The coronavirus lockdown has us all inside our homes trying to find ways to get through to the other side and one booming trend right now is purchasing nostalgic comfort foods that remind you of your own childhood.
Whether you’re looking for a late-night snack because you really have no idea what time it is, or even what day it is to some movie time comfort meals. Here’s a list of 5 comfort foods to bring back childhood memories during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We all have some childhood memories that include sights, sounds and smells. Cooking up a pan of Jiffy Pop Popcorn on the stovetop is one of the few nostalgic comfort foods that invoke all three of those senses at one time. Remembering as a child as the bag popped, got bigger and bigger and then that smell that permeated every crease of your mom’s heavy drapes and lingered in the shag carpet for days after.
Now, as we’re stuck inside binge-watching Netflix or Amazon Prime, you can finally find some time to share that childhood experience with your own family.
4. Hungry Man Frozen TV Dinners
When we were kids, eating dinner in front of the television was a treat. Nowadays, it’s become too much a part of the fabric of modern living, but in our quests to be at-home Chef Ramsays or Rachel Ray, we’re at the point where we’re getting tired of trying to impress. Hungry Man was the go-to dinner a few times a year when mom and dad were just too damn tired to cook. It was a treat, watching Magnum P.I. or the A-Team in front of the television with a 3-course meal complete with a desert on the family room table or for those who were more frequent flyers, the snack stand. When mom or dad popped one of these bad boys in the over, they were nothing short of superheroes to their kids.
3. Cracker Jack
If you’re a baseball family, then Kellogs’ Cracker Jack is not such a novelty for you and your family, but if you’ve been a horrible parent and never let your children enjoy the caramel popcorn and peanut goodness that is Cracker Jack, now’s the time to start. We used to love the prizes, and while they’re not quite as good as when we were kids, the kids today still get a kick out of the paper based bonus that comes inside each box. Every kid is sure to smile if you throw a box of Cracker Jack on their lap while you’re all binge-watching the Avengers for the 4th time this month.
2. Tang
That orange-flavored sugary goodness we all thought was a health food drink during the 80’s because the can said “with Vitamin C” on it hasn’t changed it bit. While you’re munching down on your Hungry Man Frozen TV Dinner, you can wash it down with some fortified Tang. While the rich kids got to drink pre-made Sunny D, those of us who had a water faucet and a tight budget because dad worked two jobs had Tang. Like most items on this list, Tang was the exception to the rule and a highly coveted novelty in your pantry taken out only on special occasions. It still boasts 100% of your child’s daily Vitamin C requirements and these days, they say Vitamin C helps keep “the rona” away.
We all know the unfortunate story of the Hostess Snack Foods company and how the company that went bankrupt not once, but twice this century is back. Luckily the brand was resurrected by Apollo Global Management in 2013 and kept the brand and it’s line of snacks alive. This one isn’t just one product, but the entire line of Hostess Snack Foods, because, why not? What kid isn’t going to love mom and dad when they crack open a box of Ding Dongs or Twinkies and throw it on the family room table? Right, not a single one.
Bonus Round!
The amazing brains over at the new Hostess company has actually done it. Can’t decide whether to get Twinkies or Ding Dongs? Guess what America? You don’t have to anymore with the Twinkie/Ding Dong mix and match box! That’s right, 16 of each in one box!
Snack food not your thing? Check out our 5 unique frozen pizzas to try during the coronapocalypse.
Have more ideas? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!