Ah! Seems like parents etc either fed you ALL the insane super processed deliciousness or almost none of it. My sister was allowed to eat spray cheese, slim jims, Velveeta, etc
FOR BREAKFAST
I still have a terrible time making myself drink water. Mom was full sugar kool-aid and every soda. Plus Tang. And instant iced tea. Does anyone remember MicroShakes? Microwavable milkshakes.
We were in the middle. Big Italian family so the food was always homemade and delicious. But there were the outliers like Steak-umms mixed in there with Jello pudding pops and Devil Dogs. lol
Shamefaced. You tell us steakumms still exist in the last sentence and I just refused to internalize it. I got so excited about pudding pops I stopped reading. International Delights Instant Coffees?
The one I miss: Five Alive. Not sure if that was a national brand or regional, but it was a fruit juice in a very distinct milk-carton-like container with each letter corresponding to the color of a fruit in the mix.
Liz, a retired boomer Coca-Cola bottler here and believe me, no one misses New Coke! May of 1985… the worst of times when it came out. Quickly reintroduced Classic Coke in August and Cherry Coke thereafter, so all was well.
Coke Zero saved me from diabetes - I’d love to hear the story behind it. My understanding was that Diet Coke was made to taste more like Pepsi and that New Coke was basically Diet Coke with sugar. Coke Zero tastes close enough to Coca-Cola for me, to the point where when I get a Mexican Coca-Cola, the syrupy sugar film in my mouth grosses me out.
Joe, you are absolutely correct… Coke Zero rocks. At seventy-one with high blood pressure, the Caffeine Free Coke Zero has been my weight watcher version! In 2005, the beverage chemists at The Coca-Cola Company perfected the taste match with original Coca-Cola. In order to match the sweetness artificially, they blended aspartame (Equal as it known commercially) and “ace-K” (acesulfame potassium) for what I think is a marvelous taste superiority! It has been an unbelievable addition to Coke and Diet Coke. Glad you like it, too… continue enjoying! Best regards.
That’s awesome - I haven’t seen the caffeine free version, I’ll need to look for that because can’t have caffeine after about 3pm if I have any hope to sleep that night. Thanks for the background, I knew the sweeteners were different but didn’t know the specifics. Here’s to you enjoying many years of your retirement- I’ll tip a can of it to you!
King Vitamin cereal! Pure sugary goodness! Then mom started buying Grapenuts…. Which weren’t too bad after you put sugar on them, haha! And then there were yogurt pushups…
I loved breakfast bars. Sometimes the chocolate would stick to the silvery inside wrapper if it was too hot and they weren’t really dunkable, but great with milk
King Vitamin was the holy grail. We got to pick one box of “bad” cereal on our Bdays and mine was almost always KV or Honey Sugar Smacks. The rest of the time it was Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and Corn Flakes.
FYI - You can still buy Reggie bars online. Tastes the same as I remember.
My mom was taken in by the “vitamin” in King Vitamin but she wised up so she started buying the “healthier” cereals. Like Cheerios, Special K, Rice Krispies, Chex…. 😄
I so miss the texture of the original carnation breakfast bars, they reformulated before they were discontinued and the original chalky texture was replaced with something akin to rice crispy treats. So disappointing.
They already brought back Frankenberry and Count Chocula, at least for the halloween season, so I don't feel it appropriate that I ask for more, I am at peace.
I've seen Boo Berry at our local Food Lion as well... though not all the time. Either there's a short fall in the harvest of whatever berry it is that is used to create the Boo or it's up to the grocery chain in question - if the latter case, the "bastards" appellation is definitely valid. Never seen the Carmella Creeper flavor, will have to check this coming fall.
The marathon bar was twisted chocolate & caramel that was 12 inches long! The wrapper had a ruler on it to prove the point. The best part was the commercials. Usually a bad cowboy calling out the sheriff for a gun fight. But , first, the sheriff had to finish his marathon bar. This took so long the bad guy would give up or fall asleep…. Can’t remember which.
Jello pudding pops were so delicious. People still mention them from time to time. Absolutely the best.
Agreed Just had a group discussion at a get together about pudding pops. It's pretty universal.
Do you guys remember "Steak-ummms" ?! Don't miss them, just remember them.
Yes! My grandmother made them for us all the time!
Ah! Seems like parents etc either fed you ALL the insane super processed deliciousness or almost none of it. My sister was allowed to eat spray cheese, slim jims, Velveeta, etc
FOR BREAKFAST
I still have a terrible time making myself drink water. Mom was full sugar kool-aid and every soda. Plus Tang. And instant iced tea. Does anyone remember MicroShakes? Microwavable milkshakes.
We were in the middle. Big Italian family so the food was always homemade and delicious. But there were the outliers like Steak-umms mixed in there with Jello pudding pops and Devil Dogs. lol
Have been missing them for decades.
I miss them every summer and have truly considered making them…
When they changed Super Sugar Crisp to Golden Crisp, that was the official start of the Gaslighting Era
Ha! I hadn’t read the comments when I posted that below!!
🤣 I remember that!
Shamefaced. You tell us steakumms still exist in the last sentence and I just refused to internalize it. I got so excited about pudding pops I stopped reading. International Delights Instant Coffees?
Int'l Delights still around and I read somewhere that they got new flavors, my sister and I felt so rich and fancy when Mom got it for us. Lol
There's a Maxwell House version but it's not as exhaustive lol.
Wait. This isn't food but; do you remember Revlon's International Beauty (?or something?) Line of shampoo and conditioner?
I lived in the boonies tho so I probably didn't have access
I was in Kentucky. City in Kentucky but still. Side note: remember how long trends took to spread, if they did? Crazy.
Me too!
Which one? KY?!!
No, I don't remember that
These are all terrific!
The one I miss: Five Alive. Not sure if that was a national brand or regional, but it was a fruit juice in a very distinct milk-carton-like container with each letter corresponding to the color of a fruit in the mix.
Aspen apple soda. And of course, the original Hostess fruit pies, especially the rarest ones...strawberry and blueberry. :)
And those Hostess pudding pies! Yummers
Liz, a retired boomer Coca-Cola bottler here and believe me, no one misses New Coke! May of 1985… the worst of times when it came out. Quickly reintroduced Classic Coke in August and Cherry Coke thereafter, so all was well.
Keep up the good work… love your reads.
Cherry Coke was my favorite when it came out. I can still remember the commercials: “New Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Coke!”
…outrageous!
Coke Zero saved me from diabetes - I’d love to hear the story behind it. My understanding was that Diet Coke was made to taste more like Pepsi and that New Coke was basically Diet Coke with sugar. Coke Zero tastes close enough to Coca-Cola for me, to the point where when I get a Mexican Coca-Cola, the syrupy sugar film in my mouth grosses me out.
Joe, you are absolutely correct… Coke Zero rocks. At seventy-one with high blood pressure, the Caffeine Free Coke Zero has been my weight watcher version! In 2005, the beverage chemists at The Coca-Cola Company perfected the taste match with original Coca-Cola. In order to match the sweetness artificially, they blended aspartame (Equal as it known commercially) and “ace-K” (acesulfame potassium) for what I think is a marvelous taste superiority! It has been an unbelievable addition to Coke and Diet Coke. Glad you like it, too… continue enjoying! Best regards.
That’s awesome - I haven’t seen the caffeine free version, I’ll need to look for that because can’t have caffeine after about 3pm if I have any hope to sleep that night. Thanks for the background, I knew the sweeteners were different but didn’t know the specifics. Here’s to you enjoying many years of your retirement- I’ll tip a can of it to you!
Saturday morning cartoons and a box of diabetes were the best parts of the era.
🤣
King Vitamin cereal! Pure sugary goodness! Then mom started buying Grapenuts…. Which weren’t too bad after you put sugar on them, haha! And then there were yogurt pushups…
My brother was such a douche, the commercials said it would make you smarter. So his lifelong fall into narcissism began at age 6.
😆
I miss Carnation Breakfast Bars
They were really good!
I loved breakfast bars. Sometimes the chocolate would stick to the silvery inside wrapper if it was too hot and they weren’t really dunkable, but great with milk
When they melted I would put them in the freezer, problem solved :P
On those long car trips they were excellent
King Vitamin was the holy grail. We got to pick one box of “bad” cereal on our Bdays and mine was almost always KV or Honey Sugar Smacks. The rest of the time it was Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and Corn Flakes.
FYI - You can still buy Reggie bars online. Tastes the same as I remember.
My mom was taken in by the “vitamin” in King Vitamin but she wised up so she started buying the “healthier” cereals. Like Cheerios, Special K, Rice Krispies, Chex…. 😄
Don't just sizzle fat, Liz, Sizzlelean!
I so miss the texture of the original carnation breakfast bars, they reformulated before they were discontinued and the original chalky texture was replaced with something akin to rice crispy treats. So disappointing.
A group of us nicknamed my friend sizzlean in jr high.
I’m guessing he had game. Was he lean and did he sizzle?
No. His last name rhymed with Sizzlean
🤣
They already brought back Frankenberry and Count Chocula, at least for the halloween season, so I don't feel it appropriate that I ask for more, I am at peace.
They should bring back Fruity Yummy Mummy though. Instead, they created a new caramel apple flavor: Carmella Creeper ☹️
But alas, no Boo Berry......bastards.
I see Boo Berry sold alongside Franken Berry & Count Chocula in grocery stores every Fall!
I've seen Boo Berry at our local Food Lion as well... though not all the time. Either there's a short fall in the harvest of whatever berry it is that is used to create the Boo or it's up to the grocery chain in question - if the latter case, the "bastards" appellation is definitely valid. Never seen the Carmella Creeper flavor, will have to check this coming fall.
So miss Pudding Pops. I know Popsicle makes a fudge pop that’s out there but it’s not the same.
The marathon bar was twisted chocolate & caramel that was 12 inches long! The wrapper had a ruler on it to prove the point. The best part was the commercials. Usually a bad cowboy calling out the sheriff for a gun fight. But , first, the sheriff had to finish his marathon bar. This took so long the bad guy would give up or fall asleep…. Can’t remember which.