What did you eat as an 80s and 90s child? | Mumsnet (2024)

Yes similar.

Salad might sometimes have celery or if going really posh, avocado, but that was unusual.

We did have more vegetables, but runner beans, carrots and peas (frozen) were the staples. Cauliflower was probably the most common other vegetable we ate, but not often.

"Foreign foods" like rice/pasta/pizza, those really exotic items, were not generally served.

Dm did get more adventurous as we got into the 90s, but standardly we had "good British staples".

I was labelled a fussy eater growing up. I've since discovered that is because I far prefer things like curry etc.

Findus cheesy pancakes
boil in a bag cod with parsley sauce

But we’re Nepalese so lots of Nepalese curries/veg curries.

i remember pasta went with Bolognese and the amazing new recipe my mum made from a Tesco card with farfalle, crème fraiche, ham and mushrooms and peas.

Veg were carrots, peas and cauliflower, with occasional sorties into green beans and broad beans.

potatoes were often just large spuds, boiled.

very much a meat + veg + spuds sort of diet, with pizzas on Fridays. My parents still eat like this

I was born in 1985. When I was very young we had only home cooked food and they were religious about it.

Think my mum mightve had a bit of depression when we were older and then when we were teenagers we had TONNES of UPF food. So chicken kievs, chips, Chicago Town pizzas, more chips, chicken nuggets, more chips, spam on occasion (bleurgh) etc. That being said, we hardly ever ate crisps or chocolate or biscuits. They just never bought it in. We'd get 50p a week for penny mix and that was it.

Salad comprised of only iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumber.

When money was tight tho, we had lots of stews etc.

With my own kids, I've cooked from scratch 99% of their childhoods. Occasionally we will have pizza and chips, but I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened this year.

My kids diet is much more varied than mine ever was. I can remember eating an olive for the first time when I was 17 and houmous when i was about 19. These foods are nothing out of the ordinary for my kids.

Typical dinners would be:

Pasta in a tomato sauce
Mince and dumplings
Chicken goujons, homemade chips and peas
Corned beef hash
Picnic dinner
Fish fingers
Homemade soups and stews
Lasagne
Quiche and salad
Homemade curry
Cauliflower cheese

I remember we had bread and butter with everything and my mum usually did homemade desserts like pineapple upside down cake, tinned fruit with carnation milk and homemade rice pudding.

As i got older my parents became more adventurous with cooking as we travelled a bit and we ate a lot more international foods.

I was born in 1984. We ate a lot of curries, probably not authentic but I enjoyed them, and definitely a lot of pasta. We lived opposite an Italian deli and fruit shop and the owners gave us a lot of recipes for authentic Italian food.

We also ate Scottish food like mince and potatoes and steak pie. Lots of homemade soup. I was obsessed with seafood so ate a lot of that. My Father would bring home bags of winkles and mussels and we'd work our way through the lot.

We ate out regularly, usually Chinese or Indian but often pizza or Italian too.

I did eat quite a lot sweets but I also ate my body weight in carrots and fruit. I remember eating whole paper bags of kumquats when the local deli got them in. I shudder now to think what they may have cost.

A lot of mince. Things in breadcrumbs, Ski yogurts with sugar poured over the top. Dairylea sandwiches on sliced white. Mr Kipling cakes. Orange squash. Cup a soup.

I don’t think I consumed vitamins until about 2004.

Shepard's pie, fish pie, lasange, stir fry, spaghetti bolongaise. Some potato bake thing with tuna fish. Chicken was a rare treat. Usually jacket potatoes once a week in the winter, soups.

Later in the 90's we had pasta pesto with mushrooms, cream and bacon, still one of favourites. Fish and chips for a treat.

I’m slightly older, we ate very well.
A roast on Sunday (4 different ones rotated)
the meat in a curry on Monday.
Tropical chicken which was a chicken and pineapple dish with rice
spaghetti bolognaise
home made burgers with home made chips
jacket potatoes with various fillings
macaroni cheese with some bacon on top
cauliflower cheese (these two were lunches)

I never had white bread or white pasta.

homemade cakes and pies or instant whip/choc ice.

Home grown veg, salad and potatoes.
Cottage pie.
Roasts
Stew
Beans and sausage on toast (Heinz)
Sausage and mash
Findus crispy pancakes
Pie - cheese/meat and potato (homemade)
Chicken and mash
Bacon and egg
New potatoes

Nothing exciting in the 70s! Got a bit more exotic in the 80s when mum discovered flavour!

Lots that people have mentioned but some others:

we are vegetarian and were raised that way

indian food - curries, rice, dahl etc
soups - tinned tomato
beans on toast
jacket potatoes
cheese on toast
cottage cheese
crumpets
yoghurt
pizza
chips
alphabites, waffles
boiled to death vegetables
veggie burgers
lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot

Cottage/shepherds pie was a staple, some sort of Birds Eye product with potato alpha bites was a Friday. Also had a lot of soup/stew/spag bol.

beans/spaghetti hoops on toast was always popular. Or Ham sandwiches.

salad was like yours but also had celery in. Veg also similar but we also had loads of green beans.

my Nan used to make some sort of concoction with jelly with condensed milk so it was like a mousse. Otherwise choc ices were treat du jour.

Born in 81 we would have

Sausage and liver in tomatoes (boke)
Cheese and potato pie, chips and beans
Egg, chips, sausages and tomatoes
Cottage pie, roasties and veg
Crispy pancakes
Beans on toast
Roast dinner every Sunday with salad or chicken sandwiches for tea
Sausage casserole
Coq au vin
Chicken casserole
Meat pies
We didn't eat pasta or pizza and didn't have curry until I was a teen

Boil in the bag chicken curry
Crispy pancakes
Potato waffles
Super Noodles
Frozen pizza
Kwik Save no frills range, in the plain black and white packaging that looked like prison food.

Occasionally dad would make a spaghetti bolognese but only with the seasoning packet. Its a miracle any of us survived past 30 with all the upf and sh*t our parents fed us.