Snacks That Defined Childhood
Who can not remember coming home from school and scarfing a bowlful of Doo Dads or Tid-Bits? Our childhoods were built on a bed of snacks and treats that the current generation can’t even imagine. Here are a few of them that, sadly, are no longer affordable or available to us today.
Jello 1-2-3
Every mom’s go-to in the 70s, Jello 1-2-3 had three layers of gelatin, mousse, and toppings coming together to make a delicious yet easy-to-make dessert. Sadly, they were discontinued in the 90s. Today, they can only be found in the fond memories of people across America.
Peanut Butter Boppers
In the 80s, Nature Valley made their own “healthy” candy bars—Peanut Butter Boppers. Rich peanut butter sticks coated in cookie bits that made being healthy easier. While they were discontinued in ‘89 because of changing trends and increasing prices of nuts, anyone who grew up back then can remember EXACTLY what they tasted like.
Doo Dads
If you mix tid-bits, crunchy pretzels, wheat squares, and peanuts, you get Doo Dads—a snack mix whose replacement we still haven’t found. Anyone who grew up in the 80’s or 90’s will remember scarfing down bowlfuls of these after school. Sadly, rising nut costs caused it to slowly disappear off grocery store shelves by the 2000s.
Marathon Bars
Chewy, long caramel ropes coated in chocolate, eating these was almost as difficult as running a marathon. They were introduced in the 1970s and quickly became a candy aisle staple. But the costly, labour-intensive production method meant that by the 80s, they all but vanished.
Lemon Coolers
No, not the drink, the cookies! Zesty meltaway lemon cookies, dusted with sugar that were a childhood staple for many. The original version by Sunshine was lost to corporate mergers, and overseas production has made other versions available today, all but a luxury.
Little Debbie Chocolate Chips Cakes
We all remember these, right? Moist little devil’s food cakes covered in white chocolate with a generous sprinkle of chocolate chips on top. Ripping into one during lunchtime just lit your day up! Well, rising dairy costs over the years has meant that we’ve had to say goodbye to LIttle Debbie from our lunch boxes.
Banana Flips!
Nickles hit a home run with these—airy, spongy banana cake sandwiching a light, fluffy banana cream. Changes in the market, including a shift in production, now mean that Banana Flips! are no longer the staple lunchbox treat they used to be.
Heyday Bars
Have you ever wanted a better version of a Snickers Bar? If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, you know exactly what it tastes like—Heyday Bars. Too bad for us, these nutty, caramel-y candy bars fell victim to Nabisco’s cost-cutting efforts and disappeared off shelves in the 90s.
Seven Up Candy Bars
Can you imagine eating seven separate fillings in one candy bar? Well, that is exactly what Seven Up Candy Bars offered. Unfortunately, costly imported flavourings meant that Seven Up could not profitably exist in the candy market, causing it to disappear from shelves.
Choco’Lite Bars
Nestle’s answer to the demand for healthy candy in the 70’s and 80’s, Choco’Lite Bars were an aerated, moussey chocolate bar that was “lighter” compared to regular bars. However, rising costs of imported chocolates and the expensive aeration process meant that Nestle had to phase them out by the end of the 80’s.
PB Max
Imagine discontinuing one of your best-selling candies because you don’t like peanut butter. That is exactly what the Mars family did with PB Max. Even today, there are petitions online to bring back the peanut butter and cookie-coated candy, but the Mars company will not budge.
Fruit Wrinkles
Fruit, but make it candy—that is what General Mills did with Fruit Wrinkles. There were little crumpled-up bits of fruit leather that gave us a dose of Vitamin C along with a sugar rush. Increasing prices of specialised fruit flavourings in the 80s caused them to be discontinued, leaving us craving for them ever since.
Hostess Chocodiles
Twinkies’ chocolate-covered cousin, these cakes were a staple for anyone growing up in the 80s nationwide. As time went on, they became a West Coast exclusive and were slowly phased out completely. While we don’t know exactly why, rising chocolate import prices could be a reason for their demise.
Giggles Cookies
A little creepy to look at but a treat to eat, Giggles were sandwich cookies with smiling faces printed on them and stuffed with sweet cream. It seems they were laughing at their own demise as they were discontinued due to poor sales and increasing production costs by the late 80s.
Planters Cheez Balls
Neon orange cheese puffs that probably never had any real cheese—these were a treat we all snacked on, fistfulls at a time. They became a must-have for every game night and Super Bowl party thrown anytime between 1970 and 1990. However, as cheaper, foreign-made knock-offs flooded the market in the 2000’s, Planters was forced to discontinue this iconic snack.
Nestle Alpine White
Alpine White was Nestle’s white chocolate bar that was infused with almonds and crispy rice to give it a fun texture. As chocolate butter and almonds became more expensive, these went from a nice little treat to a luxury. Now, Alpine White is all but lost to the pages of the Nestle history book.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pies
Capitalising on the 80’s craze for the butt-kicking turtles, these green frosted hand pies came in colourful packaging and were stuffed with sweet vanilla pudding. As the TMNT craze died down, though, so did the pies, taking with them a taste of simpler Saturday mornings.
Hershey's Bar None
Hershey’s rarely has any misses, and Bar None was NOT one of them. A chocolate-coated wafer filled with crushed peanuts and chocolate filling, they were truly decadent. However, increasing production costs (likely from imported chocolates) meant that even a reformulation in the 90s could not save it from being axed.
Dunkaroos
Who else remembers eating Dino nuggets and Dunkaroos as a kid? These dippable dinosaur-shaped cookies were a childhood staple. The original formula was made with imported ingredients, which meant that over time, they became too expensive to produce. Today’s knock-offs taste nowhere close to the original we enjoyed as children.
O'Boisies Potato Chip
O'Boisies’ light and airy chips were different from any other on the market. Low on cholesterol, they were a healthier alternative that still packed a punch. In the 90s though, as Idaho potato prices fluctuated and cheaper foreign alternatives flooded the market O’Boisies was forced to leave the grocery store aisles.
Nabisco Swiss Cheese Crackers
Cheese crackers that looked like pieces of Swiss cheese? Yes, please! Nabisco introduced these in 1981, and they quickly became a fan favourite. However, as the 90s came on and foreign tariffs caused dairy prices to fluctuate, they became less and less profitable, ultimately leading to their discontinuation.
Shark Bites Fruit Snacks
Shark Bites were fruit gummies that looked like different sea creatures. Anyone who found the rare Great White Shark gummy was automatically a winner. Sadly, as natural fruit flavourings became more expensive and foreign substitutes became widely available, this fun little snack was quickly forgotten.
Corn-Quistos
Everyone who grew up in the 70’s knows that snacking on these corn puffs left your fingers coated in a distinct BBQ flavoured fuzz that would not come off easily. As corn prices rose, Corn-quistos had to be phased out, taking with them that perfect smoky-tangy crunch that no modern snack has managed to replicate.
Hostess Pudding Pie
A precursor to the TMNT pies, these were gooey hand pies filled with creamy chocolate pudding that defined an entire generation. Although they haven’t been completely discontinued, the increased prices of imported chocolate mean that today, they are more of an occasional treat than an everyday staple.
Tid-Bit
Introduced back in the 60’s, their unique log-like shape and texture made them taste more cheesy compared to competitors. That same flavour became its downfall, however, when the fluctuating state of the dairy industry caused Tid-Bits to become unprofitable despite being extremely popular.
Oreo Big Stuf
Imagine an Oreo four times the size of a regular one. That existed in the 80’s! The Oreo Big Stuf was essentially one giant Oreo with the perfect cream-to-cookie ratio. However, as the price of foreign cocoa increased, creating these giant cookies became less and less profitable, leading to their discontinuation.
Kudos Granola Bar
Covered in chocolate, Kudos Bars were essentially candy bars masqueraded as granola bars. That does not mean that they were any less beloved, though. We were all left disappointed when rising chocolate prices made it go from a breakfast staple to a rare treat.
Keebler Magic Middles
From 1989 to 2012, Magic Middles had a longer run than most on this list. These shortbread cookies filled with chocolate on the inside were adored by people across generations. Their popularity couldn’t save them, though, as they were discontinued due to rising chocolate costs.
Pudding Roll-Ups
Fruit Roll-Ups filled with creamy pudding, these little desserts were added to Betty Crocker’s line in 1987. However, they quickly realised that the dairy heavy dessert would not be profitable to produce long-term. Although only selling officially for a year, Pudding Roll-Ups left an impression on young minds across the country.
Morton’s Honey Buns
Tucking into one of these sweet, yeasty buns was just part of the morning routine in the 70’s. Their honey and pricey specialised flour became their downfall, causing them to be discontinued in the 2000s.
