An ex-Mormon has shared some of the more unusual foods she grew up with – as well as her true thoughts about the dishes.
Alyssa Grenfell often talks about her upbringing online. She has disclosed that she grew up in a devout Mormon family but chose to leave the church when she was young. She frequently shares interesting details about the religion.
In a recent clip shared to TikTok, she listed four popular Mormon foods she grew up around, and what she rated them out of 10.
‘Here is a list of popular Mormon food and my rating of it as an ex-Mormon,’ Alyssa shared.
The first was dirty soda, which is non-alcoholic drink that combines soda with cream, flavored syrup, and sometimes fruit juice.
She mentioned a popular store called Swig, known for serving beverages that cater to Mormons. Coffee is prohibited in Mormonism, so alternatives like a large Diet Coke with coconut and half-and-half are embraced.
Alyssa gave this beverage ‘six out of 10,’ because it’s good, but does give her a stomach ache.
The next dish had a slightly morbid name – funeral potatoes.
‘Funeral potatoes are often served at funerals and other potlucks,’ the ex-Mormon explained.
‘They’re super cheesy and filling – I give it an eight out of 10 for nostalgia.’
Alyssa then moved on to something with some color – green Jell-o.
Jell-O is a common Mormon stereotype, known for its versatility in colors and mix-ins like pretzels, pineapple, and cottage cheese. The dessert holds a special place in Mormon culture.
‘I give it a question mark out of 10,’ she continued. ‘Because it depends on the mix-ins.’
The next dish Aslyssa showed was a bowl filled with a random assortment of foods – such as peas, olives and pineapple chunks, topped with crispy noodles, which she called ‘Hawaiin Haystacks.’
‘Yep, you guessed it, their origin has literally nothing to do with Hawaii,’ she shared.
‘I had these all the time rowing up and the weirdest topping was canned black olives,’ Alyssa added.
She rated the bowls a lowly two out of 10, because the rice was ‘always dry.’
The last food was ‘fry sauce’ – which was available everywhere that sold French fries.
‘It’s usually a combination of ketchup, mayonnaise and other spices,’ she said, ranking it a whopping 10 out of 10.
‘It is legitimately tasty,’ she quipped.
While there were a few people in the comments reminiscing on the Mormon foods they grew up with, others chimed in declaring them Utah foods – not Mormon.
‘These are not “Mormon” foods. These are Utah foods,’ one user responded.
‘I also grew up in Utah and I wouldn’t say this is “Mormon food” it’s just Utah food in general,’ agreed someone else.
For another, the foods depended on who is making it.
‘As someone who’s never been Mormon, but lives in Utah – the rating on funeral potatoes depends on who makes them,’ they laughed.
Alyssa tied the knot with her Mormon husband in her early 20s.
Not long afterwards, the couple left the Mormon church after grappling with the extent of its discrimination against women, non-white people, the LGBTQ+ community and more.
She’s since regularly spoken out about her experiences, from the bizarre dating norms, to post-death baptisms and the hyper-strict rules of Mormon institution Brigham Young University, to the phenomenon of ‘cult voice.’
