Assumption: Many of the foods we enjoyed as children are no longer among our favorites, while only a few have remained staples throughout our lives. This may not be such an earth-shattering statement. It is, I suspect, true for most of us; nevertheless, I compiled a list of the foods that were among my favorites as a child to find out just how many of those foods are still among my top favorites.

 

  • Favorite Breakfast: Lucky Charms cereal without milk. I would eat every one of the marshmallow “Charms” and avoid most of the healthy grain goodness of the “Lucky.” I haven’t touched Lucky Charms since I was about twelve years old, so I can safely say that it is no longer on my greatest hits list; however, if somebody place a bowl of it before me, I’m sure I would still gobble up all the “Charms.”
  • Favorite Lunch (called “Dinner” when I was growing up): Grilled cheese sandwiches and canned cream of tomato soup. A grilled cheese sandwich is still one of my favorites for lunch, but it isn’t my top favorite, and I have developed an intense dislike of canned cream of tomato soup.
  • Favorite Dinner (or, as we called it, “Supper”): Chicken hot dish (Minnesotan for casserole), buttery rolls, and canned fruit cocktail. Mom’s chicken casserole was the best (see “Food Memories: Birthdays”), and I loved any type of dinner roll made from that precut dough that popped out of the cardboard container when you banged it against the edge of the countertop. Fruit cocktail was my favorite canned fruit. I always hoped that I would get one of the red maraschino cherries in my serving. I never understood why there were so few of them in the can. While this meal is no longer the ultimate dinnertime experience for me, I still like it very much.
  • Favorite Side Dish: Mashed potatoes with lots of butter. I still like mashed potatoes occasionally, but it is no longer one of my favorites. When given a choice, I always select something else.
  • Favorite Fresh Vegetable: Corn, and only corn, especially corn on the cob. Corn is no longer my number one favorite vegetable, but it is still like it very much (especially grilled corn on the cob). Since I now like most vegetables, it’s very difficult to choose an absolute favorite, but I suppose if pinned down, I would select asparagus. Note: check out the nifty instructions for grilling corn that I found on RecipeTips.com.
  • Favorite Fresh Fruit: Seedless green grapes. I considered them to be a real treat—the next best thing to candy. Today, I still like them very much, but I would say that fresh pineapple is probably the ultimate.
  • Favorite Dessert: Ice cream, especially chocolate chip, vanilla, and cherry nut. Ice cream is still my favorite dessert, but it’s difficult to choose one favorite flavor. Vanilla would still definitely be on my short list, but chocolate chip and cherry nut would not. Among my other current favorites are maple nut and blueberry.
  • Favorite Candies (in order of preference): Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Boston Baked Beans, Maple Nut Goodies, Mars Bars, and Starbursts. I still love candy and I still like all of the candies I enjoyed as a child; however, I stay away from Starbursts. After experiencing a number of dental mishaps while chewing them, such as pulling out two fillings, part of a cracked tooth, and even a crown, I felt it best to give them up a few years ago.
  • Favorite Between Meal Snack that Mom Would Allow Me to Have: Fruit. I always chose seedless green grapes or when they weren’t on hand, I would choose a tangerine or a banana.
  • Favorite Between Meal Snack that Mom Didn’t Know I Had Purchased at the Stop-n-Go While Walking Home From School: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Hostess Twinkies. Sometimes I ate them as soon as I left the store, but most of the time, I smuggled them into my bedroom and ate them leisurely as I did my homework. I still have an occasional peanut butter cup (maybe once a month), but I haven’t had a Twinkie for so long that I can’t remember when I last savored the whipped cream sugariness and the golden sponge cake goodness. Although I try to eat healthy (most of the time I succeed), if somebody offered me a Twinkie today, I don’t think I would turn it down, and I think, perhaps, I’ve just talked myself into going to the store and getting one or two or….
  • Favorite Beverage: Black Cherry Kool-Aid. As a kid, I loved it—I could have lived on it—but now, it sounds rather nauseating.
  • Favorite Childhood Foods—Period: Ice cream, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Hostess Twinkies. They were sweet and they were sugary, so what’s not to like? I still love ice cream and I enjoy it often. Although I still like peanut butter cups and I’m sure I would still enjoy a Hostess Twinkie, I can’t say that either one would make my current short list of top favorites.

Conclusion: I was surprised to discover that I still like so many of the foods I favored as a child. I’m somewhat embarrassed that since I have given up a number of unhealthy foods loaded with sodium, fat, and cholesterol, I haven’t been able to kick my sweet tooth. It’s a bit shocking to realize that ice cream and candy are still among my absolute favorite foods, but I suppose each of us has something we never get tired of, even when we know that it isn’t good for us. This was a fun exercise. Make your own list and see how your tastes have evolved.