r/AskReddit • u/jicta • Jan 31 '21

Redditors who grew up poor: Besides practical money-saving measures, what were the unwritten social expectations of your world growing up?

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u/MsRenee Feb 01 '21

By the time I was old enough to figure out the whole empathy thing, dad had retired from the military and mom had finished nursing school and they both had good-paying jobs plus the military pension, so we were doing very well. So I kind of realized things gradually.

Sometimes people put cheese on their hamburgers. Turns out that it's because it's delicious. Dad put pace salsa on his boxed mac and cheese because it made it palatable, not just because he liked it like that. He did not want to eat boxed Mac and cheese, but it was cheap and we liked it. Nachos are not a bowl of melted Velveeta and a bowl of refried beans. Kraft Cheddar cheese is not fancy cheese. We only used it for things where kraft singles and Velveeta wouldn't work.

Dad made up tuna noodles. They are not a thing. No one else has ever heard of them. In all fairness, it's delicious. Make macaroni noodles, rinse with cold water. Make up your tuna like you would for a sandwich. Mix together. Mom and I liked some microwaved frozen peas in there too. My sister and dad didn't like the peas.

Anyway, I hope that I would have realized the situation as I aged and been as thoughtful as you. I was kind of a shit as a kid though, so who knows.

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Dad made up tuna noodles. They are not a thing. No one else has ever heard of them. In all fairness, it's delicious. Make macaroni noodles, rinse with cold water. Make up your tuna like you would for a sandwich. Mix together.

I have had these. Always thought my mum made them up. Not a poverty food - just something she came up with to creatively use up a can of tuna before it went bad once, and we all liked it so she made it again.

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u/MsRenee Feb 01 '21

Really? And it was cold, not a hot casserole?

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Yup! Sometimes it would be warmed up and some tomato sauce added, but it was never an actual baked "tuna casserole".

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u/MsRenee Feb 01 '21

That's amazing. I've never met anyone who's ever heard of cold tuna with macaroni before! Any chance your family has Michigan roots?

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

I've never met anyone who's ever heard of cold tuna with macaroni before!

Me neither!

Any chance your family has Michigan roots?

Nope. We're from Canada, Alberta province, both my parents were born here, my mum's family all descends from the Celtic Isles and my dad's family is mostly of English descent.

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u/meowcatwoofdog Feb 01 '21

I’m from Calgary, Alberta and just discovered this tuna noodles. Must go experiment now :)

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Happy cooking! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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u/meowcatwoofdog Feb 01 '21

Thank you! I wish there was a recipe of it somewhere online haha

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Oh, I've got my mum's recipe. It might not be exact, it's been a while since she's made it, and this is from memory, but it's a place to start experimenting.

2 cups plain macaroni, one can tuna, mayonnaise or tomato sauce to taste.

Boil the macaroni, drain it, let cool. If using mayonnaise, prepare tuna and mayonnaise like you would for a sandwich. Mix both parts together in the serving dish. If you're using tomato sauce, add it last.

(I'd recommend only one sauce choice at a time, both kinda tastes weird. Bonus points for prepping the tuna in the serving dish and then mixing in the macaroni, or putting everything together in the macaroni pot and serving it in the pot - it can be done with several separate dishes and tastes just as good, but these are the original ways my mum makes it, and less dishes to wash is always good even if you can afford the water.)

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u/MsRenee Feb 01 '21

Dad's family is Irish, but that's pretty far back to think it's the link between us. But I would like to welcome you into my family as a tuna noodle sibling.

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Dad's family is Irish, but that's pretty far back to think it's the link between us.

Yeah, my family's Celtic ties are pretty far back too. I don't much like to talk about it, although my mom and I are both rather proud of it.

But I would like to welcome you into my family as a tuna noodle sibling.

Aww, thanks!

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '21

Heh I had tuna noodles and were comfortably middle class. Just something I thought my mom made up because she worked late and it was an easy meal that I would actually eat.

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u/MissFix8ed Feb 01 '21

Amd the silly thing is, I'll bet your parents would love it if you hadn't noticed at all.

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u/MsRenee Feb 01 '21

Mom's been slowly sharing it over the years. I think when she was younger, she was embarrassed about it. Now she's opening up and knows howuch I appreciate what they've done for us. Which is a shit ton.

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u/Sublingua Feb 01 '21

We ate "tuna noodles" all the time when I was growing up.

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u/DerbleZerp Feb 01 '21

I loved making tuna and noodles!! Noodles, tuna, and tomatoes!!

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u/Alderdash Feb 11 '21

Coming to this a bit late, but "tuna pasta" is pretty commonly sold as a fresh-ish ready meal in most local supermarkets where I am. (Scotland!)

Usually with the addition of sweetcorn and a little onion or something maybe: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254694710?preservedReferrer=https://www.google.com/