17 OG Foods That 80’s Kids Loved Then and Miss Now!

Source: People.com

The consumers of today have a million options to choose from, even if it’s a lemon-lime soda. But back in the 80s, the OG was Slice Soda. It belonged to the PepsiCo company and came in different fruit flavors. It is not surprising that only 10% of the drink actually had any fruit flavoring. The rest of it was just sugar and soda. But nothing beats a cool drink of Slice soda after an evening of biking in the streets, does it? The drink was later discontinued in 2006 only to be replaced by other sodas from the company. Your Sprites and 7ups can come and go but there is nothing quite like a sip of Slice soda to quench that evening thirst.

2. Cool Ranch Doritos

Source: People.com

Doritos has been around since the 1960s but the product that revolutionized the brand came out in 1986. The Cool Ranch Doritos are a crowd favorite anywhere in America and you have us, the 80s kids, to thank for that. We created a demand that was met by Doritos and now, there is no looking back. I mean, whoever thought of turning ranch into a seasoning that can be coated on Doritos deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, if you ask us, 80s kids.

3. The Country’s Best Yoghurt

Source: Dontwasteyourmoney.com

The 80s were also the first time that frozen yogurt became widely popular. Before its second burst of fame in the early 2000s, we made frozen yogurt a household name across the country. Especially The Country’s Best Yogurt, which was the go-to brand for yogurt back then. It was a refreshing dessert that required an acquired taste and if you had to show off on your first date, that is what you would order to give off a sophisticated vibe.

4. Dairy Queen Blizzard

Source: Victoriabuzz.com

If there was one thing common across the coolness spectrum of the American high school back in the 1980s, it was the Dairy Queen Blizzard. Whether you were the prom king/queen, the nerd, the sports jock, or anyone else in between, The Blizzard was the comfort food for all kinds of issues. It was new, it was cool and it had candy chunks in it! I mean, no wonder it’s still iconic, right? Back in 1985, DQ employees would hold the thick shake upside down just to show us how dense it is, packed with all the goodness (not really), of candy.

5. Totino’s Pizza Roll

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Man, the 80s were truly legendary when it came to food! They took the pizza, packed them into a roll, and made them easier than ever before to consume as a snack. The pizza roll was actually around from the 1960s. But it was in the 80s when the company sold the product to Pilsbury. They packaged and remarketed it to our favorite Pizza rolls that we all still enjoy today.

6. Pepperidge Farm Star Wars Cookies

Source: Starwars.com

While the meme creators of today know Pepperidge farm from the memes, the brand was the first one to properly capitalize on the Star Wars craze. They created iconic cookies to pay homage to the iconic series in peanut butter, vanilla, and chocolate flavors. Once you opened a packet of America’s favorite Pepperidge farm cookies, you will find cookies in the shape of your beloved characters, even Jabba the Hut made a rare appearance. While Star Wars has thousands of merchandise, this one was by far the tastiest of the lot. 

7. Care Bear Waffles

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Back when all of us naively trusted brands, this one did not fail to disappoint us. Care Bear Waffles promised a bear hug in every bite and it truly was the edible equivalent of emotional support (did we start the concept of stress eating, guys?). Their breakfast treats came with specs of berries of different colors and gave us the sugar rush needed to start the day off on a high. 

8. Fat Frog Ice Cream

Source: Pinterest

This famous 80s food made its way to America all the way from Ireland. It was called just the ‘fat frog’ - it is a fruit-flavored ice pop in the shape of a frog. To make it even more appealing, the frog came with bright red gumball eyes. Now, who could say no to that? You could not only get this at supermarkets but also get them from ice cream trucks on the weekends when you would binge watch Double Dare.

9. Smurf Berry Crunch Cereal

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The Smurfs was one of the most popular animated shows that we 80s kids enjoyed. You’re welcome, rest of the generations. So, naturally, when Post came up with the cereal version of our favorite show we literally ate up the idea. The cereal was throughout the 80s and was, in fact, a very popular topic of discussion when it first came out. 

10. Dr. Pepper Gum

Source: Snackoree.com

If you want signs to show that the 80s couldn’t have gotten weirder, look no further than the Dr. Pepper Gum. It was not enough for us to drink the soda. Our craze for the flavor made the brand come out with a gum that had the same flavor. The gum’s center was filled with a liquid that came with the standard spicy soda flavor of the Dr. Peppr drink.

11. Twix

Today, kids love Twix, that great-tasting candy bar with “chocolate, caramel, and a surprising cookie crunch.” But did you know that this popular twin candy bar was once called Raider Bars? When Raiders Bars first moved abroad to America in 1979, they needed a new, catchier name and became known as Twix. 

12. Candy Cigarettes

Sound inappropriate? Yes! Candy cigarettes have been around for decades now, but it was first became popular in the 80s. This candy came in packages with names like the popular brands of cigarettes, Marlboro, Lucky Strike, or Jolly Viceroy. 

Candy cigarettes were made out of bubblegum or chocolate, some even had a light dusting of powdered sugar that produced a puff of smoke when you blew on it. Surprisingly, it wasn’t until 2009 when the Food and Drug Administration, under the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, banned the production of these candies as cigarettes. 

13. Big League Chew

In the 80s, like the big league baseball players, every kid wanted Big League Chew bubble gum to chew while watching their favorite baseball team. It used to come in a pouch-like packet and was shredded to look like the chewing tobacco the players in the big leagues used.

14. Baby Ruth

Well, you might remember the Goonies, do you? It was an amazing 1985 adventure film based on a story by Steven Spielberg. The Goonies was related to kids fighting bad boys and running from booby traps while searching for treasure. There is a scene where Chuck befriends Sloth by throwing a Baby Ruth at him, which Sloth gobbles up. Yes, that’s Baby Ruth, a chocolate-covered peanut and caramel nugget candy bar. It had been around for years and every 80s kids loved it.

15. Wonka Runts

Wonka Runts, you may have already guessed by its name, looked like runt fruits and were fruit-flavored candies. It was first sold in 1982. Runts were part of the Willy Wonka candy lineup that was very popular during the 80s and offered the same whimsical fun as all the Willy Wonka candies to kids. 

16. Skittles

You may be surprised to know the name Skittles comes from a sport of the same name because these candies resemble items used in the game. In 1979, it was when Americans first got to “taste the rainbow,” and kids in the 80s loved these multicolored, fruit-flavored, button-shaped candies that sailed "somewhere over the rainbow" in popularity.

17. Reese's Pieces

This beloved 80s candy is another kid-loved OG food. While Reese's Pieces was first introduced in 1977, a classic movie E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial made these candies popular. These delicious yummy candies have a peanut butter center with a multicolor cracking coating and look similar to M&Ms. Surprisingly, Reese's Pieces only got the gig when M&M declined.

Now, how was that trip down memory lane? Did we miss out on any other iconic foods of the 80s? Let us know in the comments below.

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