Ketchup on tuna and other atrocities

by Katie

Kids, man. They'll happily eat anything, not knowing that it's blatantly gross. My kid, for example, routinely takes a bite of yogurt, then a bite of peas, then a bite of black bean, then a bite of banana, and munches them all happily together. That's just...wrong.

But I had my own versions of this as a kid, of course. Things I enjoyed as a child that now make me want to hork:

* oranges tossed in mayonaise (I DON'T EVEN KNOW)

Image: drugstore.com

* Chicken in a Biskit crackers (gross AND deliberately misspelled! Double whammy!)

*skittles and m&ms mixed together.

and, possibly the worst of all:

* ketchup on my tuna sandwiches. (My sister and I did this for YEARS. Like, through high school.)

I know I'm not alone. What did you eat as a child that now makes you recoil in horror? Or, alternatively, what are your kids shoving into their mouths with glee while you make quiet retching noises in the corner?

Comments

[Julie]

Oh I had a few but the two that stick out most in my head both involve doritos. First it was dipping them in ketchup. My mom would even send a little container of ketchup to school with me so I could do this. The other was putting the doritos on my sandwiches. Like a turkey and dorito sandwich. Something about the added crunch was great.

[saly]

Oh, I loved Chicken in a Biskit too! I can't even believe those are still made.

I always put ketchup on my Kraft mac and cheese, and I still do. One of my children does this.

One daughter eats peanut butter and jelly with a side of black olives all the time.

And all 3 of my kids dip their chicken nuggets in apple sauce. (HORK)

[Erin]

In keeping with the ketchup trend, ham and ketchup sandwiches. GAG. I hated mustard and mayo, so ketchup it was.

[Kay]

I used to eat ketchup on everything. Including turkey at Thanksgiving dinner.

[Jen L.]

I was also a Chicken in a Biskit fan! I liked ketchup on my green beans. I also used to take squirt cheese and spray it into Bugels. I would have a stroke from the salt if I tried that now! I think the grossest thing, which I took for lunch at least once a week, was peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. LOVED them.

[Alice]

these are SO AWESOME (although none are nearly as hork-worthy as the oranges and mayo [???!?!!!!!?!?!?!!!] so far). i'm trying to think of any weird stuff i put together as a kid, but i suspect my mom probably stopped any such shenanigans at my house. my sister used to sneak straight mayo when my mom wasn't around, though - like, a SPOONFUL of it, SOLO - and apparently when my mom was preggers with me, she used to dump a can of plain tuna into the hollowed out center of a 1/2 a cantaloupe and have that for lunch every day.

[H]

We ate ketchup sandwiches (ketchup on a single piece of bread, folded in half), Saltines crushed up in a glass of milk (eaten with a spoon, of course) and my husband says he ate hot pasta with jelly.

[bessie.viola]

I used to put ketchup on my tacos. Now... I just can't even. UGH.

[Elsha]

My sisters and I routinely ate straight butter. GAG. (My kids pretty much do this now.)

[emiliym]

I went through a color phase, where I'd only eat a specific color at each meal. (Like, only blue foods. Or only white foods). Drove my mom crazy. And she had to get really creative with food coloring.

Also, in high school, I used to have peanut butter sandwiches with an entire package of Skittles. IN THE SANDWICH. (well, minus the wrapper) So gross. To this day I can not eat Skittles.

[J]

Mayonnaise on saltines. I also ate ketchup sandwiches when I was little. Ew.

[Nora]

I used to eat cottage cheese mixed with ketchup. Still do, occasionally. But wanna talk about HORK? I also used to put mustard on peanut butter cookies.

Ugh, I just made myself sick just thinking about that.

[Carrisa]

canned ravioli is one I loved even until adulthood. Now it grosses me out. Also? Vienna sausages. I ate a lot of those as a kid and now they make me want to hurl.

[Wendi]

Two of my food obsessions as a kid/teen were canned ravioli and...eating Oscar Mayer hot dogs raw. (!) I would take one, nibble about 1/4 of the skin off all the way around, bite off the middle part, then continue until the whole thing was gone (usually while I read a Nancy Drew book). UGH.

[jennifer]

Loved Chicken in a Biskit with Easy Cheez! My husband shames me into not buying it anymore :( LOL ... I also used to put ketchup on tacos, until I asked for it at a Mexican restaurant and mortified my parents.

[Christy M]

I used to eat ketchup and bologna sandwiches.

My son, a few weeks ago, dipped his Cap'n Crunch cereal in his SPAGHETTIOS. I was actually gagging watching him do it, but he seemed to enjoy it very much.

[Shea]

This is horrific and embarrassing, but I use to DRINK THE TUNA WATER FROM THE CAN!! My grandfather started it as a funny, haha -"Come 'ere kid, and drink this" and I just never stopped!! Now I drain the can properly in the sink....ugh!!

[ellbeejay]

I... used to make Kool-Aid sandwiches. I would spread butter (ok, let's not lie. It was always margarine...) on white bread and then sprinkle dry Kool-Aid (the kind that was already mixed with sugar) on the marg. And then eat. I would also just eat the Kool-Aid mix straight out of the container. And.... I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I would... spit... into the Kool-Aid so the, er, moisture would form a little ball of sugar goo and then eat that.
Oh lord, no one is going to want to be my friend now.

[jennielynn]

Oh yeah. Vienna Sausages. My mom used to buy those as a special treat for field trip lunches. I bought one for my daughter recently and she came home saying, "No more cans of old, nasty hot dogs, please."

My kids are remarkably tame eaters. Nothing gross that I can think of off the top of my head. They won't eat any condiments on their sandwiches, which I find odd, but that's about it.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

I used to melt butter on a plate and pour sugar over it. OR melt cheddar cheese on a plate and sprinkle it with blackening seasoning. URFFF.

And I went through a No Ketchup phase, where I'd dip fries and potato chips in mustard.

Blech.

[elz]

My daughter dips her carrots in ketchup. And, my husband puts ketchup on his tacos (only when home-made, thankfully). Still, ew!

I did nothing gross with my food and was a perfect child. Amen.