy snacks were available. That was when my mom was full/part-time at home. We moved when I was 9 and my parents began both working full-time, many of our suppers were still home-cooked but there was a lot more convenience meals such as frozen fishsticks, fries, chicken fingers, etc and we ate fast food much more often. When I was 12-15 I ate very poorly, I remember sometimes having McDonald's three times per week alongside other fast food, and as I began to get allowance I'd spent most of it on donuts, flavoured popcorn, cinnamon buns, and french fries and at home often had unhealthy snacks like pizza pops and instant noodles.
I gained considerable weight at the end of elementary school and throughout junior high, but I noticed and was concerned and that's when I first started reading books about healthy eating and losing weight. I think that having known what healthier home-cooked meals tasted like and made me feel like played a contributing role in me wanting to change my habits but for a few years it was a bit rough. I really think that nutrition should be covered by schools and parents, but in your later teenage years and early adulthood you definitely have a mind of your own and the ability to make your own choices, so a lot of it is up to you to take responsibility and inform yourself.0 -
My mom grew up in the country so she liked making fresh food, I remember helping her snap fresh string beans, clean fresh collard or kale, shuck corn on the cob, etc. She never bought jar spaghetti sauce, always made her own.
I remember this growing up. My mom made no excuses. She worked full time and had as many as 4 out of 5 kids at home at the same time. She taught us how to cook young so that we could pitch in and help!0 -
Once a year we had either fish and chips or a chinese takeaway. We only had soda and chocolate at christmas and easter. When I left highschool and set out on my own I made up for all that!!!0
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We went to Boston Pizza once a month after church on Sunday, and on rare occassion to some place like McDonalds. I grew up out in the country and money was tight, so anything but eating at home generally just wasn't an option. Pop was only a once a week treat, too.
I never had a problem with my weight until after I moved out and moved into the city with my own money to burn on fast food and junk food. It was amazing how quickly those new bad habits took over.0 -
Sundays after church. It didn't always mean going out to eat though. But it was family treat day, trip to the best ice cream parlor within 50 miles, home made popcorn and a movie, or nachos for dinner. It was also the only day I didn't have have milk, and a vegetable for with my dinner. Monday through Saturday we had healthy family meal times. The kind where you don't leave the table till you eat everything.0
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We went out on Sunday's after Church to get breakfast, unless they were serving it at Church. But other than that we ate at home for every meal and packed our lunches for school. We went out to eat at a restaurant maybe once of month or less. But sometimes my mom would surprise us and take us for a flavored soda and a soft pretzel. It made those times special. With my husband and kids now we eat nearly every meal at home and go out to eat maybe twice a month. Although we don't always all get to sit down together. The children's schools offer breakfast and lunch but it is not what I want them to eat. So breakfast is at home and next year when my son stays for lunch it will be packed.0
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Once a week.
Mcdonalds #1 - Big Mac.
Those were the days.0 -
Almost never. On vacations only. I remember the first time I ate out when it was not on a vacation. A friend and his mom took me out for a hamburger, at the Rexall grill. We sat at the counter. I looked forward to it for days before we actually went.0
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Almost never. On vacations only. I remember the first time I ate out when it was not on a vacation. A friend and his mom took me out for a hamburger, at the Rexall grill. We sat at the counter. I looked forward to it for days before we actually went.
that is the saddest thing ive ever heard in my life0 -
we NEVER did cuz we were poor
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we never did cuz we were and still are poor.0
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3-4 times a week, I'd say. Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons after church, at least one meal on Saturday, and usually something else in there too. Even if it wasn't a meal out, it would be a snack out - a Blizzard after school or something. When I was little, a huge amount of what I ate was processed - sugary cereal, frozen popcorn shrimp, high-sodium soup and veggies from cans, etc. And lots of soda. So much soda. Like, 3-4 cans a day. My parents were so clueless.
Luckily, we moved to Singapore when I was 12, and my mom took an interest in learning to cook the local fare. She made meat-and-veggie heavy stir frys all the time. We started eating out more because it was convenient and cheap, but food there was made from whole ingredients and served in reasonable portion sizes. I never packed a lunch for school there - our cafeteria had a huge selection and was generally filled with nutritious options.0 -
as a kid we ate out maybe once a week, sometimes twice. then I had kids and even though my mom cooked most of the time, I never was taught how to cook, I became a mom 2 months after graduating high school so bad habits started and we ate out or ate frozen meals 75% of the time, but that was 6 years ago, now I am vegetarian, so my kids also eat a good amount of vegetarian meals, and they are all packed with healthy goodness now we eat out 2-6 times a month max.
ETA: and We are always busy, we have soccer 3 nights a week and my oldest is in scouts and im the den leader, I just adjust dinner time to our scheduals0 -
I hardly ever ate brakfast at home. Unless it was a weekend. I grew up in a two parent household with a two parent income. A teacher and social worker although we were not swimming in money with 4 kids.
We ate often enough though. Every Thursday night as it was Dads pay day and one of the diners close by srved Beef Barley soup and had a soup bar. We would pick up sandwiches from a specialty shop. We might grab a burger on the way home. HOWEVER, for however much we ate out- my mother cooked. Sitting us all down was a standard practice until I was further in HS and everyone usually had something going. Weekends were big o0n homemade breakfasts with pancakes or french toast and eggs and ham or bacon or sausage. Flavored syrups, muffin setc etc. Sundays were reserved for big homemade dinners or big out to eat dinners.
As a teen I ate out often.
As I grew older even though I cooked at home a lot. ( I started out in the food business running a nd cooking full time in a restaurant)-- I would eat out as a reward for hard work.
My other didnt cook at all then so we ate out when i was short on time.
Now- I cook quite a bit but i can get into a slump were i might not cook for a week. That doesnt mean we eat out the whole week- we just find leftovers or other ready heat or minimal prep food inthe pantry or fridge.0 -
My mom owned a health food store before I was born. I was raised an ovo-lacto vegetarian in a religion full of vegetarians. So birthday parties or eating lunches at my religious school were all vegetarian friendly foods. We ate out very rarely, about once every few months at taco time, where I always had a bean burrito, or a local buffet where I'd have a giant salad full of peas and beans and cheese. I was rarely ever allowed sweets. Which I think was a mistake because I remember sneaking pepto-bismol because I thought it tasted like candy, and sometimes just whole raw spoonfuls of sugar. I remember friends having leftover candy from Halloween months later and couldn't fathom not eating all the candy all at once. I was denied sweets so often that when I got a chance to eat them I didn't have an off switch. I wish my mom would have gone by the "everything in moderation" rule and allowed us a little more freedom with food. But at the same time I am thankful that I had a healthy childhood.0
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Short answer: when at home with Mom, rarely... single-digit/year due to cost; even then, it was usually only when someone else treated us. When staying with Dad for weekend or during Summer... maybe 1-3 times a week. Once I turned 16 and had a car and part-time job, 1-2 times a day most days a week.Reading this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/youll-gladly-die-children-why-wont-cook-them-155639748.html
got me to thinking. I was just wondering what your experiences were.
...
Background:
I grew up far enough below the poverty line to easily qualify for free school lunch all the way through 10th and 'reduced price' lunch thereafter; however, we were never so poor as to ever have empty cabinets or fridge. A few times we could've qualified for welfare and/or food stamps but my Mom vehemently REFUSED to sign up for those benefits. She did however, on rare occassion, make use of sporadic government food giveaways... so I'm well-versed in "gub'ment cheese", etc.!
My parents separated when I was 4 and it was just my Mom and me from that point forward. She often couldn't work due to chronic illness, but she worked whenever she was healthy enough to do so. I was a latch-key kid from kindergarten on up, so I was taught to cook at an earlier age; supervised at age 4, allowed to cook solo by age 6. We didn't always have the healthiest stuff in the fridge, but many meals were "homemade" nevertheless.
I was a child of the 70s-80s, and during most of that time the only nutrition info mandated by law was ingredients and calories. Even serving size details were sporadic at best. In retrospect, I think of how many calories I must've consumed a day as a kid (think big @$$ bowl of cereal or entire row of cookies, etc.) and am surprised I survived! In elementary school, I estimate that my typical school day was probably 2k calories and 3x RDA of sodium! As a senior in high school (e.g. bought myself a 12" meatball sub on most days), I estimate a typical school day was 5-6k cals and 5x RDA sodium! However, I worked a strenuous weekend job and stayed the same weight the entire year and had normal BP! Go figure!
*ETA: When I was young, even going to the amusement park or travelling out-of-state meant "tailgating with a big @$$ cooler", not eat concession/restaurant food! We'd get Kings Dominion season passes every year, but would have an 'intermission' to leave the park and eat out of the cooler in the car trunk. Cold fried chicken, potato salad, and orange soda never tasted SOOO good! Travelling meals meant "pull over to side of road, fix a plate (aka thick foil and a spork) from the cooler, get back in car and drive". Hotel? Yeah right! Every trip was based off of staying with relatives or friends who owe you a favor! Take your cooler into their house and put your stuff in their fridge... BAM! Man... those were the days...0 -
Reading this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/youll-gladly-die-children-why-wont-cook-them-155639748.html
got me to thinking. I was just wondering what your experiences were. Not judging tghem good or bad, just what were they? Is the writer of the article correct with the trends she says?
My experience as a child, age infant to 14 years. As a family we ate out once a week for Sunday lunch. It was always a kid friendly place, sometimes fast food, sometimes Friendlys or similar where we could have ice cream sundaes, or sometimes a pancake house.
Other than that all meals were at home. Breakfast was sometimes cereal, sometimes scrambled or poached eggs and toast, and on Saturday morning my Dad made pancakes. Lunch was a sandwich with pretzels or fruit or leftovers if it was a weekend. You had to bring your lunch to school and we ate in the gymnasium. We generally had sit down dinners, but not everyone was present all the time due to afternoon or evening activities, so food was kept warm on the stove until after everyone had eaten.
Birthday parties were held in people's houses or backyards or both and usually were just cake as far as food, but occasionally they involved hamburgers and/or hotdogs on the grill during warmer months and pizza during the winter ones.
What were your experiences?
The minute I read your post I knew you were my age (:huh: ) LOL. We lived in a little one red light town about 15 miles from the "big city". My mother would go to town once a week for groceries. If you wanted to ride with her you'd better have your butt in the car ready to go "because she did not wait for you". If she had money left over from groceries we might get lucky enough to have a cheese burger from Carols or Red Barn? Any of these sound familiar? LOL Well think of them as the "first fast food joint - "pre McDonald's" LOL.
Dinners at home were "the real thing" - no ordering a pizza or subs. If we wanted those we made them from scratch. Sunday dinner was a roast or baked chicken with mashed potatoes. If my mother bought pop it was the 2 lt. bottle but that was a treat - usually it was Kool-Aid. If we didn't buy our lunch at school and we "brown bagged it" (yes an actual brown paper lunch bag) most of the time it was PB & J with a piece of fruit and maybe a baggie of chips or pretzels and we bought white milk at school. On the weekends if we had popcorn it was made from kernels in the cast iron pan on the stove...shake, shake, shake. LOL And you'd better be shaking that pan - if you burned it then everyone sitting in the living room waiting for it would start yelling "Your burning it." Okay, now I'm really going to "date" myself. The first time I ever heard of chicken wings my thought was "who would pay for such a thing?". Of course once I had them that answered that question.
So after going down memory lane I remember reading something about the number of overweight people today compared to when I was a kid. Back then it was something like 1 in 10 or 1 in 25 and now it's what? 2 out of 3? There were about 80 people in my graduating class from high school and I can count on one hand the number of people in my grade that were overweight.....and still have fingers left over. :noway:
^^^This is my family to a tee. I tried the shake shake shake popcorn with my kids, but they didn't like it
( Things are so different nowadays. But my family (hubby and two kids) still have home-cooked meals everyday, except Fridays (which is what it was like for me as a kid too). Luckily I cook and so does my husband and my kids are only 4 and 7 so not any evening activities (YET!) 0 -
not too often...that was a luxury!0
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we would go to fast food restaurants a lot. Only when there was something going on that interfered with our normal dinner time or something- it wasnt like a family outing. I feel like with all the bad press fast food started to get we stopped going to mcdonalds to get some fries after school. it was something we did just because we could, but after realizing we had no need for fast food, we havent been in years. As for eating at nice restaurants, hardly ever, because i was the pickiest eater as a child. ever. i was that kid that sent back the spaghetti because there was 'green stuff' on it.0
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as a family only on birthdays. fast food places a couple times a month with my mum and sisters
my mum was an awful cook everything came out of a packet and was served with chips
breakfast was what ever sugary cereal my mum had bought, lunch was generally cheese and jam sandwiches served with crisps and cake and dinner was generally disgusting but you were expected to eat everything and you would have to sit at the table until you had eaten it unless bedtime came up and then it would be reheated and served for breakfast
school we had hot dinners and dessert served by the school and again were expected to clear your plate before you could leave, most days i missed out on playtime because i hadnt finished
i taught myself to cook when i left home at 18, i have several bookshelves of cookery books as i was determined my child would have healthy home made meals, i had plenty time to perfect my technique as i didnt have my daughter till i was 25 and then she spent years being tube fed and now has very high calorie requirements so have to add lots of high calorie foods to her diet, goes against what i had imagined for her0 -
Maybe once a month or on special occasions.
It was usually McDonald's.
When we were in grade school, Pizza Hut would give a free personal pan pizza to kids if they had 3 or more "A"s on their report cards. So every few months, if we had As, we would go to Pizza Hut.
Keep in mind, I am the oldest of 7 kids. McDonalds back in the late 80s, early 90s consisted of orders of 12 cheeseburgers, 2 hamburgers, 5 large fries, 3 large sodas, 2 milks, 1 juice, and like 10 extra cups. hahaha
So it was definitely rare.....
My mom cooked dinner every night, and for a while we didn't have cereals in the house either. My mom had a bread maker and made our bread, she also made granola and would cook breakfast.
On our birthdays we could choose the food for the day. We always chose cereal for breakfast because we never had it. 1-2 boxes of cereal were gone in one morning. :laugh:0 -
We rarely ate out when I was growing up. I can't even remember my parents bringing me to McDonald's at all. We'd order take out (like pizza or chinese) maybe once a month. Otherwise, my mom cooked all meals. BUT, my family never put any emphasis at all on eating healthy. Growing up in an Italian family - my Italian grandmother living with us- foods was constantly pushed on you - and readily available - and I'm talking unhealthy stuff - pasta, homemade pizza, fried chicken cutlets, chicken parm, you name it. For lunch, we always had a large selection of fresh coldcuts, plenty of bread. And there were always a ton of unhealthy snacks in the house - cookies, chips, etc. That is why I grew up overweight.
When I moved out, I knew how to cook - but found it difficult to cook only for myself - so slowly but surely I started eating takeout almost every single day - sometimes for both lunch and dinner.
In the last year, my husband and I have completely changed our eating habits. I make my own breakfast and lunch (healthy options). And I cook a healthy dinner every night, except Fridays. Friday is our date night - we go out to eat - never a chain restaurant though and very very rarely ever fast food.
I went from eating food from Wendy's at least 2 to 3 times a week, to having it ONE time in the last year. And I don't miss it one bit!0
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