6 Classic Childhood Foods with a Modern Twist

Food has long been associated with warmth, comfort, family and childhood memories, and is intertwined with the nostalgia of our hometowns and our own cultures.

Some staples from decades past have recently become trendy again, with a few even getting a modern upgrade. Some have lower sugar content or are healthier, while a few have new additions to make them more flavorful.

And others have stayed just the same, with new generations thinking they’ve discovered something unusual. 

Here are six childhood foods with an updated, modern twist.

Nachos

Once drizzled with fake liquid cheese — when they were a must-have ballpark treat — these now elaborate mountains of nachos with infinite toppings seem available on every appetizer list at any restaurant.

Why not give it a try at home by doing an “everything in the fridge cleanout” night, with some chips underneath? Use chicken or beef, any type of beans you have on hand, different types of cheeses and, after cooking, you can top with a variety of veggies from lettuce to cucumber. Don’t forget salsa and sour cream. 

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Put a Cajun twist on your nachos by topping chips with Andouille sausage, shredded pepper jack cheese and diced tomatoes.

Grilled cheese

If you haven’t tried swapping butter for mayo, you are in for a treat. The bread grills much more easily, creating that crunchy outside you thought only your mom could make. Tom & Chee restaurants have made a business out of the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup combo.

The Food Network scoured the country for the craziest grilled cheeses. It chose winner Taleggio cheese on raisin walnut bread, with apricot-caper spread, sun-dried tomatoes and arugula, with multiple meat options. Not the childhood grilled cheeses of yesteryear, but possibly even more delicious. 

Marshmallows

If you have fond memories of roasting marshmallows around a campfire, with the hope of turning one into a s’more, you aren’t alone. Kat Connor, co-founder of XO Marshmallow in Chicago, was so attached to those marshmallow-infused memories that she made a business out of it.

“From a young age, my mom used mini marshmallows as a form of bribery — ‘You can have a marshmallow if you tie your shoes!’ but more often than not we used them for making rice crispy treats,” she said. “Every class function, field trip, birthday, always had rice crispy cereal treats. I remember them as something to share, and something extra special my mom brought to surprise our classroom in the middle of the day.” She used her 20-year-old mixer in her first apartment’s tiny kitchen to build a new take on marshmallows, from raspberry and coffee-flavored ones, to even mint.