Forbidden Childhoods

[foodie52]

I'm first generation American. When I was growing up in the 50's , we never had "exotic" foods in our house. Consequently I craved them and snuck tastes whenever I visited my more "American" friends.

Here's what I wanted and never had at home.

Velveeta

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti in a can

Twinkies

How about y'all?

[deibu]

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Growing up in the 80's and in high school in the 90's, my parents refused to buy it because it was supporting those "damn hippies". But, they would buy Haagen-Dazs.

I've had it now and realize I wasn't missing out that much, but still just a little bit.

Edited May 17, 2003 by deibu (log)

[fifi]

Cocoa butter...

My sister was 7 years older. There was always a stick of cocoa butter in the fridge. She used it to rub on her boobs to make them bigger! I used to sneak pieces of it. Boy was that good stuff! I haven't seen sticks of cocoa butter in years. If I could find it, I would hide it from myself so I could sneak a taste in the middle of the night.

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.  Growing up in the 80's and in high school in the 90's, my parents refused to buy it because it was supporting those "damn hippies".  But, they would buy Haagen-Dazs.

I've had it now and realize I wasn't missing out that much, but still just a little bit.

In my house nothing was forbidden, literally...My parents would try their damndest to get me to eat weird stuff. We lived in New England most of my childhood, Cape Cod, NH, MA. I rebelled against everything though. I didn't try bluefish until I was 13, lobster until much later. I was a foodie parent's worst nightmare. They let me in on their fondue sessions, tried to turn me on to the nuances of wine, beer, whatever. I grew up in quite the foodies paradise. We always grew our own vegetables, traded at CO-OPs for hand crafted things like peanut butter and cooking oil. It's that childhood that fuels me. My mother died in 87, a violent death and left me to carry on the torch. She's probably cringing up a good bit, but I bet she's proud of the fact that I put my all into the pursuit of good food.

[elyse]

Luckily, I was allowed to have things in moderation, at appropriate times. I could only have sugary cereal after DINNER though. Then my mother went on a no chemical kick, and I dreamed of all things bad for me. Dad's house, on the other hand, was food sin.

[hjshorter]

My mother took a course in child nutrition when I was very small, and it was all downhill from there. No sugary cereal, chips, sodas, dessert after supper (except on rare occasions), Wonder bread, Velveeta, fast food, candy, TV dinners...of course I wanted it all.

[sparrowgrass]

Coffee. A sip of beer was ok, but coffee would stunt your growth. Actually, come to think of it, we probably weren't allowed coffee because, with 4 kids under the age of 8, more energy was the last thing my mom wanted us to have.

[Smarmotron]

I was never allowed soda, not until I was around 16 years old could we have soda in the house. I drank it at friends' houses though.

[Marlene]

Coffee.  A sip of beer was ok, but coffee would stunt your growth.  Actually, come to think of it, we probably weren't allowed coffee because, with 4 kids under the age of 8, more energy was the last thing my mom wanted us to have.

every once in a while, my son demands a sip of my coffee. I drink it with cream, but no sugar. He hates it. And still every now and then, he wants a sip of whatever alcoholic beverage we are drinking. He hates it. I love youth. I can't believe this will last much longer

[Katherine]

fifi  Posted on May 17 2003, 06:38 PM Cocoa butter...

My sister was 7 years older. There was always a stick of cocoa butter in the fridge. She used it to rub on her boobs to make them bigger! I used to sneak pieces of it. Boy was that good stuff! I haven't seen sticks of cocoa butter in years. If I could find it, I would hide it from myself so I could sneak a taste in the middle of the night.

You can find that in a well-stocked pharmacy. Or you can get it from these people: http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/fixedoils.html

FWIW, I tried to make a cake from cocoa butter once, but I didn't like the texture. I think it was drier and more crumbly than the buitter-based recipe it was adapted from.

My mother was a health food fanatic, way back when it was totally uncool. We liked having all our meals homecooked, but it was my father who had to take us out for chocolate and hot dogs, to get us away from the proto-food bars and other pseudo foods. She still thinks white flour and rice are evil and will suck the nutrition out of other foods in the cupboards.

I am much happier fixating on the pleasurable aspects of food than any medicinal/moral ones.

[Bond Girl]

my mom was a Buddahist, so there was no meat in the house whatsoever. There are also no garlic or onions either because it was the particular sect of buddahism that she belongs to. Growing up in Taiwan, I wanted meat, fish, chicken duck, everything. The irony of it was that as an adult I am free tol eat whatever I want, but discovered that I am allergic to all chicken, duck or any kind of birds, and I don't like the taste of beef or pork. That left me with just fish.

[foodie52]

My mom cooked from scratch. It was what she knew and was also cheaper. No canned goods for us. Very few cereals, although I do remember Cocoa Puffs on Saturday mornings! I'm wondering who ate those new-fangled TV dinners back then. We sure didn't....I'd go to friends' houses and marvel at what was in their freezers and pantries!!

[tommy]

one day when i was about 12, my father decided that i couldn't have sugary cereals anymore. it seemed random, and i suppose he was just in a bad mood. but that was the rule from then on in. luckily, i very much enjoyed rice krispies and cheerios, which were on the "ok" list.

as it turns out, as an adult, i don't have a taste for sugary cereals, and i certainly don't like sweet milk.

[Jinmyo]

Hot dogs, in England, in the early 1960s. I had to win something at school and demand hot dogs as my prize. My parents drove me for hours (probably in circles) in the rain. Out to some shop. In the rain. Carry them out. In the rain. Can't eat them in the car so eat them...in the rain. Not so good.

I still like them occasionally though.

[nightscotsman]

My Mom was completely inconsistent - we never had Velveeta, spray cheese, or American cheese slices and getting sugary cereals like Cap'n Crunch was a rare special treat. BUT we always had Miracle Whip and Cool Whip in the fridge, and a meal did not go by without dessert (even if most of the time it was purchased cookies).

Coffee and any form of alcohol were out of the question in any quantity.

[tommy]

Coffee and any form of alcohol were out of the question in any quantity.

NyQuil dude?

[nightscotsman]

Coffee and any form of alcohol were out of the question in any quantity.

NyQuil dude?

Not even.

[Jason Perlow]

Any kind of "fun" cereal with added sugar was strictly verboten, being that my father was a dentist and also because my little brother was hyperglycemic and became extremely hyperactive when he ate anything with sugar in it. The most fun thing we were allowed to have in house was plain Cheerios.

No chocolate milk. No candy of any sort (well, my mom kept a secret stash away from the kids). No cookies or any kind of snacks with sugar in it. On halloween we gave away sugarfree bubble gum and pennies. Our house got egged every year.

Hmm. Maybe I've revealed too much about myself already.

[pjs]

Coffee and any form of alcohol were out of the question in any quantity.

NyQuil dude?

NyQuil. Poor man's Pernod.

PJ

[smallworld]

We were pretty free to eat whatever sweets we wanted, in moderation. But no sugery cereals- Cheerios, Shreddies, Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran were the choices, or some of Dad's hot runny oatmeal concoction- yuck!

When we went on vacation though, my Mom relented and brought along those little mini-boxes of cereal. I loved being on vacation- not so much for the fun places we went but because it was the only time I could get a taste of Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops!

Back then I thought my Mom was just being nice, but now I realize it must have been because those little boxes are simply more convenient.

Alcohol was off limits too, of course. Until I was about 4 I loved beer and would always sneak some from my Dad's bottle. Finally he had to explain to me that beer killed brain cells and if I kept drinking it I would only have half a brain left by the time I was a grown-up. Scared the hell out of me and I didn't touch beer again for a decade. That's how long it took me to realize that if this was true then my Dad, who was of course the smartest man in the world, must have been operating without a brain for years, going by the amount of beer he drank.

[awbrig]

We never got "Hostess" anything...just Little Debbie...

[torakris]

Growing up in house with 8 kids and not much money, we didn't eat a lot of the junky things because we couldn't afford them. Never ate TV dinners, sugary cereals, hostess anything, velveeta, etc.

My mother was a pretty much cook from scratch kind of person.

The only think that was forbidden (besides alcohol) was coffee, we were not allowed to drink coffee until we were 18!! the reason? it would stunt our growth, I guess it worked I ended up 5' 7 1/2", my poor mom (who drank coffee as a child) is just 5 feet

[SWoodyWhite]

While my mother's cooking was bland, she was fairly well balanced in what she served. There were a few veggies, such as asparagus, that she never cooked, and I have never developed a taste for them as a result. The same is true of bivalves, which I avoid, with the exception of clam chowder on her part and mine. However, as a transplanted upstate New Yorker to SoCal, she readily adopted foods like tacos, enchiladas, chili rellenos and chile (which she made with cubed chuck, not ground beef), all regular parts of our table and made from scratch. It wasn't until much later that I found out she'd been leaving out all but a hint of chili powder.

More puzzling was her aversion to Ethel Merman. I was an adult before discovering the joys of Gypsy. Go fig.

[lamington]

I was allowed virtually anything that wasn't "adult" (ie, Mum's best chocolate, and wine)... but I was allowed sips of beer as soon as I got tired of the breast (which led to an unfortunate poisoning at age 2 when I mistook a tin of foamy stuff for a glass of beer) and when I was a big boy (age 5-10) I was allowed a sip of sherry if the parents were having some. On the other hand, I wasn't allowed coffee until I was 14 years old!

They used psychowarfare on me when I refused to eat anything but chocolate at age 6. It was fine by them as long as I took some frightening black drops of complete vitamin and mineral supplements. I lasted 36 hours on my chocolate-and-drops diet and then relented. The drops were revolting.

--lamington

[jackal10]

I grew up in a kosher home, Bacon deprived....