23 Foods That Keep You Young

For some reason, there is a copy of Redbook magazine, featuring the lovely Kate Beckinsale on the cover with an article and pictures inside, in my home. Let me rephrase this. We didn’t buy the magazine, but a friend that subscribes to Redbook gave us this copy. That clears things up!

Anyway, the magazine cover includes the heading “23 Foods That Keep You Young.” The corresponding article lists foods such as apples, bananas, beans, berries, cabbage, canned salmon, kale, kiwi, oatmeal, papaya, spinach, whole grains, and yogurt. I don’t think the list even includes 23 foods. Nevertheless, I disagree with this list and decided to put together my own list of 23 foods that keep you young.

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, Graham Cracker & Marshmallows – This was probably the only time during your adolescence when you were permitted to place a food item on a stick and then place the stick in fire. Sure, you usually burned the marshmallow or didn’t get it close to the fire, but you helped create AND COOK delicious s’mores. Making and then eating s’mores definitely keeps you young.



Popcorn – I’m not referring to microwave popcorn where a potential disaster awaits if you place the bag down instead of up or up instead of down. I’m talking popcorn out of a popcorn machine. Ground Round used to give free popcorn to every table. Movie theaters where you can add your own butter also gave away free popcorn (okay, it wasn’t actually free but it was significantly cheaper back in the day). A local video rental store used to have free popcorn for all of its customers. My dad occasionally stopped into the store asking if a movie was available even though he knew it hadn’t come out on video yet just so he could pick up some popcorn. Maybe that’s why the store went out of business! Anyway, this just proves that popcorn keeps you young.

Peanuts and Cracker Jack – Yes, this is 100% because of the song, although I don’t think I ever had these at the same time at a baseball game.

Orange Slices – We used to get orange slices as a halftime snack during soccer games. Yummy (and a rare healthy selection on this list)!

Nerds, Pop Rocks, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gobstoppers, Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum & Kool-Aid – You’ll feel like a kid if you eat or drink any of these.



Matzo Ball Soup and Cherokee Red Pop (or soda for those of you who refer to soft drinks incorrectly) – I used to have this combination regularly at Rhoda’s in Squirrel Hill as a kid.

Twinkies – Someone please make sure that Hostess doesn’t go bankrupt and can still produce these wonderful treats.

Peeps – You just feel young seeing this food. Plus, there’s a diorama contest dedicated to the joy of Peeps!

Lucky Charms – They’re magically delicious!

Jello Mold – My grandmother used to make these for nearly every family occasion. It never disappointed.



Apples & Honey – Look, I agree with Redbook on apples! I hope that they dip their apples in honey. Sure, I only do this once a year on Rosh Hashanah, but it’s still fun and keeps me young.

Hot Dog & Fries from The O – Arguably the least healthy food option of my list, but going to the O reminds me of being a kid again when I went with my family. I’m still upset that they ran out of beef hot dogs during my last visit.

So what foods keep you young?