Ah, the holiday season! Not only is it a time for festive feasts, but it also brings a wave of food nostalgia. The other day, while waiting for my lunch in the office microwave, I overheard a colleague reminisce about her mom’s sweet potato pie, her eyes lighting up as she recalled family gatherings. That prompted another coworker to chime in about his mother’s comforting chicken and dumplings, and how he and his siblings used to help with the dough. I nodded along, making all the appreciative sounds at the right moments, but I felt a bit out of place—like I was on the outside looking in on a club I didn’t belong to.
Don’t get me wrong; I had an amazing mom who loved us deeply, but the meals she prepared just didn’t have the same charm as the homemade delicacies everyone else seemed to rhapsodize about. Instead, I was raised on the kind of food that wouldn’t inspire a gourmet chef’s cookbook: processed food. My childhood favorites were all mass-produced and came with catchy jingles that still echo in my mind. Our family recipes? They were more like instructions found on the back of a box, not closely-guarded secrets.
Still, as I think back on our factory-to-table meals, I can’t help but feel nostalgic too. I remember those chilly Midwestern evenings when my mom would serve Campbell’s Chunky Beef Stew over a helping of Minute Rice. The taste of the rice, a bit mushy and bland, contrasted perfectly with the rich gravy, and it made our kitchen feel warm despite the frost outside.
Then there were potlucks, where I’d sift through the classic Jell-O salads to find my mom’s famous Idahoan scalloped potatoes, the gooey sauce browned to perfection—a culinary wonder in my eyes. I’d pile my plate high, reveling in the freedom to load up on desserts at these gatherings.
Coming home for lunch after school, my sister and I would shout dollar amounts at Bob Barker on The Price Is Right while our mom made gooey grilled cheese sandwiches with Velveeta. My favorite part was slicing the cheese from that bright orange block with a thread—pure joy.
Fast forward to the late 1970s, a prime time for processed foods, and my mom wasn’t exactly a cooking enthusiast. Sure, she wanted us to be healthy, but back then, a meal was considered nutritious if it had something from each of the four food groups. Tuna Helper with canned green beans? Check!
Meal after meal, my mom had her trusty team of sous chefs: Mrs. Grass with her chicken noodle soup, Chef Boyardee with beef ravioli, and Betty Crocker providing cake mixes.
But then came that fateful day in sixth grade when I returned home to find an unfamiliar white box labeled “Ready-to-Eat Corn Flakes” on our cereal shelf. It looked like something out of a dystopian novel. The beloved name brands were gradually replaced with generic options, and I felt like our pantry had lost its color and personality.
This culinary downgrade coincided with my dad’s unemployment, making the generics even more disheartening. My mom tried to convince me they were the same food just cheaper, but I wasn’t buying it. I decided to take matters into my own hands for my science fair project, comparing generic macaroni and cheese, canned peas, and vanilla sandwich cookies against their brand-name counterparts. Spoiler alert: the generics lost every time.
Despite my glorious Q.E.D. moment, my mom simply praised my efforts and continued to buy the cheapest options. Eventually, our fortunes turned, and the familiar, cheerful brands returned to our lives, though it would take me years to realize that those processed foods weren’t the end-all-be-all of culinary excellence.
Now that I’m a parent myself, I try to limit processed foods for my kids. But like many parents, I also want to share those nostalgic childhood treats that brought me joy. So, this holiday season, alongside the organic turkey and homemade soup, we also enjoyed Pillsbury Sugar Cookies and Stove Top stuffing. And this winter, I plan to whip up Mock Wild Rice with Campbell’s French Onion Soup, which I’ll tell my kiddos is “your Grandma’s special recipe.”
In case you’re curious, if you’re considering starting your own family, check out resources like Make a Mom for at-home insemination options, or join the Make a Mom Facebook group for support. Their how-it-works page breaks down the at-home insemination process nicely. You can also find helpful tools like the BabyMaker Home IntraCervical Insemination Syringe Kit and the comprehensive At Home Insemination Kit for your journey. For more information on pregnancy, Healthline is an excellent resource.
To sum it up, growing up on processed food shaped my childhood memories and culinary preferences in ways I didn’t fully appreciate until later. Now, as I navigate parenting, I find joy in blending those nostalgic flavors with healthier choices for my family.
Leave a Reply