12 Food Horror Stories That Will Make You Cringe

Although many of our childhood food memories include slices of pizza at Chucky E. Cheese's and birthday cake at Skateland USA, there were definitely some less pleasant (mostly vegetable-related) encounters that are still real enough to get our gag reflexes going. Maybe it was that time your parents told you that a tomato really was a fruit, so you made the irreversible mistake of biting into the thing like it was a ripe Red Delicious. Or perhaps it was the time you felt that you were force-fed soggy Fig Newton "cookies" for a "treat" every day (I still haven't forgiven you, Mom — Fig Newtons are NOT cookies).

Whether it was a vegetable, a random food, or something with an icky texture, we've all been there. And for many of us, these bad ingredient associations never go away. Ahead, find 12 scarring food stories of yesteryear from R29 staffers. Read it, then tell us in the comments the childhood food you still can't stomach!