Easy Sheet Pan Mini Meatloaves

Sooner or later, everything old is new again.

It doesn’t only seem that everything old is new again, it is. There’s been a recent rise in nostalgia, led by Millennials. Polaroid instant cameras, for example, have made a big comeback, and so have flannel shirts and acid-washed jeans. Nowhere is the emergence of nostalgia more prevalent than in food.

As is always the case, when the pendulum swings, it returns to where it came from, and it is no different with food fads. After several years of food trends focused on eliminating things from our diets, with gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, no-carb, low-carb, vegan, Keto, Paleo, and the like, traditional comfort foods are back with a vengeance. Suddenly all those posts about cauliflower "crusts" are being replaced with homemade sourdough pizzas, and people everywhere are looking to the foods of their childhood, and sometimes their parents' childhoods, for kitchen inspiration.

For many of us, our childhoods are filled with memories of carnival rides and fun, ice cream, and family barbecues. Food has always been one of the strongest sources of nostalgia. The other life experiences that provide the building blocks of nostalgia may come later, but food always goes back to childhood. When we associate foods with happy memories, the effects are profound, impacting how good we think foods taste as well as how good those foods make us feel.

Currently, we are in the midst of a Retro Revolution. Familiarity, convenience, affordability and a sense of nostalgia have cooks returning to the dishes of the past, and Southern food brings comfort like nothing else on earth. There's no better way to welcome a new neighbor or support a new mom, no more reliable cure for whatever ails you than classic comfort food—whether you make it like Mama or use every shortcut in the book. Your go-to comfort food recipes likely say a little something about where you grew up. Shrimp and grits or she-crab soup? You're probably from South Carolina. King Ranch Casserole or chicken-fried steak? Tell all the folks back in Texas we say hey. Gumbo and jambalaya? You bleed purple and gold. Of course, some Southern food crosses all regional boundaries. In kitchens from Baltimore to El Paso, you'll find worn copies of comfort food recipes for pot roast, fried chicken, meatloaf, buttermilk biscuits, and macaroni and cheese. The good news? They're back.

I don’t know about you, but I find it particularly magical how food can transport you to another time or place just by its taste or smell. There may be no regional cuisine better for taking you out of reality than Southern food. There's no denying it—people in the South really know how to cook. From spicy stews to creamy side dishes to crunchy, fried, well, everything, Southern classics are the definition of comfort foods. These dishes are passed through generations to create meals that can bring people together.

Since nostalgic food makes people feel good, it should be no surprise that consumers crave it. Millennials are growing up and because the world is complicated they are looking back at nostalgic cuisine. Tapping into nostalgia for childhood foods is a science; creating those foods with both authenticity and permissible indulgence is an art.