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Prof. Toru Tanaka

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37. I liked fish sticks on Fridays, also.

Sun Jun 1, 2025, 02:08 PM

Jun 1

We had those just about every Friday in elementary school. Along with parsley buttered potatoes and a vegetable like green beans or peas. My favorite desserts were the mixed fruit jello or apple crisp (like apple cobbler). We usually had pizza or spaghetti on Thursdays and those entrees were tasty.

In high school, we had the choice of a tray lunch or a plate lunch daily. I preferred the tray lunch which would be a bowl of chili or a bowl of soup which was usually tomato, vegetable or noodle. Then there was a sandwich which was usually a grilled cheese, a small cold cut on a sub roll or a steamer. The steamer was my favorite of the three; it was what folks in the Iowa-Illinois area would call a loose meat sandwich. They still the old reliable apple crisp, mixed fruit jello or applesauce for dessert and celery/carrot sticks.

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What cafeteria food did you actually like in school? Mine was grilled cheese sandwich. What about you?? [View all] debm55 Jun 1 OP

Pizza and chocolate pudding (with little chocolate chips) displacedvermoter Jun 1 #1

That sounds good. Thank you very much displacedvermoter. debm55 Jun 1 #2

Went home for lunch...no cafeteria... MiHale Jun 1 #3

In grade school, I went home. Junior high and High School, we lived too far away. Thank you MiHale. debm55 Jun 1 #6

Pizza The Blue Flower Jun 1 #4

That sounds very good. The Blue Flower. My school's pizza was nothing to brag about. Donuts --yes. debm55 Jun 1 #7

We had ham and cheese sandwiches on Kaiser rolls every Thursday. 33taw Jun 1 #5

Thank you very much, 33taw. That sounds very good. debm55 Jun 1 #8

It was then, not sure I would have it now. But it was a school favorite. 33taw Jun 1 #23

Fish sticks on Friday was my favorite. CrispyQ Jun 1 #9

Thank you very much, CrispyQ. That dessert sounds wonderful. debm55 Jun 1 #10

I liked fish sticks on Fridays, also. Prof. Toru Tanaka Jun 1 #37

Try a shot of Amaretto drizzled over apple crisp for an adult version. CrispyQ Jun 1 #63

Thank you CrispyQ. I will give it a try. It sounds great. debm55 Jun 1 #64

Square pizzas and 80 cent hamburgers underpants Jun 1 #11

Sorry about that, underpants. Didnt they give you a choice of other dressings? debm55 Jun 1 #12

Uh...never asked underpants Jun 1 #21

Love you, Underpants. debm55 Jun 1 #25

80 cent lunches- hmmm.... Prof. Toru Tanaka Jun 1 #46

I had no idea how reliant kids are on school lunches underpants Jun 1 #70

Thank you very much Prof.Toru Tanaka. I graduated in 1973.And yes they were resonable. debm55 Jun 1 #74

Tater tots SallyHemmings Jun 1 #13

Thank you very much, SallyHemmings. They served tator tots with the grilled chees. Yum. debm55 Jun 1 #14

As a lunch monitor (a la Tim Walz) I remember the "Flying Tater Tot incident one time Ritabert Jun 1 #45

HAHAHHAHAHaH. Thank you Ritabert. debm55 Jun 1 #48

My husband recalls that the high school served black olives ONCE Ritabert Jun 1 #51

I was a teacher for 40 some years. Two of the years in a high school. Thank you for the memories, Ritabert. had lunch debm55 Jun 1 #56

Actually in my junior high lunchroom duty was coveted Ritabert Jun 1 #61

Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Diamond_Dog Jun 1 #15

Me too, Thank you very much, Diamond_Dog, debm55 Jun 1 #16

I loved the tuna fish on wheat bread ! kimbutgar Jun 1 #17

I really enjoy tuna salad sandwiches too. Thank you very much kimbutgar. debm55 Jun 1 #19

I liked the chili mac. murielm99 Jun 1 #18

Thank you very much murierlm99, It sounds very good. debm55 Jun 1 #20

mac and cheese . AllaN01Bear Jun 1 #22

Thank you very much, AllaN01Bear. debm55 Jun 1 #26

Fish sticks sinkingfeeling Jun 1 #24

Thank you very much sinkingfeeling. debm55 Jun 1 #27

Yup. The were the best at the elementary school. (n//t) OldBaldy1701E Jun 1 #73

Thank you very much OldBaldy1701E debm55 Jun 1 #75

not real picky. brother and I would mow through most anything. stopdiggin Jun 1 #28

Thank you very much, stopdiggin. Yes the Stove Top stuffing served with a slice of "turkey" . I ate the stuffing and debm55 Jun 1 #33

Ice cream drumsticks SheltieLover Jun 1 #29

Oh, I loved those ice cream drumsticks. Still do. Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Jun 1 #34

Nice to see you posting again, Deb! SheltieLover Jun 1 #47

Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Jun 1 #49

Every time they served chili, it included a glazed cinnamon roll. rsdsharp Jun 1 #30

thank you rsdharp. I remember those cinnamon rolls. They were great. debm55 Jun 1 #35

The rolls - the cafeteria ladies made the best rolls....yum!! (50s and 60s) walkingman Jun 1 #31

Thank you walkingman. Yes, the rolls were great. debm55 Jun 1 #36

Hamburger and gravy over mashed potatoes. love_katz Jun 1 #32

Thank you very much love_katz. Thank you for sharing your memories with us. debm55 Jun 1 #38

Same here. We called it hamburg sundae. Ritabert Jun 1 #39

Thank you very much, Ritabert. It sounds yummy. We got the instant kind. debm55 Jun 1 #43

I'm with you regarding the grilled cheese sammich, but only if I have tomato soup on the side Ziggysmom Jun 1 #40

Thank you very much, Ziggysmom. Yes, grilled cheese with tomato soup. a winner. debm55 Jun 1 #44

Rectangle pizza Tadams01KC Jun 1 #41

That's great. Thank you very much for your choices, Tadams01KC and welcome to DU. debm55 Jun 1 #60

Beef enchiladas LetMyPeopleVote Jun 1 #42

Thank you very much, LetMyPeopleVote. They sound great. And what a great thing the staff did to bring your grandmother debm55 Jun 1 #62

bread Tetrachloride Jun 1 #50

Thank you Tetrachloride. debm55 Jun 1 #65

No cafeteria food for me. Lived too close to school. Nittersing Jun 1 #52

Thank you very much, Nittersing. That sounds delicious. debm55 Jun 1 #57

Two scoops of mashed potatoes with brown meat gravy. Good and inevpensive. brush Jun 1 #53

Thank you very much. brush. debm55 Jun 1 #79

I did, too, deb! Nt spooky3 Jun 1 #54

Thank you very much spooky3. debm55 Jun 1 #76

Boston cream pie Keepthesoulalive Jun 1 #55

At a school. Wow. Thank you very much, Keepthesoulalive. debm55 Jun 1 #58

Hi Deb. I was a Public School Cafeteria employee for 11 years. Tikki Jun 1 #59

Wow, Tikki, your school lunch sounds wonderful. A salad bar---great. Fresh bread--terrific. Thank you for your 11 years debm55 Jun 1 #66

We had honest to God lunch ladies and REAL food (before the school lunch program) Jilly_in_VA Jun 1 #67

Thank you very much, Jilly_in_VA. That sounds delicious. debm55 Jun 1 #82

Tacos... subterranean Jun 1 #68

Thank you very much for sharing your school memories with us, subterranean debm55 Jun 1 #83

Mexican food every Wednesday, Texas public schools. Paladin Jun 1 #69

That sounds great. I don't ever recall being served mexican food in school, except for Spanish rice. TY Paladin debm55 Jun 1 #85

Wow, the Texas school system actually got something right for a change. FadedMullet Jun 2 #111

HAHAHAHHAhAHAHHA debm55 Jun 2 #113

Depends on which school. yellowdogintexas Jun 1 #71

That sounds very similar to my school. I will have to look up Lunch Lady Rolls. Thank you yellowdogintexas. debm55 Jun 1 #86

Vegetable soup and sheppard's Pie LogDog75 Jun 1 #72

Wow that sounds good, thank you very much, LogDog75 debm55 Jun 1 #77

Burger and fries exboyfil Jun 1 #78

HAHHAHHAHAH. thank you exboyfil. You are so right. debm55 Jun 1 #80

Stewed plums (prunes)... ultralite001 Jun 1 #81

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. thank you very much ultralite001 debm55 Jun 1 #88

Not cafeteria food... but one early school memory... ultralite001 Jun 1 #89

Wow, you were very lucky, Thank you very much ultralite001 debm55 Jun 2 #121

My mom gave me $1 a day k_buddy762 Jun 1 #84

I know what you are talking about. I got a dollar for lunch and bought nothing. I saved it as I didn't get an allowance. debm55 Jun 1 #87

I rarely had cafeteria food, took a sack lunch almost every day. FuzzyRabbit Jun 1 #90

Thank you FuzzyRabbit. My school lunch was not as good as those describe in some of the post. I would have loved to have debm55 Jun 1 #91

I went to a private school without a Luciferous Jun 1 #92

Thank you very much, Luciferous. That sounds great. debm55 Jun 2 #103

Spaghetti. It had melted cheese on top, too, which Nixie Jun 1 #93

Thank you very much. Nixie. That sounds yummy. debm55 Jun 2 #104

The peanut butter cookie. That's it. Solly Mack Jun 2 #94

I loved the peanut butter cookie. Thank you for the memories. Solly Mack. debm55 Jun 2 #105

Pizza! It was particularly bad pizza, with no items, just cheese... Jack Valentino Jun 2 #95

Hahahahahahha. Thank you , Jack Valentino debm55 Jun 2 #106

Apple Brown Betty (Only on Tuesday's) wyn borkins Jun 2 #96

Thank you , wyn bofkins. I remember that and it was a favorite. debm55 Jun 2 #107

Salmon Loaf Figarosmom Jun 2 #97

Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us, Figarosmom. debm55 Jun 2 #108

Mostly, cafeteria food wasn't an option. Morbius Jun 2 #98

Thank you very much Morbius. I would take my lunch to school or in the early grades go home and eat. debm55 Jun 2 #110

Does bread and butter count? You can't screw that up. no_hypocrisy Jun 2 #99

HAHAHAHHAHHAH. Thank you very much. no_hypocrisy. I understand. debm55 Jun 2 #119

Pizza and stroganoff are what I remember. lark Jun 2 #100

HAHAHAHAH Thank you lark. I did a mix of buying(very seldom) and brown bagging lunch or no lunch. debm55 Jun 2 #114

M and M cookies milestogo Jun 2 #101

Thank you milestogo for that memory. Sometimes, I would buy just the dessert and milk, too. debm55 Jun 2 #120

I remember the lunch in school was $0.35. My friends and I would take that money and go to OLDMDDEM Jun 2 #102

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. Thank you very much for sharing that, OLDMDDEM debm55 Jun 2 #122

None of it. I went home in grade school; high school we had a Dairy Queen across from the football field catbyte Jun 2 #109

Thank you very much catbyte. Wow, a DQ across the street. Yummy. Thank you for sharing. debm55 Jun 2 #118

English muffin pizzas PJMcK Jun 2 #112

Thank you very much for sharing you memories, PJMcK. We had those English muffin pizza too, American cheese toppings and debm55 Jun 2 #116

Sloppy Joes, kozar Jun 2 #115

Thank you kozar. I loved the school's sloppy joes. debm55 Jun 2 #117

While, kozar Jun 5 #139

Thank you very much for you recipe, Koz. It is greatly appreciated. debm55 Jun 5 #140

In HS, Everything ProfessorGAC Jun 2 #123

Thank you ProfessorGAC. What wonderful choices. debm55 Jun 2 #124

Everything Cirsium Jun 2 #125

Thank you very much, Cirsium debm55 Jun 2 #126

My school had a great ala carte potato salad for 10 cents iwillalwayswonderwhy Jun 2 #127

Thank you very much iwillalwayswonderwhy. You were lucky you could buy ala cart.We had to buy by the tray. No more no debm55 Jun 2 #129

Same orangecrush Jun 2 #128

Thank you very much, orangecrush. debm55 Jun 2 #130

Most welcome! orangecrush Jun 2 #131

We had great cafeteria food. Haggard Celine Jun 2 #132

Thank you Haggard Celine. Wow gumbo with real shrimp. I could only dream. debm55 Jun 2 #133

Usually a greasy burger and soggy fries. boonecreek Jun 2 #134

Oh you! HAHAHHAHAHAHA. Thanks for sharing, boonecreek. debm55 Jun 2 #135

Cafeteria Rolls Beringia Jun 2 #136

Oh yes, they were great. Thank you, Beringia, for sharing the memory for us. debm55 Jun 2 #137

elm elementary school(art magnet) had awesome mock chicken w/ awesome rice. we walked home before that. br bag middle. pansypoo53219 Jun 2 #138

Thank you very much for sharing with us. pansypoo53219 debm55 Jun 5 #141