“What Did You Grow Up Eating All The Time But Now Haven’t Had In Years?” (30 Answers)

To find out how this discussion started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user MinkSableSeven, who posed the question, “What did you grow up eating all the time but now haven’t had in years?” She shared that her inspiration for starting the thread was realizing how mundane her diet had gotten.

"I eat the same few items over and over again, year after year. I knew I couldn’t be the only one experiencing this, so I headed to Reddit to ask," she told Bored Panda.

In her post, MinkSableSeven mentioned that her mother often prepared tripe, liver and kidneys while they were young, but we were curious if she actually enjoyed these meals. "I didn’t always appreciate these foods growing up, especially when I was old enough to learn what parts of the animals these foods came from," she admitted. "However, I notice specifically that I was rarely sick growing up. We ate very little processed foods. We frequently had fresh vegetables with meals; collard greens, cabbage, turnips, beets. Foods I rarely eat today."

We also asked MinkSableSeven how different her diet is from how her parents ate. "There’s definitely a generational aspect that plays into the foods I grew up on," she shared. "For instance, growing up I always had oxtails. Almost every other week there’d be a pot simmering on the stove and I couldn’t wait for dinnertime. Back then, oxtails were considered poor folks food. Now it’s like oxtails have become gentrified. I used to purchase 10 pounds at a time (because most of it is bone) and have leftovers. Now when I purchase them, I get maybe 5 pounds at the most. They’re $12 a pound where I live."

"Ironically, I saw a TikTok several months ago where someone was showing how she prepared them," MinkSableSeven continued. "I noticed the packaging, took a screenshot and zoomed in. They were $5.99 a pound. I messaged her to ask where she was getting them so cheap, and she told me she lived in Texas near a farm where she could get them super fresh and inexpensive. I was so jealous. Still am. If I could get them that cheap, they’d make more appearances on my dinner plates."

As far as what the OP thought of the replies to her post, she wasn't surprised that the topic resonated with so many people. "But many of the comments inspired me to start a little list of recipes I want to look for and add to my meal rotation," she noted. "Like many people mentioned casseroles. That’s a word you almost don’t hear any more."

"The answers really are like a walk down memory lane with people sharing their affections for the days of fish sticks, Hamburger Helper (before it changed; today it doesn’t taste half as good), pot roast, Swanson’s TV dinners, meatloaf and Jell-O," MinkSableSeven says. "Some of these I don’t miss, but again, I’ve been inspired by many of the comments to refresh my collection of recipes with some new iterations of meals I loved growing up."

To learn more about recipes that might cause a flood of nostalgia, we also got in touch with Madison of Inherited Recipes. Madison started her blog as way to work through all of the recipes her grandmother gave her, including some from her personal life and others that she prepared as a professional chef. Madison was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about these delicious recipes and how they can transport some people back to the past.

"I find many of the recipes on my blog are filled with nostalgia. Not necessarily for me, but I get many messages about how these recipes are from people's childhood!" she explained. "Which makes sense, all of the recipes I post are those that I inherited from my grandma. She had 5 sons, and cooked and baked every day."

"As for me, it is my first time making and trying a lot of these recipes, but I love that researching them and baking them myself does bring nostalgia knowing that these were recipes made many years ago by my grandma does bring me a lot of joy! And I love trying new things, so it is the best of both worlds," Madison added.

We were also curious which foods make Madison feel nostalgic. "I ate a lot of chocolate Pop-Tarts as a kid!" she shared. "I would eat chocolate Pop-Tarts and some apple sauce. I really don't eat them at all any more, except for when I was pregnant, and I had a mega craving for them!"

Another recipe that reminds Madison of childhood is just a simple chocolate chip cookie. "It was one of the recipes I baked all on my own. My mom let me do it by myself, and I still use the same recipe!"

"Another recipe that reminds me of my childhood are sour cream cut-out cookies," Madison continued. "These are the cookies we would make every year for Santa, and I just remember having the best time baking them, cutting them out, and then having to wait for what felt like so long for them to cool down so we could frost them! I would use so many sprinkles and made some wild-looking cookies, but we would always eat them. I am looking forward to making them with my daughter!"

Madison also shared recommendations of a few recipes that might fill you with nostalgia (as well as deliciousness). "One of my favorite recipes I have come across is my Great-Great-Grandmother's recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cake! She was born in 1900. My grandma's sister gave me this recipe, and she said that this cake would stay moist for 2 whole weeks!"

"The other one that I get a lot of comments on, saying things like that they used to make this, or their mom used to make it, is for Traditional Norwegian Coffee Cake! It is a very simple old recipe that was fun to find in my grandma's collection because she had a note saying 'Bruce's favorite,' who is my dad. He told me that she would make this recipe for his birthday every year, and it is one of the most popular recipes on my blog."

"Another one of the most popular recipes is for Brown Sugar Frosting," Madison added. "It is very simple to make and was popular back in the day. People say this is what their grandma's used to use!"

"I just love how baking old recipes, and for me specifically going through the recipes from my grandma, gives a connection to the past and can help bring some nostalgia and comfort food to today!" Madison says.

If you'd like to make something that might make you or your parents incredibly nostalgic, be sure to visit Inherited Recipes!