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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 17, 2014 1:27:54 GMT
I can't really remember much about what we ate for dinner when I was a child, but I expect that the meals were quite straightforward - meat and 3 veg type meals most nights.
I started cooking for the family a couple of nights per week when I was about 15. One of my favorite meals was chicken parmagiana. Let's have a look at how this simple dish has changed over the years:
How I cooked it in 1982:
Pre-crumbed chicken fillets fried, then a can of tomato soup poured over the chicken, then slices of Kraft cheese (the individually wrapped slices) on top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
How I cook it now:
Dip each chicken breast in seasoned rice flour
Dip it in an egg wash
Coat with Panko or fresh breadcrumbs then shallow fry
Spread with some kind of tomato based sauce - homemade is preferable but a jar of passata or other pasta sauce is okay
Place slices of pepperoni or salami (again, homemade is best if your mate down the road has made some!). Pancetta or proscuitto is another option.
Sprinkle with tasty cheese - preferably grated by hand rather than pre-shredded from a pack and DEFINITELY no Kraft Singles!
Bake in oven for 15 minutes
I remember how proud I was of myself for making such an exotic (haha!) dish back when I was a teenager. Every now and then I think I should try the 1982 tomato soup recipe again, but I doubt anyone else would eat it.
I also remember when I was about 17, I started going out to a dinner to a Chinese restaurant with my friend and her boyfriend and his family. (Previous to that, I can't remember ever eating at a restaurant with my own parents.) We thought we were IT. AND. A. BIT!!! How special we were, dining out at a Chinese restaurant. Oh, and when I started going to an ITALIAN restaurant not long after that, well, talk about SOPHISTICATED! Me and my Tortellini alla Panna - oh my!
These days we eat out a couple of times a month - I would eat out at least weekly if my budget would allow. Of course now you can find a restaurant for every cuisine under the sun so I am more likely to eat Vietnamese or Nepalese rather than Chinese.
How have your meals changed from when you were a child?
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Post by Merge on Sept 17, 2014 1:32:05 GMT
A marked lack of anything containing cream of blech soup or tater tots. Also no jello "salads."
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Post by padresfan619 on Sept 17, 2014 1:37:48 GMT
Less butter, more olive oil.
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NoWomanNoCry
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,856 
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Sept 17, 2014 1:43:25 GMT
Less butter, more olive oil. This ^^ ... My mother never once ever cooked with olive oil....always butter. I always cook with olive oil now. She always made Hamburger Helper...I haven't touched that since I left home. Fish sticks was also another one of her things to cook...now I prefer grilled fish. |
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Post by eebud on Sept 17, 2014 1:54:28 GMT
My mother almost never cooked. We mostly figured things out for ourselves. She was an excellent cook but due to other things she was doing, she rarely cooked a meal. So, I guess the difference is that I cook. LOL
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mjmone
Full Member
Posts: 441
Jul 3, 2014 2:58:29 GMT
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Post by mjmone on Sept 17, 2014 2:00:11 GMT
I remember a lot of canned veggies growing up, even canned asparagus - and unless it is part of a casserole, we don't do canned veggies.. or frozen, we do fresh
also my mom used to put salt on fruit...I don't add salt to anything on my plate
I also remember eggs fried in the bacon grease - ick!
but I sure wish I could make her lasagna, chicken and dumplings, sugar cookies and homemade eggrolls!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 2:02:10 GMT
Most of the food I ate growing up came from a can, a box or the freezer section. We did eat fresh veggies during the summer because we had a large garden.
I make most of our meals from scratch now. Very little prepackaged foods other than pasta.
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Post by myboysnme on Sept 17, 2014 2:06:20 GMT
First, we ate at the table, I never do now.
Food was served in bowls and plates; now it is scooped from the pan on the stove.
Food was not as processed, although we did have canned vegetables. We just didn't have instant like now. When stovetop stuffing came out we were so excited we didn't have to wait for Thanksgiving, lol!
We thought hamburger helper was delicious - I was a teen when that came out.
The best kind of chicken was 'Shake n Bake' (and ah healped...."
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 2:08:08 GMT
My mother made fried potatoes (diced) for almost every dinner--no matter what else we were having, there were always fried potatoes. They were divine but so far from healthy. We never had fresh fruit or salad of any sort. Cole slaw was the closest thing to salad.
I always have a bowl of fresh fruit in the fridge and it comes out at every single meal. We have salads a few times a week.
I have never made my mom's fried potatoes --probably would not get them right anyway.
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caro
Drama Llama
Refupea 1130
Posts: 5,222
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Post by caro on Sept 17, 2014 2:08:56 GMT
My mom has ways been a very good cook. We never ate canned anything, everything fresh. Whole wheat bread, etc. maybe that 'a why she is 89 and healthy.
When I started cooking for my family I was the casserole queen. Kids didn't complain. Canned veggies ......
Now that we are empty- nesters, I cook everything fresh, grill a lot, lots of salads , etc. in other words, very healthy.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 2:09:58 GMT
In some ways not that different--I probably cook with more fresh vegetables than my mom did (mostly frozen). We also use margarine, which I think was a 70s thing.
One of the things I really admire my mother for is the fact that she cooked us a well-balanced meal every night, and it wasn't until I was an adult woman that I realized how much she disliked cooking.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Post by lorieann13 on Sept 17, 2014 2:12:23 GMT
The only recent difference is gluten free due to dds dx of celiac disease. I make many of the meals my mom made. And of course new ones that mt mom is always happy that I share. We had nothing can of puke, and the only boxed item was stuffing, cinnamon rolls, and bisquick for pancakes. We always had fresh, homecooked meals. Lots of garden and fesh fruit salads. I think because my grandma grew up on a farm, and had a mini farm here when she lived with papa (chickens, garden) it has been fresh is how you cook which was passed onto my mom.
I guess though I fix a lot less beef than what I ate as a kid. But even my parents hardly have beef anymore.
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Post by bluepoprocks on Sept 17, 2014 2:28:30 GMT
My mom taught me how to cook. So I cook just about the same as she did. I do try new recipes sometimes but on normal days I make the same kind of things she did.
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kimpea
Junior Member
Posts: 87
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Post by kimpea on Sept 17, 2014 2:31:11 GMT
We rarely ate fresh when I was a kid, fruit and veggies all came from a can. We also ate a lot of fried meat and had mashed potatoes with gravy every meal. Meals in my house are nothing like I had growing up. I don't fry anything, we only have mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and if I ever served canned fruits or veggies my kids would think they were being punished.
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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 17, 2014 2:34:44 GMT
Less butter, more olive oil. Ah yes, true!! Could you even get olive oil in the 70s and 80s? I think it was something only Greeks, Italians and Croatians used back then. Oh, and we used margarine not butter. We never had fresh fruit or salad of any sort. Cole slaw was the closest thing to salad. I always have a bowl of fresh fruit in the fridge and it comes out at every single meal. We have salads a few times a week. Same here. The only time we had a salad was if we were having a BBQ. And then it was the stock standard salad - iceberg lettuce, tomato, carrot, Kraft blue box cheese. The only people I knew who ate slad with every meal were (as mentioned above) my Greek, Italian and Croatian friends. |
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Post by genealopea on Sept 17, 2014 2:35:25 GMT
My mom and dad were always healthy eaters, and we rarely had any processed foods. I was the only kid at school with a lunchbox full of lentil soup and bean sprout sandwiches. LOL Dad always had a big garden, and we always had fresh picked veggies. I tried... but didn't inherit his green thumb. I really do need to make salads more often. We eat pretty healthy, though, so it's probably about the same as when I was a kid.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Sept 17, 2014 2:40:20 GMT
Then:
canned veggies, never fresh
wonder white bread or the store white bread
Campbell's soup - veggie, chicken noodle or tomato
boxed mac & cheese
Budding sandwich meat
Best Foods mayo
no rice ever
frozen fish sticks
tv dinners
pot pies
Now:
rice
lots of fresh veggies
fresh fruit
whole wheat bread
lots of chicken
Best Foods mayo
more ethnic type of foods
My little brother and I cook more city style foods (lighter/healthier, more veggies) while my mom and sisters cook more country style foods (gravy, potatoes, fried).
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 2:47:30 GMT
Nearly every meal had meat and potatoes. Meat was usually a cut of beef (steak or roast) sometimes chicken or pork chops. It may also have another veg (canned in the winter, fresh in the summer if the garden produced) The rotation of vegetables was rather limited.. canned green beans, corn, iceberg lettuce, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, okra and cucumbers. oh, and canned spinach.
I still eat tomatoes and okra but the rest of my veg list is pretty well gone from my diet. I prefer broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, asparagus, avocado, leaf lettuce. I eat more fish/seafood and far less beef. I'm more likely to have rice than potatoes
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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 17, 2014 2:50:53 GMT
 All of the above gmcwife1 ! My school lunches consisted of either a peanut butter or Vegemite sandwich. Maybe strasberg (lunchean meat) and tomato sauce if we were lucky. My kids would be less than impressed if I packed a plain old Vegemite sandwich in their lunchbox these days.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 2:51:43 GMT
Plain and the same . A lot of German/polish food. Lasagna and red sauce. Home canned veggies
Great Chinese food was out of a can ....Chung king? My family would barf if I served that.
Never had Thai, Spanish, Asian, or even barbecue. No Exotic food. Never had fresh pasta until I was 18.
So I started cooking as soon as I could push a chair up to the stove so I could make yum stuff.
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Post by gryroagain on Sept 17, 2014 2:52:08 GMT
My hippy dippy parents cooked about like I do, except we had meat. I never had a pop u til jr high, where there was a coke machine, believe it or not- strictly forbidden. As was tv, lol.
My dh grew up Midwest cream of everything...we have serious food differences!
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Post by mama2three on Sept 17, 2014 3:00:41 GMT
It has flavor!
My family meals when I was a kid were always meat with veggies and potatoes with sliced sandwich bread on the table on a plate. Always had to have the bread and butter (margarine - blech!). I totally remember the Chung King Chinese food from a can megmc mentioned. Yuk! Also, mom didn't use salt or spices in cooking because she "wanted to taste the flavor of the food". Tomato sauce - just plain no salt tomato sauce from a can.. no spices, no garlic, the plain sauce you're supposed to add tomato paste and spices to. Pasta boiled to mush. Interestingly, my grandparents cooked much better meals. Most of it was free or cheap food - fresh caught fish & crabs, garden produce, foraged mushrooms, wild greens, fruit from fruit trees, home canned food. My grandfather was a big believer in hot chili peppers on everything. But don't get me started on the pigs feet that had everyone running out of the house. Oh the smell!!
I became a vegetarian and took over cooking for the family as a teen, and cooked fresh foods, whole grains, and used lots of garlic and spices. Have never looked back. The only things I still make from my childhood are family holiday traditional recipes/desserts.
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 17, 2014 3:10:45 GMT
For at least 50% of my childhood my parents were obsessed with cooking everything outside on the gas grill. I remember my stepdad standing outside in his trench coat and hat with a light attached to it outside in the rain in January grilling chicken breasts. The grilled meat was never seasoned and I would coat it in garlic salt. We would have potatoes and a vegetable or salad with it. Every night. As an adult I very rarely grill meat now and when I do I almost always season it in some fashion. There's only so much dry, plain meat one can eat in her lifetime!
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conchita
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,141
Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Sept 17, 2014 3:19:36 GMT
We had ground beef plus whatever canned vegetable was in the cupboard by the end of the month. The rest of the time we had a lot of homemade tortillas, rice, tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Delicious but not a lot of variety and rarely any fresh veggies. We were poor but our Momma always kept us fed even if it was a rice and potato burrito!
My family is in better financial shape now than my parents were so we can afford a variety of proteins and fresh foods. I'm also a pretty good cook and will make meals from scratch. I cook a variety of fish, shellfish, roasts, steaks, turkey and pair it up with vegetables we never ate when I was a kid. Asparagus, artichokes, Brussels sprouts and lots of salads. We also used to drink Kool Aid and Sunny D but I've never bought any for my kids.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 12:10:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 3:23:30 GMT
They were healthier and more predictable. As an adult, I tend to grab what I want at odd hours around the clock. And I eat out more than I fix something in my own kitchen.
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marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282
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Post by marimoose on Sept 17, 2014 3:28:57 GMT
Gosh, reading some of this makes me think that maybe we all ate those foods because that is what everyone ate for the most part. We ate no "ethnic" foods - I had my first taco just before my 18th birthday which was also the first time I had a salad, nachos were even later, first chinese food when I was 22, first brunch 23, first real italian restaurant 24. Man I was deprived haha. My mom was a horrible cook, really bad. I never knew you could get a hamburger on a bun outside of a restaurant until I was in my teens. My mom made semi round balls that she burned and referred to them as hamburger steaks. They were raw inside and teeth breaking burned on the outside.I have never to this day seen a round steak. She boiled potatoes and served them like that - man times forgetting them and they would burn. Have you ever tasted burned potatoes? Blech. The blue box mac n cheese was made with half the cheese because the other half was reserved for her spaghetti cheese topping. Thanksgiving turkey was a turkey loaf and I never saw stuffing or rice until I was an adult. I could go on. This is probably why I am so thin now and am definitely not a food driven person. As an adult, I rarely have beef or pork, eating chicken most frequently. I love Chinese and Mexican foods of all kinds. I prefer rice over potatoes any day. If I have to eat vegetables they aren't coming out of a can. I use butter and cringe when I have to use margarine. I have wheat bread, no more Wonder Bread (do they still make it?). I don't add salt to anything. I will admit that I can make my way through a bag of Chipotle chips in record time when I want a salt fix. Three of my kids love salad and raw veggies - the last one seems to have inherited my pickiness dispite being exposed to all the fresh. This was a fun thread to read and a trip down memory lane even if all the food remembrances aren't all that great  . What we experienced as kids lead to who we are now, for better or worse |
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Post by Skellinton on Sept 17, 2014 3:41:20 GMT
My mom is a good cook and despite being a single parent with a full time job we always had good, homemade meals. She did used canned peas and beans though, I don't know why, since if you can't have fresh frozen is so much better, but we had canned. She also used Nucoa rather than butter for the table, butter was for baking!
She did go through an ugly phase in the late 70's where she used honey instead of sugar, carob instead of chocolate and other terrible things in order for us to be healthy. Those were dark days, fortunately it only lasted 6 months or so.
We always ate at the table and served from dishes on the table. Now we serve from the stove, because the less dishes needing to be done the better!
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Post by Goldynn on Sept 17, 2014 3:46:47 GMT
IT.AND.A.BIT. Haha, love your post, AussieMeg! Until I was an adult, I didn't realize how much I love vegetables because I'd only had them from cans! Who knew fresh spinach, asparagus, and peas are delicious? Not to mention green beans and corn on the cob. I had no idea how to eat healthy until well into adulthood because of my childhood. We always ate canned, frozen, and cream of whatever soup stuff. Blech! |
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Sept 17, 2014 3:53:42 GMT
My grandmother (she lived in the other half of the duplex) used to make most of our meals and rest her soul, in all the time I knew her, she had no teeth. (She never had dentures; I assume she couldn't afford them.) So the biggest change is that I do not cook vegetables until they are mush. And wouldn't you know, fresh broccoli and green beans have taste and texture!!
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calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,519
Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
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Post by calgal08 on Sept 17, 2014 4:00:54 GMT
Home cooked meals, but completely different to how I cook. Lots of traditional UK roast dinners, meat-pie, shepherds pie, etc. my Mum never followed a recipe - ever.
I cook from scratch just about every night, but it's 50/50 meat/vegetarian, I use a recipe for every meal and we eat everything from Chinese to Indian to Italian to Vietnamese, etc.etc. I just realized, in the last 18 years I've cooked a total of 3 roast dinner (yikes)
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All of the above 
. What we experienced as kids lead to who we are now, for better or worse
