The "Rich Kid" Special
What did you eat growing up? For most of us, the fanciest thing we had for lunch was probably Lunchables. Anything that wasn't a plain ham-and-egg sandwich was special enough. But then there was the opposite end of the spectrum: the kids who not only had cool lunchboxes, but also snacked on foods you never even heard of. Prosciutto? Brie? San Pellegrino? What are those? Here are 20 foods only the rich kids ate growing up.
1. Smoked Salmon
Salmon you probably ate growing up. But the rich kids had smoked salmon—completely different from the filling most kids would find in their sandwich. Some might have even had it better: fancy-looking bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon. That was a good sign they probably weren't eating the cheapest thing in the refrigerator.
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2. Imported Chocolates
Plenty of kids grew up eating inexpensive candy bars—think Aero, Kit-Kat, Snickers... you get the point. But the rich kids? They kept boxes of imported chocolates. Whether they were Belgian pralines or Swiss chocolate assortments, you knew that they only had the good stuff to satisfy their sweet tooth.
3. Prosciutto
Bologna and sliced ham made regular appearances in most kids' lunchboxes. Paper-thin slices of prosciutto, though? That was definitely not something most parents would toss so generously in their child's sandwich. Another dead giveaway was when the same kid knew different types of cured Italian meat you had never even heard of.
4. Fresh Berries Out of Season
You got berries in your lunch bag when they were in season, sure. But having raspberries or blueberries year-round? That was something only the rich kids could afford. How else could they be getting fresh berries in the middle of winter?
5. Brie and Other Specialty Cheeses
Forget the Prosciutto. While you were likely familiar with cheese sticks and questionable orange slices you used to make grilled cheese sandwiches, the rich kids brought in wedges of brie, Gouda, Gruyère—cheeses that sounded oddly posh. Since specialty cheese could be expensive, having several varieties available for snacking was a pretty big tell.
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6. Sushi
Sure, you could get sushi. But there were often the local grocery store kind, not the fancy kind. For the rich kids, though, they regularly ate sushi from the best Japanese restaurants in the city, and had trays of perfectly sliced sashimi and mouth-watering specialty rolls. You, on the other hand, were only familiar with California or Dynamite roll.
7. Steak on a Regular Weeknight
It's not that you didn't have steak growing up, or that this was only a rich-people food. But premium cuts, like ribeye, filet mignon, or New York strip, were simply not the kinds you had for dinner on the regular. The rich kids, though, were plenty familiar with them.
8. Name-Brand Everything
Rich kids never brought in something that didn't have a brand slapped onto it. Every cracker, cookie, or juice box they had came in recognizable branded packaging. You might have had the cheap, generic store-brand alternative, but the posh kids had the best of the best.
9. Pine Nuts
Peanuts you knew. Even pistachios. But pine nuts? Most kids probably couldn't have identified a pine nut if you handed them one, but the fancy kids had them regularly, whether in salads or pasta. Homemade pesto loaded with pine nuts might have been their norm, but it was certainly not yours.
10. Fancy Bottled Water
If you walked into a rich kid's house and asked for water, and instead of getting a cup from the tap, you had choices. Choices! Open the fridge, and there were glass bottles of imported mineral water: Perrier, San Pellegrino, you name it. You never even knew water could be fancy.
11. Lobster
It wasn't just steak that the rich kids were having for dinner—they regularly ate lobster, too. Most kids probably didn't even know how to crack the tail or claws open, but the rich kids? Oh, they knew. In fact, they were already experts at it.
12. Imported Olive Oil
Having olive oil at home was enough to show you were from a different price bracket, but some grew up in households where their parents stocked premium extra-virgin bottles imported from Italy, Spain, or Greece. You, on the other hand, probably only knew about canola or vegetable oil.
13. Macarons
Macarons weren't the kind of cookies most kids had. Authentic ones were often sold individually or in small boxes, meaning they were fairly pricey. And yet, for the rich kids, they probably didn't even know that snacking on macarons wasn't a normal thing.
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14. Freshly Squeezed Juice
Sure, you had cartons of orange juice at home. But freshly pressed juice from a juice bar or premium grocery store was a totally different story. Rich kids, though, regularly had fresh orange, grapefruit, or specialty blended juice for breakfast.
15. Artisanal Ice Cream
Häagen-Dazs was fancy enough to you. But stick your head into a rich kid's freezer and you'd find plenty of brands with flavors and premium ingredients you probably didn't even know existed. Another telltale sign? While you opted for basic flavors like vanilla, the posh classmates wanted salted caramel dipped in nuts.
16. Truffle-Flavored Foods
Truffles themselves would already be excessively extravagant for a kid's diet, but that didn't stop the rich kids. From truffle oils to truffle chips, these were the things that were much more accessible to affluent families. Heck, you probably didn't even know what truffle tasted like!
17. Fresh Seafood
Frozen fish sticks were familiar snacks for most kids, but fresh scallops, halibut, and sea bass? The kids who often had fresh catch for dinner made it clear: they didn't need to stick to the budget staples. More jumbo shrimp, anyone?
18. Specialty Honey
You were likely familiar with the honey from plastic squeeze bottles growing up, but head over to a rich kid's place, and they had single-origin or imported varieties whose price tags were outrageous. Whether it was Manuka honey or specialty honeys made from specific flowers or regions, you could instantly tell they didn't have a typical childhood pantry.
19. Caviar
Even the rich kids probably weren't bringing caviar to school regularly, but tiny plates of it were always on the table when you went over for dinner. If you spotted them eating it on crackers or blini without thinking much of it, it's a sign that their family’s grocery habits were probably well outside the norm.
20. Restaurant Takeout Several Nights a Week
The ultimate rich-kid food might not have been one particular dish at all. In fact, just having the ability to order takeout more than once a week was already a big tell. Pizza on Monday, Thai on Tuesday, sushi on Friday... expensive as that might have been for you, the rich kids didn't even bat an eye.
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