What’s the best thing you’ve eaten that wasn’t a real meal?

[BlueberryGreenTea]

Mine is a can of Coke and an American Milky Way Bar(Like a Mars Bars) and a mini can of plain Pringles when we were on holiday in the Dominican Republic and the malaria tablets made us extremely ill. We couldn’t keep anything down but that worked and it tasted incredible after days of barely eating.

Another would be vending machine oxtail soup after swimming.

What’s yours?

That won't do though. It's clear enough that for the required hit you need to first give birth, have an operation or at least do some sort of open air exertion.

A chicken and mayonnaise sandwich served in a freshly made crusty white roll that I was bought from a sandwich shop called Nadia's in Cambridge. Oh my, I still think it was one of the best things I've ever eaten (34 years later!) in fact I only mentioned the sandwich to a colleague the other day - I think she thought i was bonkers!

This has been one of my favourite threads - and @User19792 this is my new favourite phrase "devoured like a badger" Your heroic dad with a chicken under his arm. What a hero!

Love reading these. Many bear out the old saying 'hunger is the best seasoning'.

I’ve never had a sweet tooth, really don’t enjoy sweet foods much. However when I was pregnant I went to the beach and smelled the freshly made donuts and they just smelt divine - I ate one and then couldn’t stop, I ate 6 of the things. Hot, sugary, cinnamon, I was in heaven. Probably the most joy I’ve ever had eating in my life. My post pregnant self doesn’t have a sweet tooth again and the thought of eating a donut does nothing for me. Funny how pregnancy changes you!

Some amazing canapes in a very posh hotel in Hong Kong (ashamed that the foie gras one was the best)

I had proper let me die now flu a few years ago and after not being able to eat anything more then a tinned pear now and then, I started to crave a McD's cheeseburger. I dont like McD's as a rule so five days after I was fit to get out of bed ( I really was ill ) DH took me up and it took me 2 hours to eat the darn thing but I wanted it so bad

First proper food in nearly three weeks, pure ambrosia

A bag of unshelled peas and a bag of fresh apricots sitting on a rock while out cycling in Brittany.

A bottle of frozen homemade pomegranate juice on a Turkish gulet trip.

A kilo of cooked king prawns with mayo and baguette in the dunes while camping on the French Atlantic coast.

A pot of tea on the camping stove with a tomato, butter and salad stuffed baguette that we had squished and sat on for a few hours for the flavours to mingle, listening to Radio 4 - also in Brittany.

A sausage roll (pork en-croite!) during Covid lockdown, sat on a town bench in freezing cold - with a much valued friend.

Pregnant and, bizarrely, craving raw cauliflower. Went to Sainsbury's just for the cauliflower and then sat in the car and devoured the whole lot as I couldn't wait to drive home. Anyone who saw me must've thought I was a complete lunatic.

Never craved one before, or since.

As a child, pickled onion Monster Munch from the swimming pool vending machine, after swimming. Made even more delicious as mum thought only Walkers ready salted were real crisps and thought MM were full of rubbish (possibly true). Didn't bother a ten year old me though.

Mmmm mmm.

As an adult, spent my last few euros on roasted sweetcorn on the cob with lime butter off the street in Amsterdam.

We'd been living off bread and cheese all week and the freshness of the corn tasted AWESOME.

Nothing can beat the roast chicken eaten like a badger though.
That wins this thread hands down.

I took some home made biscuits to a neighbour. She offered me a spliff - I’d had nothing like this for years so just took one puff.

When I got home I ate the 2 biscuits I’d left on the rack for myself and was AMAZED at my incredible talent, wondered what I’d done differently- then I realised….

all you peeps who had toast and tea after giving birth were lucky; I was given a rhubarb yogurt!
The best thing I ever had was in Germany. you bought a fresh bread roll fresher than I have ever known no butter etc and in a big lidded pot there were meaty sausages (I wasn't vegan then) popping the sausage in the fresh bread was akin to heaven!

A toasted everything bagel with a side of lox spread. In New York. It’s the best!

It was tiny. If it was served to a toddler they would be hungry not long afterwards. It was fab but tiny. Think a teacup saucer size.

A can of heinz baked beans brought out to me by a friend whilst backpacking in Asia. They were to die for.......

Yes...these are magnificent!

I remember a foil wrapped JP pulled from the embers of our village bonfire. Hot, charred skin, fluffy with a slab of cold butter wedged inside. That was 50 years ago but never had a better one!.

We stayed in St Marc Sur Mer (M.Hulot's Holiday village) a few years ago and the local bakery had a baguette vending machine. I was so impressed.