The other night I was at the grocery store and the man in front of me…a grown man, with grey hair (in other words…not a twenty-something) was purchasing 2 boxes of frozen mac & cheese, a package of hotdogs, and some pepperoni sticks. Sometimes, when I see what people buy, I feel all smug about my vegetables and organic chocolate and raw ingredients. But mostly, I just want to grab them by the arm and say, “Put that back! Come to my house and I’ll make you dinner!” because honestly, sometimes I wonder how people can live on the food they choose.
But then I remember that I don’t have any right to judge people on their food choices, it’s none of my business, and as my husband has pointed out to me, plenty of people look at my groceries with wonder and amazement too!
Anyway, it got me thinking today about how the food we ate as children – or weren’t allowed – affects our lives as adults. We might think we’re making our own choices, but I was thirty-eight years old before I realized I could buy Cap’n Crunch if I wanted to. When I finally did buy some, I hid it in my cart under a bag of carrots – so not kidding.
I was also thinking about how I want to be a vegan, but I find giving up cheese very hard…and yet, if I’d grown up without it, I doubt I’d care much about it. Interesting. We have free will now, but do we exercise it? Do you? I’m pretty sure the reason I don’t is because honestly, all my GREAT food memories, are all about junk food and now…even though I can…I don’t really want to eat that stuff.
My parents were 1970s health food hippies (even worse than I am now!), but when we went on vacation, they bought those little boxes of Kellogg’s breakfast cereals. My brother and I ate all the sugary ones and Dad got stuck with Raisin Bran.
Another great memory is field trip and berry picking lunches. They were so above average that they stand out, too. Instead of peanut-butter sandwiches, there was tuna with pickles, a hostess fruit pie (oh, it was so hard to choose between apple and cherry, but the crust was the best part anyway), and a can of Sprite (never 7up) wrapped in paper towels and tin foil to keep it cold. Possibly there were chips, I don’t really remember, but if I was really, really lucky, there’d be a red licorice rope too. 
In sixth grade, I spent all my money on those pepperonis the softball team sold and sneaked bites through the day from my desk.
In middle school, it was all about frozen pizzas and Pepsi (which we weren’t allowed to have at home) at my friend Darci’s while watching General Hospital. And popcorn with butter, but no salt. Also, lots and lots of Bubble Yum – never sugar free. Yuk!
In high school, I ate a cinnamon roll for breakfast at school, and for lunch two white rolls (already buttered), a stick of beef jerky and either one or two cartons of milk every day. Except the days I splurged and had fries and a shake. After school, before rehearsal, I’d have a box of Hot Tamales from the vending machine. Everyone always asked me how I stayed so skinny (117 lbs, 5’9″). I’m thinking it was malnutrition. 
After school or late at night, it was all about nachos. Remember when nachos were suddenly invented? Sooooo good! They were really just chips with melted cheese, but still…melted cheese. Yum!
In college…well, college was more about wine coolers, but Taco Bell was pretty big there too.
Honestly, if you asked me if I wanted any of these things now, I would say, “Oh, I don’t eat that stuff.” without even thinking about it. But what I realized today is that maybe I should lighten up a little…have a Sprite if I want one. With a red rope. A little corn syrup must be balanced out by all the raw honey I eat. And if I need a box of chocolate Rice Krispies to get through the day (or night), well…what the hell? I can always hide them under the organic lettuce in my cart.
What did you eat as a kid that you haven’t had in ages? Why not?
Red Vine anyone?
There is much talk about supporting indie bookstores for the simple fact that they need our dollars to keep the lights on. Without them, writers and readers will be cheated out of choice as big chains choose what we read by making available their choices, not ours. And this is a very good reason in and of itself, but there’s another reason, too.
