Struggle meals
By Sissy15
@sissy15 (13435)
United States
June 24, 2026 2:00am CST
I was watching a video where people were trying different struggle meals, and it made me think back to my own childhood and the types of food we ate when we didn't have a lot of money, and my dad didn't want to cook. My go-to was always Nachos with just tortilla chips and shredded cheese melted on top in the microwave, and I'd usually use salsa or Ortega sauce to dip it in. Another snack my brother and I used to eat when we were hungry, but we didn't have a lot in the house, was usually carrots and celery dipped into peanut butter. We also did the traditional ramen, mac n cheese, Spaghetti-O's, and on occasion, peanut butter and pickle (I know it sounds weird and isn't for everyone, but we liked it). We also did bologna sandwiches with mustard and chips crushed in it.
My son always remembers back when we were struggling a lot, when we made what we called poor man's casserole. He hated it, but we did what we had to do, and honestly, we kind of liked it. He didn't, but he was much pickier back then, and we made it on a few different occasions with varying ingredients based on what we had. Typically, it was ground beef, mixed vegetables, that government Velveta-like cheese but not Velveeta melted in, and we'd put the off-brand boxed stuffing we had on top and cook it. Sometimes we'd add some spiral pasta if we had it, or maybe some shredded cheese to it too. It really wasn't that horrible, but my son thought it was. It just happened to be what we had on us, and we couldn't afford groceries so we used what we had. When you are struggling, you have to be creative. Honestly, that's how I've come up with some really good dinners, not having certain ingredients and having to get creative.
What are/were some of your struggle meals growing up or even now?
4 people like this
4 responses
@JordanLader (7589)
• Sparta, Tennessee
24 Jun
We had dinners like that but my parents were really good at making it normal. I never knew we would be struggling because I liked the food and like I said it was just normal. I still like ramen and it's a quick meal for busy days or days you don't feel good.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13435)
• United States
24 Jun
We tried to make things normal, and my son didn't know we were having it because we couldn't afford groceries, but he didn't like it. He was a picky eater, but we did what we had to, and he ate it because that's what we had. My parents never said we were poor either, but they did make sure we understood the value of a dollar. I didn't realize why we were having any of those things until I got older. There were a lot of signs we didn't have money when I was growing up, but I never realized it until I was older.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (127023)
• United States
25 Jun
We had shark once because it was on sale. My mom made it seem like we we were being adventurous, but we were in reality just struggling financially. Of course, Hamburger Helper was big too, and we loved it. It was just good that it was cheap.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13435)
• United States
27 Jun
I have never heard of shark being on sale; that's interesting. We planted a lot of our own vegetables. We had a decent-sized garden. My dad once had us eat rabbit, but told us it was chicken until we ate it, and then told us we ate the Easter Bunny. My dad had moments when I questioned his parenting. I always say he was a good dad, but there were definitely times I don't think he realized the trauma he caused. I will say he never made us feel poor, even though we were. While other kids I knew were taking big vacations, we went camping. I always joke that my brother and I were feral because we were seldom inside and had free rein of the neighborhood. I never felt poor, even when we had to eat some pretty interesting things. My dad rarely bought anything frozen. Most of his food was homemade, which saved money. We had some easy things my brother and I could make that I mentioned, but dinner was almost always all homemade from scratch. I never realized then how much I'd miss those dinners, even though I complained about a lot of them at the time. I didn't have Hamburger Helper until I was an adult. I remember my friends talking about it, but I never personally had it. It wasn't until I got older that I started making it. My dad to this day, rarely uses anything boxed or frozen unless it's leftovers. He even made homemade burritos he would freeze for us to make after school. Anything to save a dollar. He made every dollar stretch, and it tasted better. That said, I buy a lot of things prepackaged and frozen to save time.
@sol_cee (39071)
• Philippines
24 Jun
We had plenty of simple meals growing up too. Rice with soy sauce, fried egg, or canned sardines was pretty common. Sometimes the simplest meals end up being the ones you remember most. And your poor man's casserole actually doesn't sound bad at all!
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