Remembering Foods from Childhood
Pigs in a Blanket
Writing Triggers for Childhood Memories of Food
Many of our earliest memories relate to food. Just eating something can transport your mind back to your early days.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane. I'll provide some memory triggers. See what springs to your mind as you read down through these prompts.
I hope you'll actually write about some of the memories that come to the surface. Use these for your blog, for a scrapbook or for a memoir. Whichever you do, please save those memories for your children and future generations.
(photo by Virginia Allain)
Childhood Memories of Grocery Shopping
Tell about Going to the Grocery Store
Did you get to go along on grocery shopping expeditions as a child? Write a description of the market where the shopping occurred and your memories of the activity. Did you get candy or a treat? Did you ride in the shopping cart? Write about your mother's shopping method or how she interacted with you and your siblings during the shopping trip.
Describe a Typical Breakfast with Your Family
Tell who prepared the food, where it was eaten and who was there for breakfast. Was it a hot, hearty meal or something more simple? Describe the foods and include all five senses (smells, sounds, sight, touch, taste).
Perhaps on special occasions there were different breakfast foods. Tell about those times. Did you ever have breakfast foods at other times of the day?
Mom Sometimes Made Pancakes in Special Shapes for Us
- Pancake Pens - Art for Breakfast
Pancake pens are fun and add a magical element to any breakfast. Even a child who's a reluctant breakfast-eater will get enthused about fancy pancake shapes and letters. Your first batch of pancakes using your pen may not look like a breakfast that..
At Grandmother's Table - Women Write about Food and Its Meaning
Memories of a Typical Family Meal from Your Childhood
Describe in detail how the family interacted at the dinner table. Don't forget to include the kinds of discussions held, what the expectations were for behavior at the table and any issues that came up during meals. Describe the area where you ate, who was there, what time the meals were and what kinds of foods were served. Did you have to clean your plate?
Use Photos to Trigger Your Memories
Here's an Example of Writing about Food Memories
- Mom Discovers TV Dinners - Our Echo
My mom served hearty farm fare, like fried chicken and mashed potatoes, to keep eight people well-fed. Then she discovered TV dinners.
Remember Bottled Drinks from Childhood?
Write about These Memories
Was having sodas a special treat way back when? Think of what you called it (soda, cola, pop, or some other name). Where did you buy it? What flavors did they have. Try to remember brand names, how you opened the bottle, when you drank it and other little details. Did you go to a soda fountain, get bottles from a big cooler at a gas station or from the grocery store? If you didn't have pop, then write about other cooling drinks you had in summer. Include the recipe if you can remember it.
1950s Family and Soda Pop
YesterdayCafe created this Vintage Family Reunion Invitation and it can be ordered from Zazzle on various products.
What Did You Call It?
Vote in the Poll
Remember Learning to Cook
Write Your Childhood Memories
Think back to your first experiences preparing food. Was it something simple like making toast or more complex like helping grandma with the pie crust? Perhaps you weren't allowed underfoot in the kitchen so taught yourself to fix food. Did you stand on a chair, wear an apron... set the scene so we can picture it. Tell about the person teaching you to cook and if the experience was fun or otherwise.
Another Photo to Trigger Your Memories
My Memories of Summer Foods
- Favorite Summer Food Memories - Our Echo
Many childhood memories of Mom centered on food. Here are my memories of summertime and food.
Write about being a Chubby Kid
Was Food a Problem for You?
Were you a chubby baby, a plus size kid or had to buy your clothes in the Chubbette department as a teen? Think back to your childhood. Write about any issues you had with food. Maybe you had the reverse problem and were too skinny. Did you have to be encouraged to clean your plate or did your parents try to restrict your eating in some way? How did this make you feel?
1950s Well-Fed Children
Write about Your Eating Patterns as a Child
Were you a picky eater? Did you have to sit at the table until you cleaned your plate? Tell about the foods you hated and the ones you loved. What was the yuckiest food?
Describe the cookie jar in the kitchen and tell what kinds of cookies might be in it. Did you fix snacks and what were they? Were you a skinny child or a chubby one?
Did You Have to Clean Your Plate?
Vote in the Poll
Isn't this Retro House Wife Magnet fun! It was created by Whatsbuzzin on Zazzle. You can order them there.
How many of us heard our mom say this in our childhood?
More Writing Triggers for You
- Writing Triggers for Family Memories
It's important to preserve your childhood memories and family stories, but you may wonder where to start. Start working your way through this memory prompts and you'll find the writing easy. - Remembering Summer Time in the 1950s
Lazy summer days... I grew up in the 1950s and maybe that was the era of your childhood too. Now and then, I enjoy a little trip down memory lane to all the summer fun we had. I'll share with you some of my experiences of that long ago time. I hope.. - Holiday Writing Triggers for Family Memories
Following the calendar, I'll give memory prompts to start you writing about long ago holidays. It's important to write down these memories to save for your children and grandchildren. Who knows, maybe you'll even have enough to self-publish a book...
