It’s always a treat to eat at a fancy restaurant or use premium products to create a home-cooked meal.
But sometimes, there’s nothing better than using cheap staples.
They’re comforting, make us feel nostalgia, and are easy, easy, easy.
On Reddit, one user posted all the “not-highbrow” staples they love and use absolutely unabashedly—and people could really relate:
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Ketchup. One day I’ll be bored enough to decide to try to make my own ketchup, but right now nothing equals Heinz.
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Garlic. I don’t use garlic powder, but I do buy the peeled stuff and refrigerate it. Futzing around with whole heads of garlic and the papery skin is just a little annoying.
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McDonald’s. I don’t eat fast food very often, but I do like a good quarter pounder with cheese now and then, supersize the Coke and fries and to hell with the pearl-clutchers.
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Breakfast cereal. Sure, sometimes the hippy-dippy Seven Whole Grain Colon Blow Quinoa Explosion stuff is fine if you add some fruit, but I’m Generation X; gimme a couple bowls of Captain Crunch Oops All-Berries.
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Hot dogs. I don’t make a steady diet of them, but gimme a simple hot dog in a bun with chili from a can, diced onions, and yellow mustard. Awesome. Gimme three, actually.
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Milk. I have no curiosity about raw milk, I don’t need your authentic, hand-strained, teat-to-table beef milk. I just drink whole milk. I never, however, drink skim milk. Which is water, that’s lying about being milk.
EDIT: I’m asking what foods are you NOT snobby about. What el cheapo, prepackaged, processed, ghetto, trailer park, not-highbrow foods do you cling to?
Folks were proud to announce their not-highbrow foods, and I’m gonna add my favorite to the list: PopTarts.
Give me strawberry frosted pop tarts any day of the week! What are your favorite foods that you are not snobby about?
1.
“Instant noodles. That Shin Ramyun spicy stuff is so good, I don’t think there’s anything else I crave as regularly as I do that. I try not to have it too often because it’s a total sodium bomb but gosh do I miss it if I haven’t had it in a month. People on this subreddit love to tell you that making “real” ramen at home isn’t that hard! You just need about 8 hours of time and the foresight to have started 3 days ago! Nah, give me that good ol’ red package.” — Zookeepered
2.
“Being Hispanic, store bought salsa at times. I know roasting/boiling my own veggies and adding as many peppers, garlic, cilantro, lime, etc. is so much better, but sometimes I just want to throw some Herdez salsa on my eggs and chow down.” — RighteousMalevolence
3.
“No matter how old I get, hot pockets and Totino’s will never not be amazing.” — Spaceman-Mars
4.
“Little annoys me more than chili snobs. With bean or without, it’s still delicious and still chili. Chunks of beef or ground? still delicious. More vegetables or barely any? Still delicious. Chocolate or Cinnamon or not? Still delicious. All out with toppings, or just cornbread or crackers for dipping? Still delicious. White chicken chili? Still delicious. Turkey Chili? Still delicious. Veggie Chili? Still delicious. People who insist on chili being made one way ruin chili far more than those who make bad chili.” — ridethedeathcab
5.
“I’m a slut for egg mcmuffins.” — deerdance333
6.
“Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, in the can. With the glorious little plastic cup of icing, that tastes like vanilla and plasticine. Total nostalgia. If presented with these, and homemade cinnamon rolls, I’ll pick these every time.” — librarianjenn
7.
“I love Slim Jims and couldn’t give a flying fart what is in them.” — lbeau310
8.
“Most sweets. I’m not gonna turn my nose up at fancy high-end pastry if someone gives me some, but I’ll take a pack of Oreos over a macaron any day if I’m spending my own money.” — elijha
9.
“Taco bell. I’ll destroy taco bell any day, any time. A fresco chicken taco with an entire packet of fire sauce, dipped in the ” nacho cheese” is just magical and I don’t care what anyone says.” — eyebrowshampoo
10.
“Microwaved popcorn. With all the artificial butter and carcinogens.” — _TallulahShark
11.
“Blue box mac and cheese. Sure I can throw down a killer mornay sauce version, but it’s not the same.” — NailBat
12.
“Store-brand groceries, which are often name-brand products underneath. Some are inferior and should be avoided if you can afford it, but many are indistinguishable besides the less fancy packaging. Experiment.” — wyldcraft
13.
“Yes! My name is Dwight and I have a chicken bouillon powder problem! Shamefully, I make soup with it all the time. Boiling bones and carcasses all the time is just not worth the difference in homemade stock and chicken powder.” — BamaModerate
14.
“We eat spam in this house. If you eat bacon and sausage, I challenge you you fry up some spam and tell me it’s not hella delicious.” — Kristishere
15.
“Canned soup. We eat a lot of it. I enjoy making soup, but canned soup is obviously about the easiest thing in the world, and the children like most kinds of it, particularly cream of mushroom. There are some soups that the kids like better made by me than made in a factory, but not that many.” — ReadyTadpole1
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