Meaning...there wasn't one.
I never worried about food. I was blessed with a metabolism that would allow me to eat a five-course meal: appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert then have a snack two hours later. Wash it all down with Coca-Cola and not gain an ounce.
Then I reached age 35 and it all went to sh*t.
But when I was sixteen? Perish the thought.
That summer I would go with Mom to the grocery store, (again when MaddOx was in the old Piggly Wiggly that became Fred's that became James' Foods) and buy Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Shasta Black Cherry Soda, Brown Sugar Cinnamon and Strawberry Pop Tarts, Butterfinger candy bars...and that was my snack menu. I'd also partake of Oreos, Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip cookies, both a big glass of milk. I also liked this tapioca you could buy in a can. I also used to get these microwaveable French Toast things (mainly when I was in middle school) and Lean Cuisine's Linguine and Clam Sauce (discontinued). Other staples were chocolate covered peanuts (or clusters) and Whoppers Malted Milk Balls. Other discontinued favorites were those Carnation Breakfast Bars (chocolate chip) and Figurines. Those were "healthy" snacks.
Breakfast cereal? Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and Cinnamon Life. And sometimes Nature Valley Granola.
Photo taken 2016. Black Cherry soda is REALLY hard to find.
Also when I was in middle school, I did learn how to cook and bake. As a latchkey kid, who was home by herself all day in the summers, I would bake cakes and cookies (snickerdoodles were my favorite), plus I knew how to fry and scramble eggs, heat up canned soup, make redeye and white gravy, boil pasta (mac and cheese!!), and pop popcorn (in a pot!). I could fry hamburgers and brown ground beef. I could also make quick oats (not instant) and grits. I could chop vegetables. Memaw taught me the baking part, Poppa Bill showed me how to do the other.
Regarding other grocery shopping, there was no Walmart SuperCenter. In 1985, that area was a cow pasture, and remained as such until about 2000.
When Memaw started working at the bank, she would work until 6 p.m. on Fridays, and so we always went out to eat on Fridays. This more or less continued even when we had the shop because it closed at 5:30. We'd normally to the Fish Net out at Potter, or the Holland House. The Limetree was reserved for after church on Sunday. There was no McDonald's in Mena until after I went to Henderson. No pizza delivery, either, even though we've had a Pizza Hut for decades, back when Pizza Hut was an experience. (Poppa Bill wasn't a fan, but he'd eat it.) We had Sonic (which is now Cruizzer's), but that was rare for a supper meal. (I remember Memaw driving off with a tray once.)
No such thing as Chinese either, but we had Suree's, which was more Thai food when it first opened. Her chicken curry was fantastic.
Oh, we did have KFC. Remember when they had sandwiches? HAM sandwiches? And those cool little parfait things?
When we'd go to Fonrt Smith or Dallas, well, that was different. At Fort Smith, we once ate at Tomfoolery, and Mrs. Laura's, if we weren't having a Nana McChristian-prepared meal at their house in Greenwood on drill weekends. Homemade mac and cheese!!! And Nana always had huge kosher dill pickles in the fridge, Oreos, again, in her cookie jar, and Munchos potato chips, which I still buy every summer. We'd eat at the mall on those Saturday shopping excursions. Furr's Cafeteria at Phoenix Village. Or Luby's at Central Mall.
Ah...the early days of Chick-Fil-A. The big pretzels with cheese. And this was before Central Mall had a food court. Those were in the Dallas Malls, where I tried gyros for the first time. Sbarro. I thought pizza by the slice was the smartest idea ever. Great American Cookie Company. Buy 4 get 1 free!
Also in the "big" towns: McDonald's!!! Arby's. A Beef and Cheddar is still a delicacy. I remember sitting at the Arby's on Rogers Avenue after an orthodontist visit and we had just bought The Truly Tasteless Joke Book. Memaw was laughing hysterically and everyone was staring at us.
Unfortunately, I'm currently on a juice cleanse so I probably need to stop talking about being a junk food junkie in my teens.
Not an 80s video, but it still makes sense.
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