Childhood dinners that made your heart sink?

[Harveypuss]

A lighthearted post!

Do you remember any childhood meals, that when you asked your mum (or dad) "what's for dinner?", their answer made your heart sink?!

Mine was Lamb's hearts. My Mum cooked these often, presumably it was a culinary delight and was probably cheap, but I hated them (this was back in the late 70s so you ate what was given or went hungry). I don't know what she did with them, but they were as tough as old boots and really chewy. I'm sure offal like that is probably quite delicious in some top-end restaurant but dear Mum didn't cook it like that! I'm in my 50s now and I've only just told her I hated that meal. She was mortified!

We have this with our son now, aged 17. He hates pasta and when we have a family pasta meal, I cook him something different. He's off to Uni next year, so don't know how he's going to manage as I'm told all students live of pasta as it's really cheap...!

What was your least favourite childhood meal...?

My mum thought she had suddenly woken up one morning as Nigella, she said she would “put some mixed herbs in, make it fancy” WTF? My kids still howl with laughter now at some of my DMs classic cookery greats, thing is, my DM never made my kids eat anything they didn’t like, just me and my sister when we were kids then! Never have mixed herbs in my cupboard, I still can’t bear the smell or taste of them.

@BrownEyedGirl80

Me and db used to stay at grandparents for a week in the 6 weeks holidays.Dgm gave us Smash which we hated resulting in us nearly retching trying to get it down.

I used to love Smash! It meant I didn’t have to eat my DMs watery lumpy mash, mashed with a dinner fork, I have no idea 🤷‍♀️ how a massive pan full to the brim with cooked spuds can be mashed with a fork successfully, no wonder there were lumps, and then to top it off, large greasy lumps of marg! Mmmmm! (Still would eat smash now, in secret, with butter and have done on occasions) my kids and DH cringe and gag at the thought of it!

anything involving beetroot or cottage cheese. Yuck!

At primary school when the dessert on the menu was angel delight or rice pudding

A good day was butterscotch tart!! Yummm

Stuffed marrow with boiled potatoes.

Stew followed by rice pudding, both rendered crunchy, beige and defeated by the pressure cooker. That appliance could turn food to shit bypassing the digestive system completely.

Liver and bacon
Yellow fish (i think it was smoked)
Cod in parsley sauce

Faggots.
Tinned mince with tinned potatoes.

on my French exchange, my host family served me a meal of whole cooked small birds (with heads and feet), which I gathered was a delicacy. Basically, it looked like burnt sparrows on a plate. I still don't actually know what type of birds they were, but there was no way I could eat them.

I think they were probably ortolans. Eating them has always been controversial, but I'm not even sure if it's still legal now.

A few years ago a friend of mine invited a French friend to stay with them for Christmas. The French girl was visibly horrified when she saw Brussels sprouts on her plate and realised she was expected to eat them. In her halting English, she managed to say "In France, ve serve zees to ze peeegs."

Yup.
Stuffed hearts
Rolled breast of lamb Home made steak and kidney pie (as pp, I was also told to just leave the kidney on the side of my plate. Errr, but everything tastes of kidney and now there's a whole sodding organ looking at me from the side of my plate)
Tongue
Braun
Liver
Oxtail
Pig's feet
Kippers
Something referred to as 'chawl' (I didn't dare ask)

My lovely mom was a good cook but typical meat and 2 veg.

I've been vegetarian for 34 years. I was ridiculed and told it was a fad (back in mid 80s). It wasn't.

@fingersdoublecrossed

Stuffed Marrow. 🤢

@ fingersdoublecrossed Same!

Yup, another one for liver and bacon..yuck yuckity yuck

Omg I was blessed, my mum was a wonderful cook and even liver was delicious. I just had lamb hotpot at my mums yesterday and it almost made me cry!

Tinned pilchards - nothing positive to say about this at all!

@DustyMaiden

Soya mince, I will never forget the smell of it.

Was it a dried type of thing?

Kippers and if I didn't eat it for that meal I was served it for the next .

Anything that involved mince and gravy 🤢 I love things like spaghetti bolognaise, chilli, lasagna made with mince but the second it’s put with gravy my stomach turns. Even thinking about it now makes me feel sick

My mum couldn’t be bothered to make gravy so poured oxtail soup over everything that May have needed gravy

Braising steak done in a casserole. Only ate the accompanying dumplings. However I love a beef casserole now !
At school it was the very thin runny pink custard.

Stuffed marrow

Liver

Steak and kidney - kidney - even the smell of it-makes me want to vomit - I was so adamant mum gave in and would make me a fried egg - can't believe anyone still eats those urine soaked horrors 🤢🤮

Tripe boiled in milk- couldn't eat it no matter how hungry I was.
My mum's rice pudding- watery rice with whipped egg whites folded in then baked. It was horrible and we all hated it but she thought it was lovely and made it frequently. We only just (40 years on) got up the courage to tell her we all hated it. She had no idea. Of course, you didn't complain about the food in the 70s.

Boiled bacon/ham and cabbage, my mother believes in cooking cabbage till it disintegrates.
Boiled potatoes, especially the dry fluffy sort much beloved in Ireland, yuk!
Liver cooked to peak greyness..
I’m feeling queasy at the thought of this…
I was ill as a child and had a terrible appetite, food was a constant source of argument.
I’ve tried hard not to repeat this with my DC!

Semolina, especially my mother's toffee semolina. I don't know what she did to it, but it tasted burnt.