Remember when you were eight and absolutely certain that chicken nuggets were the pinnacle of cuisine? You’d never understand why adults ate “weird” foods like mushrooms or olives! Then life happened, taste buds evolved, and suddenly we found ourselves on the other side of the dining table. Here are 10 foods that marked the great divide between childhood and adulthood.
10. Ketchup on Everything
As a kid, you add ketchup to everything. You make sure that you have the sweet blend and treat it as a sophisticated version of candy. As an adult, you discovered that food actually has its own flavors that don’t need to be masked by ketchup. You learned about aioli, chimichurri, and other sophisticated sauces.
9. Fish Sticks
Fish Sticks are made for kids who don’t really like fish. They’re breaded and fried as they come in dip packets that taste like mayonnaise dipped in pickle juice. Somehow, this was your definition of gourmet seafood. But now, you’ve been elevated to much fresher choices like actual fish or even raw ones if you love sushi and sashimi.
8. Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid was basically water that had been transformed into liquid candy through the magic of powder and sugar. You used to defend the blue raspberry flavor with all your heart from your friends. Now, you replace Kool-Aid with lemon slices and think about real hydration instead of flavor explosion. Still, you remember those good old days when you drank powder mixed in water.
7. Bagel Bites
That jingle about getting pizza in the morning until supper time is what you used to do. As a kid, how could you refuse miniature pizza, right? Bagel Bites represented the ultimate food freedom. But as an adult, you stay away even from pizza itself for health reasons. It makes you wonder how you used to enjoy those tiny frozen discs.
6. Pop-Tarts
Pop-Tarts is a breakfast made for kids who were too cool for cereal. The frosted ones remain superior to you and your friends as you’re thankful for those synthetic rainbow sprinkles. Now that you’re an adult, you’ve read through the ingredient list as you shook your head. Definitely, those were the best of times and the worst of times, as Charles Dickens would put it.
5. Kraft Mac and Cheese
Your childhood comfort food involves a fairly easy sacred practice. It involves boiling water, adding noodles, and adding a magical orange powder and milk. Creating Kraft’s Mac and Cheese involves seven minutes of mom’s time. Looking back, it’s safe to say that you make mac and cheese using three kinds of cheeses that don’t taste like an artificial orange powder.
4. Hot Dogs
Hot dogs were the ultimate kiddie food next to chicken fingers. As kids, we didn’t know how preserved they were; all we knew was that they tasted good. But as adults, we learned about what goes into hot dogs, and we completely abandoned them or would occasionally munch on some hot dog sandwiches.
3. Sugary Cereals
As kids, we’re delighted just by passing the grocery aisle of cereals. Through their colorful boxes lie the cereals that turn milk to colors. If you’re lucky, mom will get you the option of tiny marshmallows included. Now you look at the sugar content and wonder how your parents let you start every day with what amounts to candy soup. Your adult self reaches for steel-cut oats and chia seeds, but you still feel a tiny thrill walking down the cereal aisle
2. Fruit Snacks
Fruit snacks were candy pretending to be healthy, and you were completely fine with that arrangement. We have Gushers and Fruit Roll-Ups inside our pantries. But now, you wonder how your parents convinced themselves that they’re feeding you a healthy alternative to candy? Still, it’s fun to look back at those times when a Fruit-Roll Up strip is enough to keep you happy for a week.
1. SpaghettiOs
SpaghettiOs were pasta made for kids, and as a child, you loved it. They were perfectly round and soft, which perfectly catered to your tastebuds. Meanwhile, you, as an adult, couldn’t believe how you used to consume spaghetti from a can. Oh, times were simpler and quite unhealthy back then!