Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
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Anonymous
| I grew up in NJ. My parents were both excellent cooks, as was my grandma on my mom's side, who lived nearby and spent a lot of time at our house. Mom and Grandma cooked a lot of Italian staples - spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, manicotti, etc. Stirfry, pork chops, baked salmon, and roast chicken were also regularly in the rotation. Dad loved to grill and spent every weekend when the weather permitted at his trusty Weber (still does, at the age of 70). |
Anonymous
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Wisconsin. I remember lots of good fresh fruit and veggies. Vegetables were prepared simply (roasted, sauteed, etc). My mom was a health nut so not much sugar (carob!) or processed food. We didn't eat much meat because of cost, so very little lunch meat, for example (PB sandwiches). For dinners, it was things like taco night, pasta with veggies, grilled cheese with homemade soup, chili, meatloaf, vegetarian casseroles, etc. all with veggie sides. There was a nice variety of restaurants in our area that I think would hold up today in terms of quality - Italian, Nepalese, Indian, and of course standard American fare. Friday night fish fry - yum!
I was just back in WI and there are a ton of great restaurants; certainly on par with what we eat here. |
Anonymous
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Outside Pittsburgh:
Stuffed cabbages Pierogies Fried Chicken Spaghetti Tuna Noodle Casserole Ham Barbecue (chipped ham heated with ketchup and relish) Pork chop and stuffing Dumplings in chicken broth, carrots, celery Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy French style canned green beans Hamburgers Corn on the cob Pickled eggs and beets Homemade potato salad Taco mix with lettuce, tomato, cheese Frozen, breaded fish and frozen sweet peas Hotdogs and sauerkraut Pork roast in sauerkraut Barbecue ribs Meatloaf Pasta springs with red tomato sauce Iceberg lettuce salad Red Jello salad with banana slices Linguine vegetable salad Grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup Campbell’s chicken noodle soup or tomato vegetable soup Pancakes for dinner Chicken divan Ham and scalloped potatoes Sloppy Joe’s (Manwich) Frozen pizza Chef Boyrdee ravioli (canned) Steak-ems sandwich Deli sandwiches Hoagies Beef stew Roasted chicken Big breakfast: bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, shredded potatoes or home-fried chunks of potato Chicken tetrazzini Poached egg over toast Instant pudding Ice cream with Hershey fudge/syrup Cereal: Life, Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispy Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on cheap white bread |
Anonymous
Also grew up outside of Pittsburgh and very similar for the first half. My parents were into 90's style health foods, so no sugary cereal or steak-ums except at friends' houses. But lots of pierogie, haluski, stuffed cabbages, kielbasi, chipped ham barbeque (at grandma's), pork and sauerkraut, corned beef and cabbage. Plus tons of Americanized Italian food at restaurants. Every restaurant menu had wedding soup and a bunch of pasta with red sauce options. |
Anonymous
This sounds like my upbringing. |
Anonymous
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North Carolina. Home cooking was mostly bland 70s/80s style American dishes. A lot of casseroles, lots of thoroughly tamed down versions of "ethnic" food (i.e. "chicken curry" that was whole chicken beasts in a cream of chicken soup with a bit of curry powder). Nothing particularly regional at home, but lots of southern food when we ate out.
Very bland, partially because my parents both dislike salt, so there was never any salt added to anything. Think a well-done steak with no seasoning or homemade bread and soup with no salt added to either one. |
Anonymous
| Central NJ. My parents are Hungarian immigrants so I was raised on Hungarian food. My mom never really learned to cook any American food, except maybe meat loaf. My life was basically My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Hungarian. Other kids brought PB&J or baloney on white bread for lunch, while I had rye bread and charcuterie from the local European deli. In my early teens I became interested in cooking. My mom taught me the basics and then I expanded on that and taught myself to cook all kinds of different foods. So when I was tasked with cooking on certain days of the week, I'd always make non-Hungarian food to give us some variety! |
Anonymous
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Grew up in Southern California, mom from New Jersey and dad from a midwest farm. Mom cooked from scratch most nights. Dad grilled a lot (usually beef) from May-October. Mom picked up a lot of recipes from my midwestern grandmother, but generally not bland ones.
Meals I remember most as being in regular rotation: Taco night (using the Lawry's taco seasoning packet) Pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce Swedish meatballs with egg noodles Chili Chicken and wild rice casserole Oven fried chicken "Goulash" aka ground beef with tomato sauce, veg, egg noodles Porcupine meatballs (meatballs made with rice cooked in a tomato sauce) Nearly always a green salad, fresh produce or frozen out of season. Never canned veg, my farm-raised father HATED that. |
Anonymous
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I remember a lot of tough meat (steak) that I chewed and shoot and shooting and then it's not to spit out in napkin or bathroom.
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Anonymous
Wow. I’m from NJ but you saved me the time of typing that all out! (Minus the weinerschnitzel). My experience is almost EXACTLY the same. |
Anonymous
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Grew up in CA to Korean immigrant parents. All Korean, but lots of fish and fresh vegetables and fruits. LA shortribs was only for special occasions since beef was more expensive.
Man, I miss the year round fresh fruits, and my mom's cooking. I didn't appreciate it as much growing up. I can't cook Korean food like her. |
Anonymous
to add.. it wasn't easy for my mom to shop for Korean staples back in the early 70s even in CA. I remember one tiny Korean grocery store in the city; it was the size of a small 7/11. No Hmart back then. |
Anonymous
I had a college friend from the south (we are both Black) and she had a similar diet. Her mom REALLY embraced convenience food. She was amazed that you could whip your own cream. Like…girl. Get out more. |
Anonymous
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Illinois but the location is irrelevant. My mom is not a good cook and doesn't care much for food. My dad is a better cook but he ordered a lot of pizza (parents were divorced).
Over cooked dry meat Tuna noodle casserole Campbell's tomato soup Ham and bean soup - one of the only things I still make Bisquick biscuits Kraft Mac and cheese gooey butter cake potatoes au gratin - make this one as well Soup with stewed tomatoes and some meat |
Anonymous
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California, coastal produce basket area.
When I was really young, we ate a lot of home-cooked, but kind of 80s things… spaghetti, tuna casserole, fajita pie, lasagna. But around the early 1990s my mom got super into cooking and taking advantage of fresh produce so she started making all kinds of cool things, although she did not really experiment with Asian flavors (which is really too bad). Lots of fresh fish, roast chicken, homemade tacos… and always a big salad with seasonal produce (*always* with the Good Seasonings “homemade” carafe dressing. Always). |