the pepperidge farm cracker trio

and other foods I had a crush on growing up

Morning,

Food and love. Are there any two things more important? Both sustain us, nourish us, and make life exciting.

As a child, I was acutely aware of this. And as a young romantic soul who was also incredibly shy—especially around boys (mostly because they’d usually say something totally reckless and out of pocket either in earnest cruelty or as a bid for my affection, and I despised either scenario deeply)—so the bulk of my romances were centered around food.

Writing to you with the snacks that had a hold on me:

chef boyardee - That commercial with the can rolling down the grocery store aisle reaalllyyyy got to me. To this day, I’ve never tried those heavy-looking, canned raviolis. And that’s likely for the best. Some crushes are meant to remain a mystery.

cheese itz - In second grade, my and my friend Marina would scrounge around the school for loose change—in our backpacks, on the floor, and if we were lucky, and dimes or nickels left behind in that small flap-doored area of the snack machine. All to buy a pack of Cheese Itz or a Hershey’s Cookies and cream bar. Cheese Itz, unlike the chef, was a crush I dipped into anytime I could. And they always delivered. These days, the regular Cheese It flavor feels to easy to come by. It’s lost its charm somehow. The extra toasty, however…

goldfish original (the pale color) - This flavor felt supremely overlooked growing up. I enjoy subtlety. I’d suck on them, savoring their almost non-existent flavor.

poppycock popcorn - I made my debut as “the funny girl” in middle school by giving a dramatic reading of the copy on the poppycock packaging. Littered with innuendos, “nutty clusters” etc. — it was a hit.

gushers - My mom once let us get a pack. watermelon flavor if I remeber correctly. green skin, red juice. unreal. I ate the entire box in a day and threw it all up later.

stella d’oro original breakfast treats - These ‘S’ shape cookies rocked me. Delicate almond flavor. Slightly crunchy outside that gives way to a curiously moist but firm but also slightly chewy, airy, inside. We had them once in the house and then I never saw them again. Bought myself a pack last week, they hold UP.

dunkaroos - We also never had these in the house growing up, which of course made their pull even stronger. I’m certain if I ate them now I would become violently ill. And I think they really slept on Dunakaroos Ice Cream. That would have really made an impact.

ritz bitz peanut butter minis - I went on weight watchers in eighth grade and before I did, I remember grabbing three packs of these and savoring them on the couch as a goodbye.

babybell cheese - That wax.

milky ways - The candy I saw once a year (on Halloween) and that took me to outer space. Appropriately named!

wheat thins - Crackers were and continue to be one of my simplest and deepest pleasures. When I started packing my own lunch, I remember putting as many Wheat Thins as looked normal to have in a snack size ziploc, always knowing the amount I fit in there would never be enough. I’d always be left wanting more.

pepperidge farm cracker trio - The royalty of crackers. Whenever we had family friends over, a box of these would appear and I immediately got excited for the leftovers.

As always, happy snacking!

💗A