So a friend of ours is throwing a "39 going on 10" birthday party, which I think is an excellent idea — the idea as I understand it is to essentially have a kids' birthday party, party hats and all, rather than an adult one. Sounds like a blast. But we've been asked to bring a favorite treat from childhood, and I'm kind of stymied on that one.

Because when I was 10, my taste in food sucked. I ate raw hot dogs wrapped in American cheese. I really liked fish sticks and ketchup. I ate dill pickles wrapped in American cheese. I enjoyed grits. And peanut-butter sandwiches. And Kraft florescent-orange macaroni and cheese. On the rare occasions when I could get it, I loved treats like fast food, or Pop Tarts, or Oreos. It was an age where packaged foods and convenience foods were really coming into style, and I loved anything I could prepare on my own. Because what could be more grown-up than making your own bowl of grits on a Saturday morning at 6 a.m. before watching cartoons?

So I'm struggling to think of something I considered a childhood treat that I would actually want to put into my mouth today. I thought about bringing a selection of sugary cereals or Pop Tarts, but that seems lazy. (Granted, I'm spending that day at a water park, so I won't have a lot of time for baking, so lazy may be necessary.) Mostly, though… I don't eat hot dogs anymore. Ketchup is too sweet, American cheese is tasteless and rubbery to me. My tastes have changed profoundly since I was a kid — hell, last night I made a broccoli-and-leek stir fry, and loved it — so I'm still musing over how to take this assignment in the spirit it was intended.

This is not an Actual Problem. It will be easy enough to bring something involving sugar. What kid doesn't like sugar? And I'm pondering various creative solutions, from homemade juice pops (or Otter Pops, for that matter) to drinks involving the little plastic animals that were such a highlight for me at places like Farrells or Sonic.

It's mostly just that it's gotten me thinking again about how I still like a lot of the things I liked as a kid, like imagination games and fantasy books and amusement parks and board games, but my food tastes have changed utterly. So I'm wondering, are there foods you loved as a little kid and still love and eat at all frequently today?