How Life is Like Meatloaf

Our family prides itself on its rich meatloaf-making history. My mom made a killer “loaf,” we looked forward to immensely as part of our family’s Special Sunday Dinner rotation.

Accompanied by mouth-watering mashed potatoes, gorgeous butter-slathered green beans, yummy, yeasty rolls, and a scrumptious life-changing dessert like pineapple upside cake, meatloaf remained the reigning food champion, even amongst such esteemed food offerings. And all homemade, ladies and gentlemen.

(Even as I write this, my salivary glands are joining me in my gastronomic walk through the food court of my youth.)

I wouldn’t say I’m known for my culinary wizardry, but there are a few things I can cook well. Meatloaf is one of them. I’m actually proud of the fact that I’ve successfully carried on the family meatloaf-making tradition, complete with a jaunty ketchup racing stripe on the top.

Because I like mining the online repositories for non-essential information, for no apparent reason, I researched how meatloaf came to be.

You may be interested to know, its humble beginnings date back to colonial times when a solid meal meant forming together all manner of meat scraps and binding elements into a solid loaf, which could then be sliced like bread.

Yum! What’s not to love about a meat byproduct main course you can slice?

The funny thing is while that sounds awful, meatloaf has the staying power of another “doesn’t sound great when it’s described,” meat-based entrée — SPAM. Both of these products were invented as ways to make “main meats” into miracle meats.

In the 1940s meatloaf was known as the “Vitality Loaf,” while SPAM came about as a pseudo-acronym deriving from, “spiced ham.” And people ate ’em up, loving these two meat amalgamations.

(You can see there have always been some incredibly talented people working on the Meatloaf and SPAM Marketing Teams.)

Let’s get back to meatloaf, specifically.

The truth of the matter is meatloaf has become iconic. It’s not just considered a meat repurposing recipe, but rather a meal of choice. It’s certainly been the preferred meal in my family.

So much so that my eldest had a meatloaf birthday celebration when she was a tween, per her request, which had me thinking — not for the first time — that we may be the oddest party-throwing family ever.

That is, until I read articles about the fact that the incredibly stylish author, Jackie Collins, often threw meatloaf parties for her friends, and so does the omni-talented, Dolly Parton. (Fun Fact: The Parton Family Favorite is called the Tennessee Meatloaf.)

Who knew I’d be in such stellar meatloaf-mixing-up company?

It’s not always easy preserving traditions, and meatloaf-making is no exception. Woe was me when the aforementioned eldest child “went vegetarian.” This was followed by my youngest landing firmly in her, “Ewww, that’s disgusting” phase about basically anything I was doing, meatloaf-serving included, rendering my meatloaf fixing days to fewer and fewer.

But I persevered, staying true to myself and (mostly to) my family’s tradition, whipping up all manner of meatloafs, in all manner of new family-delineated dietary preferences — Low fat, Whole30, Gluten-free, vegetarian. Until the day arrived.

I asked my family what I should make for one of our patented early bird, weekend family cookoffs, and do you know what they wanted? Barbecue!

That’s okay. Life is about timing, and so I waited it out until the following Season of the Oven: Winter. That’s when everyone agreed meatloaf sounded lovely in its original recipe form. We were back on track, baby!

This has all gotten me thinking about how meatloaf may be likened to life because there are so many lessons I’ve learned along the way about both.

My long(-winded) telling of my meatloaf-making history has led me to create a list where you can substitute the word “life” for “meatloaf.” Give it a go.

(If you’re a vegetarian this list can still work for you, just replace “meatloaf” with tofu, bean curd, eggplant, or any other meat alternatives you utilize in your family meal-making rotation. Then substitute in the word “life.”)

1. Meatloaf feels like it’s too much work sometimes, but it’s always, always worth it.

2. No one knows exactly how to create the perfect meatloaf, but you can get some pretty good pointers from those who have been at it longer than you.

3. Enjoying meatloaf means taking the time to savor it, so you don’t miss the subtle nuances along the way that make it all worthwhile.

4. Making a good meatloaf is a process, so you’ll have some failed attempts. Persevere.

5. It takes time to make a good meatloaf, so don’t be tempted to take shortcuts in creating your memorable meatloaf.

6. Meatloaf may not end up the way you think it should, but that doesn’t mean you won’t end up loving it. Embrace meatloaf’s possibilities.

7. Meatloaf is all about the sum total of what you put into it. As long as you’re intentional when you’re creating your meatloaf it’ll all work out in the end.

8. Though many profess to have the perfect recipe for a fulfilling meatloaf, it always comes down to the way you want your meatloaf to turn out.

Now go out there and make your best meatloaf!