Do You Remember These Foods Every ’80s Kid Wanted in Their Lunch Box?

FOOD & DRINK

1.3K PLAYS

By: Lauren Lubas

7 Min Quiz

Image: Wiki Commons by Evan-Amos / filo / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images

About This Quiz

There is one part of school that every kid remembers: lunchtime. It was a great way to socialize with our friends without getting in trouble, and we could discuss all of the cool things we were going to do when school was over. Lunchtime in the 1980s gave us the opportunity to check the awesome lunch boxes our friends had. They were stamped (or stickered) with our favorite cartoon characters. They came with little plastic thermoses that had small cups on top. They were awesome, but what was inside was way more important than what was outside. 

Cool parents gave their kids snacks and various lunch treats in the 1980s. If you were lucky enough to have some of these packed in your lunch, your friends always wanted to trade, but you would only trade if they had something way cooler than you. Of course, you always had the option to split something and share, but only if your friend shared as well. 

Right now, it's time to see just how much you remember about school lunch from the '80s. If you can name all of these, you probably had them in your lunch box (or you had that friend who always pulled them out). 

Your BLT probably had this "healthier" bacon substitute. Do you remember what it was called?

Sizzlean was a healthier form of bacon that claimed to have 50% less fat without sacrificing the flavor. You had to hurry to buy it though, because it was "flying out of the store" (it wasn't).

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Do you recognize this Hostess product?

Hostess was the leading company in sugars and saturated fats, and children in the 1980s loved them. Pudding pies were an excellent way to get your pudding and your pie at the same time (lunchtime) when you were a kid.

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Keebler created these chips that had an interesting texture. What are they?

Tato Skins no longer exist, but you can get a similar product in the TGI Friday's bagged potato skins. However, in the 1980s, if you wanted a real crunch to your chips, you could get these bad boys that came in several flavors.

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Betcha bit a chip when you ate this cookie at lunch. What is it?

Chips Ahoy! cookies had a lot of great marketing techniques. They talked about how many chocolate chips were in each cookie (and even went so far as to advertise that on the packaging). It was an odd guarantee, but it worked, and kids loved the little cardboard circles.

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Before Fruit Snacks, '80s kids got these. What are they?

Fruit Wrinkles were basically just Fruit snacks. They didn't have a lot of different flavors (they all pretty much tasted the same), but they were a great alternative to gummy bears.

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What green drink did everyone want in their lunch box?

Ecto Coolers were the greatest thing on Earth because they had Slimer from "Ghostbusters" on them. The taste was dangerously close to melted green Jell-O, but this was back in the days when high fructose corn syrup was totally healthy for kids.

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Can you name these snacks that even Rainman liked to eat?

Cheez Balls were awesome. They came in a little canister so you didn't crush them on the way to school. Though they aren't made anymore, there are some pretty close substitutes you can get these days.

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The Keebler elves made these cookies in their own image. Can you name these fudge-filled delights?

E.L. Fudge cookies had a little elf on them, and they were shaped like the cartoon characters who made them. It was a great marketing technique that attracted a lot of children, and the cookies weren't half bad if you dipped them in milk.

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What are these chocolaty patties of sugar that belonged in every '80s kid's lunch box?

Star Crunch bars were made by Little Debbie. They had chocolate covered rice cereal surrounding some sort of soft cookie covered in caramel. They were everything we wanted in the 1980s because they were pure sugar (you know, for energy).

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Which flavor of Doritos chips had a little sombrero on the bag?

You can say what you want about Doritos, but if you've never had a taco flavored Dorito, you've never lived. They had a cheesy taste with just a hint of sour cream on the back end. They were the perfect chip.

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These classic drinks were said to give kids energy. Do you know what they're called?

Capri Sun was originally marketed as a sports drink for kids ... because pure sugar and citric acid will get anyone hyper. Every '80s kid who brought these to school lunch knows the pain of having that cheap straw break.

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These crackers gave you your daily dose of sodium in a single bite. Can you name them?

What do you get when you sprinkle crushed chicken bouillon cubes onto a cracker? Chicken in a Biskit by Nabisco. These crackers were salty and absolutely delicious when mixed with cream cheese and pretty much any dip.

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Any kid who had a tube of this at lunchtime got some serious attention. Can you name it?

Easy Cheese was simply the best. Sure, it had the same texture and fortitude as plastic, but putting it on a cracker was absolutely life-changing. If you brought one of these to the lunch table, everyone served up their chips and crackers for a squirt.

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Some kids were lucky enough to have a box of what kind of crackers (that were actually cookies)?

Animal crackers were all the rage in the 1980s, mostly because Teddy Grahams hadn't hit the market just yet. They were an excellent way to have a cracker that wasn't too sweet. Kids needed their carbs back then, and these were the best way for them to get it.

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Granola bars are supposed to be good for you, but can you name these that were coated in chocolate?

Kudos granola bars were the side that healthier parents chose for their kids' lunches. However, the only thing that made these healthier is that they were about half the size of other granola bars on the market.

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These bad boys debuted in 1985, and they claimed to be a complete lunch in one package. Do you know what they're called?

There was something about eating a Lunchable at school that made you feel far superior to your classmates who had homemade sandwiches in their lunch boxes. Not only did your parents purchase this for you, they even placed it in your lunch bag. It was pretty sweet of them, really.

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Do you recognize these frosted cakes?

Like most Hostess products, Zingers were made up of a sponge cake substance filled with hydrogenated oil and covered in a plastic-like frosting. Their shape changed their flavor (they didn't), and kids in the '80s loved them in their lunch boxes.

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These were a totally different kind of chip. Do you know what they are?

Though you can still get Bugles at your local grocery store, the 1980s really showed them off as the most amazing snack in the world. They were light, airy and crunchy all at the same time. Oh, and they were saltier than ramen.

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Can you name this super-sized cookie that some kids were lucky enough to have in their lunch boxes?

The '80s wanted to make everything bigger. We were a country of wealth and growth, so why not make the biggest Oreo possible? Calories didn't matter back then, but sugar always mattered to kids, so these were a hit.

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What were these stuffed cookies called?

Magic Middles were about as plain as cookies could get in the '80s. Everything in the '80s had to be packed with various candies and fruits and sprinkles, but Magic Middles stayed true to themselves and were simply filled with chocolate.

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When it came to the fake cheese craze of the '80s, which snack was at the top of everybody's list?

Handi-Snacks certainly were handy to have around. Although, no one recommends that you drive and eat them. They take two hands. One to hold the plastic container and one to maneuver the little red stick around in order to get the plastic cheese out of the tub and spread it on your cracker.

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These were popular even before the great white joined the team. Do you remember what they are called?

Everyone knows that Shark Bites were the fruit snack of choice back in the day. Though each piece simply looked like a blob (and definitely not a shark), children would throw wild fits until these were thrown in their lunch boxes.

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As Keebler tried to push its way into the chip world, these bad boys came out, and they were flavored for the decade. Do you know what they're called?

Thanks to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (movies and cartoon), pizza was the only thing that children of the 1980s wanted to eat. It only made sense that a company would try to profit off of this and make a chip flavored appropriately for the children of the time.

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Can you name this terrifying cookie with a face on it?

What are they laughing at anyway? Putting human faces onto food was a good idea back in the day. Once the Internet was popularized and taking pictures of epic fails came along with it, the faced-food started to fade away.

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Do you remember these fruit-like snacks that chimps loved?

Fruit Roll-Ups were the corporate take on fruit leather. However, being made with "real fruit flavor" was just a ploy to get kids to eat the sugar that they packed into these little guys. But hey, we all loved them, and they were a great trading tool at school lunches because you could split them up.

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You probably begged your mom for these after you saw a certain alien eating them. Do you remember what they're called?

Everyone knows that Reese's Pieces made a huge comeback after "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" came out. A lot of people don't know that M&Ms candies were the first choice, but they turned down the deal. That was silly.

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Can you name this lunch food for kids that rarely did well in your thermos?

Pasta in a tomato sauce. It didn't taste like mom's spaghetti, but it did the trick, and for some reason, the children of the '80s loved these nasty little things. It was tomato soup with circular pasta in it. End of story.

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Nabisco came out with a lot of different crackers in the '80s. Can you name these that have holes in them?

Nabisco's Swiss Cheese crackers were packed with cheese flavor (that means sodium). They were baked, so they were clearly better for you than potato chips ... or at least that's what they tried to tell parents.

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What are these sweet treats that were soft and delicious?

Fig Newtons were a very sophisticated cookie for the children of the 1980s. They had a chewy consistency, but if they were old, you might get a few crumbs in the back of your throat ... which would always cause you to cough.

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Do you recognize these cookies that had M&Ms and chocolate chips?

Keebler Rainbow Chips Deluxe cookies were awesome to have in your lunch box as a kid. Simply trading one colored candy that was baked into the cookie could get you half of a Fruit Roll-Up. They were that good.

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If you had this drink in your lunch box, you were definitely a cool kid. What were they called?

You twisted off the plastic cap and squeezed the juice into your mouth. That was the delivery method of this sweet drink that mocked the taste of Kool-Aid. They were important to all '80s kids, but not every '80s kid had them.

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This flavor of Doritos was first released in 1986. Do you think you know it?

Cool Ranch Doritos were all the rage in the 1980s. However, if you ever had a taste of Wild and Mild Ranch Fritos, you probably liked them better. But the chip everyone remembers from back in those days were Doritos (for some reason).

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New Coke was gross, but this flavor of Pepsi took the market by storm. Which one is it?

Wild Cherry Pepsi was first seen in 1988. It gave people exactly what they were looking for in a soda: extra sugar and flavored syrup. These days, you can walk into a fast food place and pick any flavor of soda you can imagine, but back in the '80s, it was much more difficult to get your hands on one of these.

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Can you name these little bears that were excellent for lunches?

In the late '80s, someone decided to capitalize on the success of animal crackers, and make crackers that were shaped like one specific animal. Sure they were graham crackers, but they were glazed with sugar, making them purely '80s. Chocolate Teddy Grahams are shown here.

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What is the name of this snack that had a lot of protein to go with a lot of sugar?

The big thing about PB Max was that it was made with real peanut butter on the inside — as though every other peanut butter snack wasn't made with real peanut butter. But who doesn't love a commercial with hairy-armed wrestlers in it?

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This bubble gum soda even came in diet. Can you name it?

Any kid who had one of these in their lunch box was envied by every other kid at the lunch table. Not only was it a sugary drink, but it was a sugary drink that tasted like bubble gum (well, kinda).

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This was one of the first breakfast bars to hit the market. Do you recognize it?

Carnation Breakfast Bars gave you a morning boost, but they were often put into children's lunches as substitutes for things like granola bars. They first arrived on the scene in the 1960s, but they were all the rage in the 1980s.

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If you were homeschooled in the 1980s, you probably had these for lunch. What are they?

Bagel Bites were what every kid dreamed of, but they were gross. If you were lucky enough to have your parents buy them, you probably just pretended to like it so you didn't get in trouble for wasting your parent's money.

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