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In a funny post on a Seattle Post-Intelligencer reader blog, blogger Christina Hyun talks about growing up in an Asian household, and how her friends always told her that her house smelled better than their's did. On the flip side, Hyun always marveled at the huge quantity of bread/cereal/cookie products in her Caucasian friends' houses.
I can't relate as much to the cultural aspect, but as a kid, I was definitely envious of my friends' kitchens. My own mother tried to keep our diets pretty healthy, and flat-out refused to buy certain products (Fruit Roll-Ups, Ssips fruit punch, and Cookie Crisp cereal immediately come to mind). Other kids' parents often commented on my "healthy" appetite, as I downed cakes, cookies and fruit punch like it was going out of style. "Oh - my mom won't let us buy this stuff," I'd say, mouth half-full of Tastykake pie, red goo stuck to my chin. The mothers would nod warily as they added "Tastykake pies" to the grocery list.
As I got older, the rules loosened, and I heard rumors that my mom even allowed soda in the house - after I went off to college, of course. But by then the thrill was gone, and fear-mongering about obesity and diabetes had taken its place.
What about you? What products did other kids' kitchens have that made you green with envy? (Or were you that "other kid?")
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3-01-2008 @12:59PM Jen Montgomery said... My father's hobby was cooking and he always provided us with healthy and fresh food tailored to each family member's taste. We never ate meals from a box or a can. I dreaded eating dinner at a friend's house if they were serving chef boyardie or some yucky casserole conglom. I was, however, envious of the sugary cereals and when I tasted kraft mac and cheese at 18 years old, I was in heaven.
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3-01-2008 @1:49PM Beth said... My parents had both been vegetarians before my sister and I were born, but even though they always prepared meat for us when we were little, my mom stuck to her macrobiotic ways until at least we were in middle school. I have bad memories of being made to eat tofu and brussels sprouts and miso - all things I love today. I may have been unhappy about it then, but I think our parents did us an invaluable service. I'm still surprised about how so many people my age (early 20s) don't know how to feed themselves well in a healthy way.
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3-02-2008 @6:14PM Gigi said... I was definitely the "other kid". Growing up, the pantry was always well stocked with sugary cereal (my mom was and still is notorious for putting sugar on her Froot Loops), Tastykakes, ice cream, chips, pretzels, etc. My mom also enjoyed baking so there was never a shortage of homemade cakes or cookies around.
Oddly enough, my dad was a doctor who always counted calories and watched his weight. He did enjoy good food though and thought the only way to get it was via mail order. He was in more "Food of the Month" clubs than any one human should ever be associated with. Before I went off to college, I had no idea you could actually buy steaks, cheese and fruit in a normal grocery store.
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3-01-2008 @8:43PM Bear Silber said... Prior to my mother remarrying I was in Christina's shoes but once my step-dad moved in, oh boy...we had all the sugar cereals, crackers and sodas. I don't care much for the crackers/chips (Cheez-Its, Teddy Grahams, Pringles, etc.) or the sodas but I do love me some cereal. Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Life and Cinnamon Toast Cruch were my favorite but I've never ever crossed a cereal that I didn't like, I even enjoy Grape-Nuts now a days.
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3-02-2008 @12:53AM Elyse said... My parents divorced when I was a baby. My father was a vegetarian who was rabidly anti-junk food (a catgory which included pretty much anything I might have really wanted to eat). My mother kept Kosher, meaning no mixing meat and dairy along with many other food rules. When I was old enough to go out unsupervised with friends and discovered such exotic culinary delights as french fried shrimp, BLTs, and McDonald's cheeseburgers, I truly thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
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3-02-2008 @2:06AM alosha7777 said... there were never any sugar cereals in our house, so when I went to college, I ate golden grahams at almost every meal. seriously, the cereal buffet bar was always open at the cafeteria and pretty much no matter what I ate for even lunch or dinner, there was a little bowl of golden grahams for dessert. yum.
now? I don't think I could eat them hahaha.
http://aloshaskitchen.blogspot.com
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3-03-2008 @12:47PM beanspants said... my mother was a terrible cook, and my father was good at breakfast stuff, but terrible at everything else. for both of them, if a recipe required something we didn't have, they would just leave it out.
so we had a lot of junk food and fun food, and we got to pick the cereals, chips, and snacks. it was the only way to keep us happy!
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3-03-2008 @12:47PM Lisa D. said... My parents tried to keep the household pretty healthy growing up, but in an effort to not have us see junk food as a forbidden fruit once we left the house, they kept a steady supply of chips, cookies and candies around for us. At first we overdid it a bit, but then we learned to pace ourselves, and now I very rarely eat anything that isn't green, leafy, high protein and/or whole grain.
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3-03-2008 @2:23PM Bess(ie) said... I was the weirder kid at lunch in elementary school. I brought things like homemade cheese straws, boiled peanuts, and jalapeno potato chips. And no other sandwich but a peanut butter sandwich. Needless to say, no one would trade with me, not that I wanted to. Turkey sandwiches and carrots were boring food. :)
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3-04-2008 @10:08AM Laura Chavanne said... I was one of those kids who was better off without sugar. So even though I grew up in an Italian household (and was spoiled rotten when it came to all things savory), I was thrilled to befriend the *other* Italian kid whose mom was in love with Nutella. To this day, I'm not a dessert lover ... but I could eat Nutella by the spoonful.
Oh, and then there was the friend who used to feed me Kraft macaroni and cheese and Beverly Hills, 90210 at the same time. I kinda think that would've ticked mom off more, if she only knew. (But at least that friend didn't claim *her* mom made the best "gravy" ...!)
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3-04-2008 @5:53PM Ben said... Growing up my mom's excuse for not having store made sweets/ cereals/ dinners around was that we couldn't afford it. I have no idea of the financial situation my parents were in so I don't know if it was true or not.
HOWEVER my mother was and is a fantastic cook and I still have friends to this day that want invites to my mother's house for food.
~B.
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3-04-2008 @6:18PM Carlee said... My mother would always buy health stuff and rarely junkfoods, only on saturdays when my father was off from work would he run out to QuickCheck to buy a bag of chips and dip mix to watch the game and that was the highlight of my life. That once a week chips and dips was all we got. The kids at school would always admire my square lunch while they got to buy pizza from the lunch line, i never was allowed to buy lunch only on my birthday or special days like that. If we wanted to have anything sweet we always had to ask and it would be something like fruit and sugar. I hated it then, but I understand now!!!
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