Recently, the wonderful food writer and eat what you want advocate, Ruby Tandoh wrote a piece about the nostalgia of food. The simple kind of food that gives you instance gratification. That makes you feel safe and at home and easily fills you with joy. And most importantly the kind of food that makes you feel like you. She talked about Mars Bars and cheddar cheese a lot (girl after my own heart/stomach). Whilst, I’m generally in love with food 99.9% of the time, her piece rekindled my love of food even more. It reminded me that it is only to be enjoyed. That it is never to feel guilty about and that it is a privilege that I have easy, ready access to it. In honour of food and the simple, but wonderful pleasures it brings, I have written a list of food that gives me great oral pleasure (maybe I should reword that sentence, but Imma just gonna leave it as it is). It’s a very personal list, as what food brings you comfort and makes you feel at home, can only be unique to yourself.
Hot crumpets oozing with butter (never margarine).
Jacket potato with baked beans (always Heinz), cheese and yes lots of butter.
Seasonal strawberries and sugar served at room temperature.
Fried halloumi cheese, nicely browned on both sides.
Thin pancakes served on Pancake Day with sugar and freshly squeezed lemon.
Baked bananas with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows down the middle, so it’s nice and gooey when you open up the banana.
Mum’s roast dinner, with the roast potatoes done just right.
Enjoying one of Mum’s roast dinners on Christmas Day in (possibly) 1979. Yes I am the rosy cheeked child and yes that is a bottle of Brut aftershave in the back ground.
Mum’s macaroni cheese with more cheese than necessary.
Homemade bread, still warm, so the butter slightly melts with raspberry jam.
Marmite soldiers dipped in a boiled egg.
Crunchie ice creams.
Crunchies.
Tunnock’s Teacakes
Hot chocolate overflowing with mini marshmallows
Fish and chips from the local chippy or eaten at the seaside in the wind.
Toasted brioche with Nutella and mascarpone
Fluffy pancakes served with strawberries and maple syrup on a lazy Sunday morning.
Pret’s chocolate mousse
Sweet potato fries dipped in Mayo.
Wensleydale cheese with cranberries on a digestive biscuit
Thornton’s Mini Caramel Shortcake Bites
Scottish Shortbread
Cinnamon and raisin bagels with, you’ve guessed it, lots of butter.
Marks & Spencer’s Raspberry jelly pots.
Plain bagels toasted with cheese and marmite.
Egg fried rice from the local Chinese takeaway. Preferably eaten whilst drunk.
Spaghetti served in any which way.
Walkers Prawn Cocktail crisps (the Daddy of crisps).
Homemade apple and blackberry crumble served with hot custard.
Maltesers in the cinema.
Bangers and mash with really creamy mash, gravy and peas.
Scones (pronounced like phone, no need to correct me) with BUTTER, jam and clotted cream.
Betty’s Fat Rascals.
Moist chocolate brownies. Oh yes. Moist.
Vegetable Korma with pilau rice and garlic naan bread dipped in mango chutney.
Pizza Express Fiorentina pizza (no olives thanks)
Fresh warm doughnuts served with sugar and cinnamon. This one is officially better than sex.
Nectarines in summer.
Clementines in winter.
Dad’s green beans from the garden.
Cheese and pineapple sticks, straight from the 80s.
Plain chocolate hobnobs
Rich tea biscuits dipped in tea (most underrated biscuits ever)
Lemon curd yogurt
Fishfinger sandwiches (please ignore Em Linthorpe’s view on fishfingers. She knows nothing).
Chocolate buttons.
Licked cake batter off of a wooden spoon.
Marks and Spencer’s Percy Pigs (my version of crack)
Cadbury’s Creme Eggs (I lied. These are my crack)
Nobbly Bobbly ice lollies.
Orange Smarties
Green & Blacks Dark Chocolate
Toasted marshmallows, slightly burnt
Corn on the cob. Lots of butter.
Prawn Cocktail in a glass.
Wagamama’s Katsu Curry
McVitie’s Jamaica Cake
Pub lasagne with bubbling cheese on top served with garlic bread and a token bit of salad (and I always eat every single scrap of it)
Lemon.Drizzle.Cake.
Enjoy your food and savour every taste. It’s a privilege.
You can read more about my thoughts on food and body image here
And you can sign up for Ruby’s brilliant tiny letters about food here.
I’ve been meaning to write this post for sometime, but Suzie’s excellent blog post here finally prompted me to.
Just Another Blog From a Woman 
I have just recently been introduced to the delight of fresh lemon juice on thin pancakes or crepes. Decadent. As far as I am concerned, there is no place in this world for margarine. What is the point of it? Always butter, always.
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Yes! Butter forever beats margarine. Mmmm, it’s pancake day soon and I’ll be having plenty of pancakes with lemon and sugar.
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Your list has me drooling and I’m not even hungry! I agree about food being delicious and worthy of being appreciated! Hey you like veg pulav and garlic naan? That’s lovely 🙂 So do I!
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It’s the best! And I forgot to add lentil dhal too, which is so warming and comforting. I’m hungry now too just thinking of it!
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Oh. My. I wasn’t hungry before but I am now…
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Haha you and me both!
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What a list!!!
It’s lunchtime and you’ve got me thinking Tunnocks Tea Cakes!! Jx
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Oh yum! They really are sublime.
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Haha, pretty funny that we both publish a post the same day that references *that* fish finger heartbreaker!
What a top list though. I also love butter. It’s a vastly superior spread to margarine.
I’m sat here eating a Bachelor’s Pasta n Sauce and I feel quite disappointed thinking of all the better foods out there that are not in my house or my belly right now 😂 xx
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Haha, but a Bacherlor’s Pasta & Sauce is perfect too at times. Yeah butter and double yeah fish fingers haha x
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You know, I’m currently having a love affair with butter from Ireland. Give me a peice of toast with Kerigold butter and it’s almost as good as dessert–in fact I had it for dessert the other day. Since butter figures in your list, I can’t help but mention my secret butter-love.
You’re so right–this food abundance is a privilege. Celebrating it, not shaming ourselves about it, makes so much more sense.
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Oh yes Kerigold butter is great! I’m very happy you’re pro-butter too. It’s the simple things etc etc It really does make more sense to celebrate & enjoy our food. It’s pretty shameful to feel otherwise really.
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pro-butter. That seriously SHOULD be a political party.
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Haha yes definitely!
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I think thebeasley is my spiritual twin….
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Hahahahaha. Excellent.
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Cheese in big chunks, cheese on crumpets, cheese on toast, cheese on crackers with tomato, cheese and olives, cheese and onion sandwiches, cheese and peanut butter sandwiches, even as a cheesecake. Did I mention a day is not a happy one without —— Fun post, Hayley!!
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I might be going out on a limb here, but…do you like cheese at all haha? We definitely have a love of cheese in common, Suzanne. It is everything. I’d rather go without chocolate than cheese (though I’d rather not go without either). Cheers x
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Haha, well if you pressed me hard enough I would confess to having a small liking for it 🙂 Heck, making a decision between chocolate and cheese would be too hard to contemplate. Easier not to do it x
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I just had a cheese omelette for lunch, Suzanne. :-). The eggs were a bit elderly, though – the chickens laid them last week.
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Well, April, eggs and cheese is another delight I should have added! Fresh eggs are so yummy, and, I miss ours from the farming days!! Though having said that the eggs we have around Europe/UK are tasty with very yellow/orange yolks!
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I’m with you on the butter. Margarine is an abomination. You’ve put me in the mood for crumpets, though.
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I think I’ve put myself in the mood for crumpets. I’m struggling to think of anything else now ha.
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Now, I’m salivating. Sunday morning fluffy pancakes, creme eggs, cheese and pineapple sticks (nothing 80s about those bad boys)…I could live on those items alone! Covers all the major food groups right? 😉
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Exactly, protein, carbs, calcium, one of your five a day. Sorted 👍🏻
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This may be one of the most beautiful love poems of all time. It reads so much better than porn. I am just happier now x 🥙🥚🍔🥗🌮🌭🍲🍜🍿🍱🍘🍙
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Hahahaha. It did feel somewhat poetic to me as I wrote it and most definitely pornographic. So happy that it made you happy x
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OMG, I am salivating, and as Orla says reads better than porn. My eyes were bulging at the pics of the roast dinner and crumble, Hayley. Ooooh, you are a tease! 🙂
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Haha I am such a flirt with my food porn. Food porn is the most superior form of porn.
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Without a doubt! 🙂
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Grass-fed butter, rich tea biscuits I have 3 every morning with my cuppa and it has to be thin pancakes with lemon( lots) and sugar or maple syrup and hot crumpets with butter and… I have just put on 5lbs just typing this 🙂
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Hahaha. I think I did the same writing this post 👍🏻
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This was a sensory delight to read…starving now! Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. Eggs benedict. Chicken,spinach and chickpea curry….I currently do SW and look forward to treats! You are right; food is there to be enjoyed!
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Oh yum. Salmon & cream cheese bagels. I had those for breakfast a lot over Christmas. Mmmmmm…
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Fantastic post, and macaroni cheese with more cheese than needed – oh yes! Oh and the crumpets, I do like crumpets with my butter 🙂
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Two esssential foods, I feel. You can’t go wrong with macaroni cheese & crumpets 👍🏻
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Beans means Heinz fact. You’re spot on there. I love a good home cooked roast dinner too. Crunchies and crunchie ice creams are my favourite. I am now sat in bed stomach rumbling and salivating onto my phone screen. Haha which means your post hit the spot! Now I must go and hunt out crumpets.
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Haha. Hope you found some crumpets. My husband brought me chocolate brioche & butter in bed. All for medicinal reasons of course.
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Oh amazing. I hope you’re feeling better soon! No crumpets sadly. Weetabix for brekki but had prawns salad and warm crusty rolls for lunch. Delicious!!
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Yum!
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There’s a whole load of your list that I would copy and paste onto my own! I feel comforted just reading it!
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Excellent! My work here is done.
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😁
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What a list!! My weakness is (especially in the winter) comfort foods like mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing and desserts….I better stop now. I’m getting hungry just thinking about all this delicious food! 😉
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Haha. I am all about comfort food. Life’s too short not to enjoy it.
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You got that right! 🙂
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I want to come to your house!
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You’d be welcome anytime! Best to come in loose clothing though haha x
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JEEZUS. This was like reading porn. I was like, “Oh, yes. Mmmhmmm. Come to mama. Yup. Just like that. I’ve never experienced that, but it sounds amazing. Good Lord. Yes. That. And, that. Ooh. Yum. Can it get any better? OMFG. YES, YES, YES!”
I’m really, really, really hungry and just a slight bit confused about my raving attraction to food now, but this was delicious.
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LOL, I’m not sure if I should, but I’m kinda enjoying the fact that I’ve turned on a lot of people with this post. This is my idea of pornography, right here 😄
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BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA 😈😈😈😈
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This post makes me so happy…although I can’t get many of these foods in Canada.
They don’t seem to eat crumpets (the shame!) I have found vegemite, but no marmite, and (omg) the orange smarties don’t have a different flavour! They just taste like all the other smarties!! Don’t even get me started on the lack of hobnobs and jaffa cakes.
Ah well. I am learning to love Canadian things instead. They have such good salmon and the brunches here are to die for. I just need a crumpet now and then!!
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What’s the point of having orange Smarties if they don’t make them taste of orange chocolate?!?! This is the main reason I could never permanently live in another country. I love British food too much. I can just imagine the Canadian salmon & brunches are amazing though. All that maple syrup!
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Yeah, we haven’t eaten as much maple syrup as I would have expected at first!
I did miss British food when I lived in Japan – but I got over it as their food is so amaaaaazing too! Now I miss Japanese comfort food!
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Oh yum. I can imagine the Japanese food was amazing!
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I expected the actual food to be amazing. It’s the awesome snacks/chocolate/crazy crisps and drinks that I didn’t expect! Noms.
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Oooh nice!
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Oh we may have been separated at birth! I was basically going yes, yes, yes, cinnamon donuts OMG yes, Wagamamas Katsu Curry hubba! What a list!
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Oh that sticky rice! I’m so glad we both have such fantastic taste x
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I’ve been feeling nostalgic about food too. You just reminded me of that scene in Ratatouille where the food critic takes a bite and remembers eating hot soup his mother made when he had a cold.
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Yes! I love Ratatouille, that’s a great film that is an ode to food and everything that it encompasses.
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I love this post! The old adage about living to eat comes to mind
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Absolutely! I love that.
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👍
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Loved reading this! Food really is a source of pleasure, so it was wonderful to be reminded of that. Thank you!
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Thank you! I’m glad you found in pleasure in this most! Cheers.
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Butter should be outlawed. And your list indeed full of pleasure 🙂
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Ha. It made me so hungry writing this!
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So sorry, I meant that margarine should be outlawed. Butter forever!!!!
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Phew! Margarine is most definitely an abomination.
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Absolutely! I keep telling my mother in law to stop buying it but does not listen. Also, a confession: I think that lard is pretty awesome too!
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Ooh I haven’t done lard for years!
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I really like frying my potatoes in it. Mix it with butter when sauteing anything. Or frying and kind of meat. It helps that I can get great lard in Eastern European deli stores here in Toronto. Ok, I am getting hungry now.
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Haha me too!
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The best of love poetry! Enjoyed this all over again.
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Aah thanks love x
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