I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s which means there were a lot of convenience foods already on the scene.
I ate Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Cap’n Crunch (in cows milk) and Pop Tarts on weekdays. And weekends were French Toast and pancakes, or eggs for breakfast.
If you read Pop Tarts and thought “Yum Pop Tarts”, you are not alone. I LOVED Pop Tarts and I’m sure I would still love them now. Side note, a friend just hosted a birthday lunch, and she picked up vegan homemade pop tarts. Nothing like the original, but really good.
If I took lunch to school, it was likely a sandwich- turkey, or tuna fish or peanut butter and jelly (on white bread). I don’t remember too many of the hot lunch offerings other than Sloppy Joes or pizza, but I do remember Linden’s cookies and little boxes of milk.
Snacks after school were usually cookies or donut holes, or I was told to “eat something healthy like cheese.”
Weeknight dinners at home started with a half grapefruit or cantaloupe. (I have no idea how that tradition started.) On Monday nights my Grandparents were at the house and Grandma Alice cooked.
She was a good cook, and those meals were usually a meat (often chicken), a starch (white rice or a potato) and a salad or a steamed vegetable.
(The only veg I couldn’t stomach was lima beans. To this day it’s the only bean I won’t touch, and I love beans.)
(Note: that is neither my mother nor grandmother in the image above. But the 70’s vibe is right on.)
My mom, (also a good cook) cooked the remaining weeknights – generally a meat or fish, starch and a veg). Then on weekends we had TV Dinner or pizza when my parents went out. And on Sundays we would bring in Deli sandwiches, go out for Chinese food, or something similar.
Does any of this sound remotely familiar to you? What were your childhood meals like?
I know I ate fruit because I remember that Delicious apples were actually good back then. (Now there are so many awesome apple varieties!) I also remember eating peaches and cherries in the summer.
We also had a beautiful farm stand just a few blocks from my house. In the summers (I grew up in New York state so it was only operational over summer), we would walk there and pick up corn and other summer veggies. I am certain I did not appreciate how special that farm stand was back then.
And I remember growing zucchini and carrots in our backyard.
All in all, it could have been a lot worse. I know some people only grew up with meat and mashed potatoes and vegetables smothered in butter or cream sauce.
Yet now that I know how many animal products I was consuming, how much sugar (Fruit Loops!), empty calories, how much processed food (TV Dinners) etc. etc. I can see how easy it is to be addicted to certain foods.
The food industry isn’t stupid. They know what people crave and they have created foods that are appealing to the palate and addictive, yet devoid of nutrition.
When you compare my childhood (and younger adulthood) food intake with food consumed in Blue Zones you can see why western societies have lifestyle illnesses that Blue Zone societies do not. (Have you watched Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones yet? If not, I HIGHLY recommend.)
These societies are cooking and consuming real food. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and very small quantities of meat from time to time. They aren’t trying to kick a cheese addiction because they never formed one. They aren’t craving the salt and fat in TV Dinners because they cook simple, yet flavorful and nutritious meals. And they are living longer, healthier lives because of it.
While hardly pristine, my plant-based lifestyle is a lot closer to a Blue Zone lifestyle than to the 1970’s diet I grew up on.
I can’t turn the clock back and start all over with my kids (they are young adults living in a different state).
But we can all start where we are now. Today. Making one healthy whole food plant-based choice at a time.
If eating plant-based feels overwhelming, I get it. The foods we grew up with are so ingrained. Please let me know if you could use a little support taking a first or next step.