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Mother Always Knows Best

Daisy Sepulveda

Languages & Cultures, Arizona State University

ENG 101: First-Year Composition

Kayla Rakita

October 28, 2022

Abstract

This food memoir narrates the story of how a certain food helps me identify myself as a person

that is a part of a certain community and the impact the food had on me through the use of

imagery and narration. I go over a recollection of events that occurred around the year 2012,

when I was in second grade and competing in box top competitions in order to be able to win a

Lunchables meal. My reliance on my mother’s opinion is what motivated me to continue to work

hard and continue to succeed in all of the box top competitions that my second-grade teacher

held for us. My mom always had our best interest in mind and continued to raise us in a way

where we learned to value hard work and to always try our best at anything and everything no

matter how undemanding it may have been.

Keywords: food memoir, personal narrative, competition, Lunchables

Mother Always Knows Best

Everyone has heard the famous saying, “We have food at home.” Personally, I was never

a fan of this saying because it meant that my mom would rarely purchase any prepackaged food

for my siblings and me. We would rarely complain though because my mom always made the

best food that I could imagine having. What made me yearn for such processed foods was school

lunches, especially in elementary school when everyone’s parents would send them to school

with lunches that contained lunchables of all different kinds. No matter how much I had begged

my mom for one of those small boxes that even I knew would not be filling to me, she would

always say no because not only were they somewhat expensive, but they also did not seem

appealing for her to be feeding us such meals knowing that there was perfectly good food at

home that I could take with me in my lunchbox. My parents had always been strict with us, but

in a way that kept us successful in being able to stay healthy, by eating good foods and staying

active through doing sports or just being active in general, and in school since they expected us

to maintain straight A’s, which evidently worked because even now I still worry about getting

anything lower than an A in the gradebook. A lot of the characteristics I developed throughout

the years of my life have come from the way my mom raised me since she was, and still is, a stay

at home mom who constantly cared for her six children and managed to raise us all with healthy

lifestyles and lots of love.

As I looked my mother in the eye with a motivation like no other, I was determined to

win the prize that our teacher had suspensefully told us about earlier in class. My mom always

loved to be the best at everything. If there was a competition, she would ensure that we did the

best that we possibly could be at whatever it was. As she sat me down at the lonely kitchen table,

she said, “Vas a colorear esta pagina antes que puedas llenarlo con los box tops,” (You are going
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to color this page before you can stick the box tops on). What I did not know is that I would be

spending an eternity in that cushioned chair that provided little to no comfort from how worn out

it was, making sure that I colored the page perfectly without a single stroke outside of the lines

that created different designs, it had to be perfect. I could feel the seconds, minutes, and hours

passing as I sat there wondering if this was what every single one of my classmates was also

doing. The process of coloring was not an easy one; if I made a mistake, I had to go and use my

giant green oops eraser to make sure the coloring that had been outside the line was no longer

visible. This became a regular occurrence and I had easily become the student who turned in the

most box tops to Ms. Crane. Although it seemed like a bit of a hassle, I loved to color because it

meant that I had finished my homework and could take the time to unwind from the hard life of a

second grader to color. I was given the creative freedom of being able to color the paper however

I liked; the only condition my mom had put on me was to make sure it was at least a bit realistic.

For example, if there was a tree on the coloring page then I would be expected to color the trunk

brown and the leaves green. After turning in as many papers as I possibly could, I finally

received the prize I had desperately wanted over those few days. Her friendly smile gave me a

sense of warmth and comfort as she approached me with the many options of trophies that I was

able to choose from. Not only did coloring these pages make me realize how important it is to

focus on a task, but I also learned to put my best effort into everything that I do in order to be the

best.

I opened the package to find the crackers that were neatly stacked, the block of cheese

that did not seem like it could be split into even slices, the turkey cut into perfectly round circles

to fit on the crackers just like the final piece of the puzzle fitting in and completing the image

after much effort, and lastly for dessert, an oreo that would delight my taste buds after finishing a
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meal that, to me, would be meant for a king. Impatiently I opened the package. I could not help

hearing the crinkle of flimsy plastic being removed from the container itself; it sounded like tape

that had stayed on a surface for too long but was still able to come off in one satisfying piece. I

was cautious, making sure that nothing fell out as I opened the Lunchable. I took a cracker that

was slightly larger than the palm of my hand, the punctured surface finding a balance on my

hand as I tried to not apply too much pressure or else it would break. I began to work like a claw

machine, taking each item I needed to end up putting it all in one place. The turkey slice was

next, fitting perfectly onto the cracker. I made sure to make my creation look exactly like the

image I had seen many times on the surface of the packaging of these small lunch boxes. The

rectangle of cheese was not as perfect as the rest of the food but it did not matter to me, as long

as the finished product was as good as I had always imagined it to be. The processed flavors of

the meat and cheese exploded in my mouth when I took my first bite. This is what I had worked

so diligently for and ever since then, I knew that I would be the one to win the box top collection

competitions. Weeks later, I found myself in the same situation, feeling the pressure of wanting

to be the student who brought back the most box tops in the class in order to collect yet another

trophy that would be gone after a couple minutes. My next trophy was the lunchables pizza. This

was yet another challenge, since the packaging differed greatly from that of the turkey

sandwiches. It reminded me of when I played Papa’s Pizzeria. I was in the simulation once again,

hard at work, I grabbed the disk of cold dough, I proceeded to then open the sauce packet that

would provide all the flavor needed to make this my best meal, the cheese, both white and

yellow strands. I was able to pile up as much of this delicacy as my heart pleased. I bit into what

I considered the best pizza to be made, in real life of course, and then I realized… This is not a

meal meant for a king. I proceeded to eat the two remaining pizzas because I was taught to never
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waste food and my mom was on my conscious saying, “Tienes que terminar toda tu comida

porque hay niños que no tienen de comer y tú sí, entonces cómetelo” (You have to eat all your

food because there are kids that don’t have anything to eat and you do, so you have to eat your

food). Something about having to eat cold pizza did not sit right with me, maybe if I was able to

heat up the pizza then it would taste better just like what I had expected. At this moment I

realized that I would have preferred to be able to hear my mom say that there was food at home.

This food would then provide the warmth that I could not get from the packaged foods that I had

always wanted. I learned that no matter what, a home cooked meal that I have seen prepared or

have prepared myself would always be better than something that is prepackaged and is not as

healthy for me. My mother was right, but every now and then I find myself still wanting to

indulge in buying myself one of those nostalgic pre-packaged meals.

The Classic Turkey and American Cracker Stackers

This nostalgic meal is what reminds me of a childhood in which I learned that in order to

feel successful, I had to put in the time and effort into my work in order to yield the best results I

could. The freshness that came from the refrigerated turkey and american cheese is what

delighted my young taste buds and kept me hooked on trying to do the most when competing

against my peers in second grade. Now I am able to indulge and buy myself these non-filling

lunch boxes or, even better, make my own.

Materials:

1. Plate

2. Knife

3. (Optional) Circle cookie cutter the size of the Ritz cracker

Ingredients:

1. 6+ Ritz crackers (6 crackers is what a typical lunchables would come with, but in order to

make a more filling meal more can be used)

2. 6+ Slices of turkey (this can be replaced with any kind of meat or meat substitute)
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3. 6+ Pieces of American or any other kind of choose you’d like (these can be of any size of

preference)

4. 2 Oreos

Directions:

1. Assemble the amount of crackers that were gathered onto the plate. Then proceed to cut

the turkey/meat of choice into the shape of a circle with the cookie cutter or shape the

slices to fit onto the cracker.

2. After placing all the meat onto the crackers, cut the cheese slices into an appropriate size

for the cracker stackers or do a similar procedure as can be done with the turkey by

folding the cheese to fit onto the crackers with the turkey.

3. From here, it is optional to make a stack of two crackers that would result in the name of

the recipe of a cracker stacker. It is also possible to create sandwiches by placing a

cracker on top of the ham and cheese.

4. Enjoy your meal and don’t forget to eat the two oreos for dessert!!
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Reference

[Image of a Lunchables Turkey and American Cracker Stacker that provides an image of a stack

of crackers, turkey, and cheese along with a cookie that resembles an oreo]. H-E-B.

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/oscar-mayer-lunchables-turkey-and-american-cracke

rs/140038