OK, so admittedly some of the food choices our parents offered us may have been a bit questionable – dagwood dogs, spam sambos and red cordial, anyone? But many of them were spot on, and will forever have that nostalgic element that associates it with the carefree times of our youth. Whether they were given to us out of cost, convenience, tradition or for a treat, they hit the mark when it came to our health and (mostly) our tastebuds. Which of these were a mainstay of your childhood?
1. Chicken soup
It’s impossible to say the words ‘chicken soup’ without instantly evoking all those connotations it brings of lying in bed with a cold while being administered to by a caring parent. It’s a warming comfort on a cold winter’s night, a salve for the soul in times of need, good old hearty chicken soup is pretty much a cure for everything. And our parents were definitely onto something. In terms of helping with colds, chicken soup provides hydration and nutritious vegetables that are easy to digest. The salt is thought to ease a sore throat while chicken protein also provides cysteine, an amino acid which helps clear mucus. A 2000 study also suggested the anti-inflammatory properties of chicken soup help to ease congestion. But whether sick or healthy, there’s no doubt it’s jam-packed with nutrition, hearty and filling without being heavy on calories. Some traditions make a lot of sense.
2. Meat and three veg for most dinners
For most of us, childhood meals consisted largely of some kind of meat – lamb chops, steak, or roast chook – along with potatoes and a couple of other veg – peas and corn, broccoli, carrots and of course, the bane of most kid’s childhoods, brussels sprouts. And yes, back then like now, we battled against our parents about eating our veggies. But in terms of a good, solid meal that provides the ideal balance of protein, carbs and a generous portion of veg, you can’t do much better. Somewhere along the way, ‘meat and three veg’ got a bit of a dirty name, as we all became increasingly experimental with our meals, but while variety is important, sometimes simple is all you need.
3. Eating at home
Now we know that eating lots of freshly prepared, unprocessed and home-cooked food is one of the most important ways to maintain a healthy diet. We’re advised to limit our takeaway meals and stick to dinners we cook ourselves. Our parents - or more specifically, our mums - also did most of the cooking, but back then, it was mostly because our parents were too cheap to take us all out for a meal and home delivery wasn’t really a thing. Whatever the reason, all those home-cooked meals did us a world of good.
4. Bubble and squeak
This traditional British leftovers dish was also pretty ubiquitous in Aussie kitchens growing up and while it’s not the most glamorous looking or sounding dish, it more than makes up for it with its ability to make veggies such as cabbage appealing to kids thanks to the inclusion of lashings of potato. It’s also a great way to make two meals out of one, which as any mum knows makes it pretty much a manna from the heavens. It gets extra brownie points for helping to reduce food waste too.
5. Friday night fish
Now we know that reducing the amount of red meat we eat and including more fish in our diets is a healthy choice that more of us should make. Back when we were growing up one of the few options for take away food was fish and chips from the local milk bar, and it was often the Friday night meal of choice. More common was a fish meal prepared at home. This was especially common in those Catholic families where meat wasn’t eaten on Fridays in Lent, but plenty of other households also made fish on Fridays their thing.
6. Weet-Bix
You can’t get more quintessentially Aussie than a good old bowl of Weet-Bix for brekkie, the number of biscuits of which would rise with each passing year and in relation to how much physical exercise you were planning to do. “Cross country carnival today, Gavin, better have six Weet-Bix!”
Not only does Weet-Bix also give you the ‘hot’n’mushy’ version to comfort you through the winter months, but they’ve always stayed abreast of the ever-changing needs of their consumers, which is why you can now get gluten-free, high fibre, organic or multi-grain options, as well as the classic original for the purists. Onya Weet-Bix, you’ve done us proud.
7. Peanut butter and celery
Peanut butter stuffed down the channel of a celery stick was a snack stalwart in our household and many others, with the crunch of the celery the perfect foil for the stickiness of the peanut butter. Then poor old PB got a bad rep, back in those crazy days when all fats were considered a big no-no. (And admittedly, most varieties back then were probably a little heavy on the sugar and salt as well.) But now, with so many delicious nut butters offering virtually nothing but the delicious goodness of nuts themselves, that sublime pairing of peanut butter and its handy and healthy vessel of celery can come into its own again as the perfect protein-packed snack. Unless you have a nut allergy, obvs.
8. ‘Mix up’ dinners
Every so often (usually when she was short on ingredients, inspiration, energy, or all of the above) Mum would serve up what she called a “Mummy mix-up dinner”. Ingredients included such random plate-fellows as some chopped up apple, slices of ham, cubes of cheese, carrot sticks or salami (read: whatever she could scrounge from the depths of the fridge). These meals were always a hit, whether because they were a break from the norm or because they broke the rules a bit. (Apple? For dinner? Surely you jest!) From a health standpoint, it also breaks away from the tradition of having the biggest meal of the day in the evening, which we all know we’re not supposed to do, but usually, still do anyway. Plus it’s cheap and means mum doesn’t have to cook. Win-win!
9. Homegrown veggies and herbs
When we were growing up, our parents were more than likely to produce some of their own, well, produce, themselves. Whether it was the grand scale vegetable garden complete with rows of tomatoes that were turned into homemade sauce, a bunch of herbs on the window sill or a little plastic container packed with cotton wool with some mung beans coming out of it, they were having a red-hot go. All of which meant a greater connection to the food, delicious fresh healthy produce and minimal food waste – all things we could undoubtedly do with a lot more of in our lives today. Nice one, oldies.
