(Kids Today Wouldn’t Last a Day!)
You know what didn’t come in 15 flavors of protein or need a TikTok trend to make it cool? Snacks from our childhood.
Before gluten-free labels and sugar-free gummies, we were out here raw-dogging flavor with whatever was in Mom’s pantry—and we survived.
Here’s a list of snacks we grew up on that today’s kids would absolutely report us to HR for eating.
1. A Fresh Tomato with Salt
That’s it. Not bruschetta. Not heirloom. Just a fat, warm tomato from the garden, sliced and hit with a sprinkle of salt. Possibly eaten over the sink. If you know, you know.
2. Tang
The “orange juice” of astronauts and ’90s latchkey kids. It wasn’t juice. It wasn’t even pretending to be. It was a powder. And we loved it.
3. Buttered Saltines
Fancy people call it “a deconstructed canapé.” We just called it after-school snacking. Saltines, a smear of butter, sometimes a slice of American cheese if we were feeling rich.
4. Sugar Sandwiches
Yep, bread, butter, and a dump of granulated sugar. This wasn’t just a snack—it was a lifestyle.
And if you are from the same area as me, we called them sugar butties!
5. Raw Hot Dogs
We’re not proud. But we’re not ashamed either.
You took one straight out of the fridge and bit into it like it was a Slim Jim. No one stopped you. It was the ‘80s.
6. Dry Ramen Noodles (Crushed in the Bag with the Flavor Packet)
Crunchy, salty, MSG-laced magic. You crushed that brick of noodles like a stress ball and dumped the powder in like seasoning fairy dust.
7. Kool-Aid with Half a Bag of Sugar
We didn’t follow the instructions. We never followed the instructions. One packet of Kool-Aid? That was just the beginning. Add sugar until it looked like a science experiment. That was the move.
8. Cold Spaghetti Out of the Can
Chef Boyardee was basically our live-in personal chef. And yes, we ate it cold. Straight from the tin. No shame.
9. Mayonnaise on White Bread
A sandwich? Technically. A cry for help? Possibly. But when there was nothing else in the house, mayo and bread came through every time.
10. Celery with Peanut Butter and Raisins
Aka “Ants on a Log.” The one “healthy” snack we tolerated. If your mom was fancy, she used the crunchy peanut butter. Elite move.
11. Powdered Donuts in a Little Wax Bag
Dry as a desert. Covered your entire mouth in sugar dust. But worth every cough.
12. Leftover Grease from Bacon, Used As A Dip (Or Cooked Into Literally Everything)
If your family had a coffee tin full of bacon fat sitting on the stove—congrats, you grew up in the golden era.
13. Soggy Waffle Cone from a Melty Drumstick
It wasn’t the ice cream—it was that final bite where the chocolate, peanut, and soggy cone all fused together like a masterpiece. Perfection.
14. Freezer-Burnt Otter Pops
You had to gnaw through the top with your teeth like a savage. And no one ever knew what flavor “blue” actually was.
15. Cheese Balls in a Giant Tub
The kind that turned your fingers radioactive orange for days. There was no serving size. You just reached in, no matter how many other grubby hands had been in there.
16. Applesauce from the Jar with a Spoon (Straight Up)
Individual cups? Who were we, billionaires? You opened that big jar and spooned it directly into your mouth until someone yelled at you.
17. Jell-O in a Mold
Bonus points if it had canned fruit suspended inside like a prehistoric mosquito in amber. Extra bonus if your grandma served it on a lettuce leaf.
“What Even Is a Snack?” — Kids Today, Probably
Let’s be honest—today’s snack scene is basically a Whole Foods aisle in an Instagram filter. But our generation? We snacked like unsupervised champions. And the weirdest part? It was glorious.
Now it’s your turn. What were your go-to snacks growing up that would have Gen Z calling CPS? Drop ‘em in the comments and let’s take a stroll down flavor-memory lane together.