People Are Sharing The Foods They Grew Up With That They Now Realize Were Odd (2025)

1. Food

Posted on Feb 10, 2024

"It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned this is pretty much only a Midwestern thing."

Food is so personal and nostalgic, sometimes it's hard to believe the dishes we grew up eating are actually a little strange to others. I'll admit that as a former picky eater, my go-to snack was cheese sandwiched between two slices of banana (please don't judge me, it was really good). So when redditor u/kerker1717 asked the r/Cooking community to share the odd food combinations they grew up with, I was excited to see what my fellow weird eaters had to say. Here are the foods people didn't realize were a little odd until they got older.

1. "We were newcomers to Canada in the '90s, and ketchup wasn’t really a thing in my home country. So we became obsessed with it when we got here. As a kid, I used to put ketchup on everything, but my favorite was ketchup sandwiches (ketchup plus bread) and ketchup sandwiches with bologna or sliced ham."

u/internationalfish / Via reddit.com

—u/omfgcheesecake

2. "Whenever my mom used an egg wash and bread crumbs, there would be leftovers from the breading station. So she used to mix them together, add a little water if there was too little of the egg left, and let the bread crumbs hydrate. Then the mixture went into a skillet with heated olive oil to be fried like a bread crumb pancake. There was no way she was going to throw out those bread crumbs."

—u/CatfromLongIsland

3. "Eggo waffles with melted sharp cheddar cheese. It was such a regular breakfast in my family, I literally didn’t realize it wasn’t a thing until I had my first apartment. I told my roommate she was welcome to the Eggos and cheese, and she was like, 'I’m sorry, what?'"

u/almamahlerdoll / Via reddit.com

—u/thesphinxistheriddle

4. "Our Thanksgiving leftover meal was turkey with gravy over waffles. Delicious. But when I got to high school and college, people told me it sounded gross and weird."

—u/shmouli

5. "I grew up poor, and my mom used to put cut-up hot dogs in everything. Cut-up hot dogs in scrambled eggs, in boxed mac 'n' cheese, in stir fries with vegetables to eat on top of rice, in fried potatoes to make some kind of hot dog hash, etc."

u/jacqueattaque1989 / Via reddit.com

—u/NerdyAdventurousLife

6. "Shepherd's pie, but instead of mashed potatoes, mac 'n' cheese on top!"

—u/Isis_J

7. "My grandmother always put grape jelly on her grilled cheese, so I also like to. Apparently, that is not something people normally do."

u/ChaserNeverRests / Via reddit.com

—u/Impressive-Tip-903

8. "Grew up super poor. We ate flapjacks, which in our house were just flour, salt, and water pan-cooked into flabby, flavorless pancakes. Then my mom would try to make syrup by cooking down sugar and water. Another regular was toast with ketchup, and yet another was spaghetti noodles with canned beans. I don’t know that I can say I thought it was normal, but I do know it was what there was to eat."

—u/Leoliad

9. "Strawberry jelly on a sausage biscuit. Learned about that working fast food at age 15."

u/and_milk / Via reddit.com

—u/Emjayshelton

10. "Unsweetened shredded wheat (it was large, not spoon-sized) toasted in the oven with sharp cheese and fried bacon, and you'd serve it with a bit of maple syrup on the side. It was, I think, a recipe on the cereal box, but seriously good. I never see those big shredded wheat squares around any longer, so I can't make this."

—u/chachalatteda

11. "My grandpa used to make peanut butter toast (crispy bread, like almost burnt, and smooth PB — and he always buttered the bread before putting on the PB) and hot chocolate, and would dip the toast in the hot chocolate. Didn't realize it was weird until I got to college, did it in the dining hall, and got some weird looks."

u/rdnale / Via reddit.com

—u/Notorious_mmk

12. "When I was growing up in the Midwest, chili and cinnamon rolls was a common combination. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned this was pretty much only a Midwestern thing."

—u/kinetic_cheese

13. "Kraft mac 'n' cheese with sugar over the top of it. My dad and sister did this. YUCK!"

u/rockn4 / Via reddit.com

—u/Kimchi_boy

"I have never seen anyone else do this, but my babysitter in the '60s taught me to eat it this way. Not necessarily Kraft, just any mac 'n' cheese. Still enjoy it, though these days, I’m more likely to top it with hot sauce."

—u/abstractdirection1

14. "My husband taught me to scramble leftover French toast batter once the bread is gone. It’s eggs, milk, and vanilla and it’s delicious. Now I sometimes just make that. Best served with maple syrup."

—u/rachelnc

15. "Sliced pickle and Kraft Singles sandwiches. Did not ask for and did not want these, but got them in lunches regularly."

u/ThatPhoneGuy912 / Via reddit.com

—u/Competitive-Ad-9662

16. "My mom didn’t realize that you were supposed to create a broth with the ramen noodle spice packet. She would drain the noodles, then stir in butter and season it to taste with the flavor packet (usually about a quarter of the packet). It was delicious!"

—u/gameface23

17. "We were kinda poor, and my mom used to take a package of uncooked hot dogs, grind them up, and mix them with sweet relish and mayonnaise. That was our 'ham salad.' My friends all loved the stuff!"

u/wi_voter / Via reddit.com

—u/savedavary

18. "My little old great-grandmother used to wake me up at 3 every morning and give me an Eggo, cheese, and ham sandwich with a gigantic 40-ounce mug of hot cocoa and tell me that I hadn't eaten anything all day and I had better eat."

—u/Konoha7Slaw3

19. "When it was dad's turn to cook, SOS: ground beef browned with salt and pepper, thickened, and creamed. Essentially just hamburger gravy on toast. Meh."

u/[deleted] / Via reddit.com

—u/We-R-Doomed

"Shit on a shingle (military dish)! Its cousin is biscuits and gravy."

—u/manicjellyfish

20. "When I was young and my dad was a single parent, he'd try to have 'fancy' dinners for my sister and me. His go-to appetizer for us was a slice of bologna covered in peanut butter, then rolled up into a log. He'd then cut it into sections, and each would have a toothpick in it. Voilà! Appetizers. Whenever I start missing my dad, who passed away when I was 24, I make those appetizers."

—u/FiddyWall

21. "Cubed-up baguette tossed in Greek yogurt and chopped mint. Sometimes some honey to make it a sweet treat. This was strictly an after-dinner snack, for some reason."

u/Urk4 / Via reddit.com

—u/ChaoticCurves

22. "The weirdest thing I can think of is, my grandma taught me to eat coffee and crackers. Basically, you take a plate and line it with saltines, pour over coffee until they're softened, then spread some sugar to taste and eat with deli ham. It's basically a poor man's country ham biscuits and red-eye gravy. It's not the most filling breakfast in the world, but it hits the spot every once in a blue moon."

—u/BuckeyeBentley

23. "Having milk to drink with spaghetti — super refreshing. It counters the acidity perfectly, but my Italian American friends think it's bizarre."

u/SirDudeForSure / Via reddit.com

—u/sosbannor

24. "Grilled cheese with a side of cinnamon sugar rice."

—u/NoLadder2430

Are there any slightly odd food combos you grew up eating? Let us know in the comments below or fill out this anonymous Google form!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.