Food that REMINDS YOU of the 90s

Clearly Canadian

this will be a hard one for me...the 90s was a lost decade for me. Off the top of my head, i used to love the 2 cheeseburger meal deal from McDonald's with a fountain diet coke.

Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers

Zima

Fruit Gushers

Who knew that I’d become one.

Snapple.

Wendy’s salad pitas (I loved these).

The low fat craze where p pole we’re eating “healthy” high sugar snacks. Ditto mass market granola.

SNACKWELLS.

Darnit, i came to say Snackwells and Zima!

Jolt.

Odwalla.

Kid Cuisine frozen meals for kids! Didn't lunchables also come out in the 90s? At least that's when I saw them everywhere, along with Uncrustables in the late 90s.

So many of the things mentioned here are actually 80s, and not 90s, which tells you how little an impression the 90s were. I'd say the most memorable food of the 90s is kids' foods, which I can't speak to since I was out of my childhood by the 90s.

For me, it's the Flavr Savr tomato - the first GMO on the market, which quickly and quietly went off the market, since it wasn't very tasty.

r10: OP's original post said: "It doesn't necessarily have to originate in the 1990s. It should have been popular in the 90s."

The things i listed (except for 1) came out in the 90s (double checked with Wiki).

Snackwells, absolutely. I enjoyed the Maintenance Phase podcast episode on Snackwells, ha.

Nothing

r9 - fair enough, I withdraw the comment, lol.

Also Tasty Delight - which was fucking disgusting, but there you go.

90s is also when the warm vahlrona chocolate cake became ubiquitous in every restaurant.

Do you mean molten chocolate lava cakes r15? that might have been a 90s thing.

Vienetta ice cream

Kahunaville, Jack Astor's, Tim Horton's

Ah yes, and a regional specialty: the chicken finger sub, which is actually pretty good.

fat free chips that had a laxative effect

crystal pepsi

taco bell

i can't believe it's not butter

country crock

Ring Pop

God, that picture is the reason Americans have weight problems. I seem to remember that Philadelphia Cream Cheese used to come in these snack cakes, thin ones.

r26 what picture are you referring to?

OP's salt/sugar laden photo op nightmare

Orangina. My sister drank those like water in the early ‘90s. I thought they were terrible.

Sundance sparkling juice.

Orbitz drinks that looked like a lava lamp.

Pizzarias chips

Magic Middles cookies. So good. Shortbread cookies with chocolate fudge in the middle.

PB Crisps

r26/r28 I know absolutely NO ONE who eats that crap in OP's pic. In fact, it's really cringy and I get so tired of seeing pics from the UK with the "American" section and it's got all kinds of shit like that. I really don't see that being representative of what Americans eat on a daily basis. Most of the people I know are some form of vegan/vegetarian and severely limit sugar.

It's a shame that a few bad apples spoil the reputation. This country has been getting progressively more invested in making better diet choices for several years now...thus the proliferation of groceries like Whole Foods, Sprouts to name a few.

I liked Orangina and the bottle was cool, IMO.

Yes r16 exactly.

Lunchables

R30 I would venture that you’re from a larger metropolis. In Flyoveristan, they eat exactly like that, hence the massive obesity problem nationwide.

Rolling Rock

Two Buck Chuck

Mr & Mrs T Bloody Mary Mix

Hot Pockets?

Pete's Wicked Ale

r34 and you're from? I know people from all over the country and the picture at the original post is NOT what they eat.

the pic at OP's post is a conglomeration of fad foods from the 90s, NOT what people eat every day. And I'll have you know, i've lived all over the states. Stop perpetuating such a negative generalization about a huge country where people eat all types of food in different regions and not necessarily all of it sugar and candy. i'm fucking sick of it.

And by the way, this post wasn't about what Americans eat NOW, it's about food fads from the 90s. Stay on assignment.

Lunchables was already said upthread, r33.

R38 The average American waistline is 40 inches. That speaks for itself. You can bet the family farm they got that way eating plenty of Pringles and Cookie Crisp. Yes, there are segments of the population invested in healthy eating. But the majority eat plenty of junk and their weight confirms it.

And you asked where I’m from? California. So I’ve seen it ALL, from the Palo Alto vegan orthorexics to the Fontucky nacho cheese tater tot casserole eaters.

Go look at people’s grocery carts next time you’re in a suburban or inner city store. Plenty of booze and processed meats. Maybe a head of iceberg lettuce with a huge bottle of ranch dressing next to it.

Boston Market was huge in the 90s.

Planters PB crisps. They were tasty.

Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza was a game changer. Back when Pizza Hut was edible.

3D Doritos and other 3D Frito-Lay products.

Wendy the Snapple Lady and Snapple in those big glass bottles.

Smartfood popcorn before they sold out and made it nasty.

There was a huge ranch dressing craze in the 90s.

The 90s were the last great decade. I’m glad I grew up then. It’s amazing how far and fast America fell after the 90s.

Fruitopia, the Coca-Cola response to Snapple.

r39 - not my experience, but if that's what you think. I live an hour above SF, plenty of poors up here, but the majority of what i see in people's carts is healthy and somebody's cart filled with nothing but crap is rather the exception instead of the rule. average waist size 40 inches? Not me, and not anyone I know. And we are certainly not by any means considered active.

I think it comes down to what you put in your mouth. i barely ever eat meat and tend towards a more vegetarian diet. my one vice is wine and i'm trying to cut back on that.

again, the pic at OP was showing food fads for the 90s and the post wasn't about what we *currently* eat, it's about food that reminds you of the 90s.

Peace out.

I forgot that Smartfood used to be good.

I never ate them, but the commercial is seared into my brain. Keebler made chips, and the jingle went, "We're making Cheezy Quesadillas...we're making Cinnamon Crisp-an-yas!!!"

Fajitas

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay

Orbitz.

Crystal Pepsi.

Smartfood was so very good once. Now it's greasssyyyy

[quote] "Wendy’s salad pitas (I loved these)."

The Classic Greek Pita was my FAVORITE, R5. ...And the first time I ever had Feta cheese. The pita bread was always so warm and pillowy...I know what I'm making this weekend (though it won't be exactly the same)!

[quote] "I liked Orangina and the bottle was cool, IMO."

I LOVE this stuff as well. But then I couldn't find it until I went to France. It's perfectly carbonated, and the flavor is the perfect balance of sweet and bitter (just a touch). I'll have to see if I can get it online. I've never tried.

Chilean sea bass, Caesar salads on every restaurant menu, sushi restaurants opening on every block. Ridiculous pizza toppings, such as BBQ chicken and ziti.

Lifesavers Holes

Boston Market for me as well. My favorite items were the cornbread, spiced apples, baked beans, and stuffing / turkey and gravy.

Claim Jumper. Potato cheese soup in bread bowl and some mile high chocolate cake you had to share with at least 1 other person.

R51 made me think of CPK which had a huge expansion in the 90's.

There used to be a Boston Market in Greensboro when I lived there in the nineties. Damn, but that place was delicious. I avoid their frozen foods, they are chock full of sodium, and I'm old now.

I liked Boston Market when it was still Boston Chicken. It opened in Dupont Circle in 1993 and I went there three times a week until it closed. There was a Boston Market in the neighborhood I moved to next, and it wasn't as good.

White chili

Cajun foods ( which I still love)

ZIMA; Kendall-Jackson wines (both mentioned in previous comments)

R50, the Greek was the best. There are a few websites remembering these but most talk about the Caesar pita. I still miss these.

I feel like Chicken Tonight, Chicken Tonight.

Blue Raspberry everything

Maybe microwave popcorn (Pop Secret, etc.). Or was that the ‘80s. The ‘90s was the time of Blockbuster, renting movies, buying movie snacks.

Gawd do I HATE microwave popcorn...especially working in an office and having to smell it.

Cheeseburgers

English trifle

Microwave popcorn , free cancer in EVERY bowl.

This could go on either thread, but for me it fits on the 90s thread: Chuck E. Cheese pizza & pitchers of Coke.

Sunny D

R57 - same. Used to hit the Washington Sports Club, and then Boston Chicken for a healthy-ish dinner, and then maybe poke around Lambda Rising. I miss the days when Dupont Circle was supergay.

Glacier Ridge

Clos du Bois White Zinfandel Sam Adams Beer Anchor Steam Beer

Cosmopolitans first became a thing in the late 90's

Sorry:

Clos du Bois White Zinfandel

Sam Adams Beer

Anchor Steam Beer

Tableside-made guacamole. At least that's when I remember it being so popular, could have been 80s but I didn't go out to eat too much in the 80s (we were poor)

Kudos bars, C&C cola, Lunchables, ice cream tacos, ranch doritos and Snack wells

Razcal Soda. Apparently it came out in the 80s but I remember drinking it in the 90s. It was delicious, a raspberry-lime soda.

OK Soda, which was orange-flavored and tasted disgusting.

I remember Pop Qwiz which was colored microwave popcorn.

Carnation Instant Breakfast.

The original order.

Quik? The 90s? Try the 50s and the 60s. My little brother ate that stuff up. Me - I hated chocolate milk. It first came out in 1948.

This is an actual picture of my brother - that is NOT me next to him. I swear on my Dale Evans chaps.

I liked Boston Market. It was decent chicken - I mean how do you fuck up chicken?

And I love love love Orangina. Especially with a little gin or vodka. Hard to find in the US.

Is Orangina really that difficult to come by? I buy it once a month at Sam's Club in Dallas. They sell 12 packs of it.

TCBY - The Country's Best Yogurt!

Orangina can be difficult to find. It's not everywhere. I have it at my stores.

Chicken Tonight, Kevin Spacey's favorite dish

Sun Chips

Heinz green and purple ketchup

Go-gurt

Bagel Bites

McDonald's Arch Deluxe

Dippin' Dots

The last decade of Pepperidge Farms frozen croissant pizzas.

Frozen yogurt was all the rage and you’d never see fit women EVER devouring a thick steak. It was salads and fish…maybe baked, skinless chicken.

I doubt you elders know any food that actual 90’s kids eat.

3D Doritos when they first came out were incredible. Fat, little pre-teen me was in love with every bag.

I remember two foods that became available in the 1990s, one from Haagen-Dazs, the other from Frito-Lay.

I don't remember the brand name they gave the corn chips—Doritos, Tostitos?—but they were made from white rather than yellow corn. They came in a white, clear, and either blue or red bag. The white and blue bag chips were plain, just seasoned with salt. The white and red bags contained what F-L called Salsa Flavor, and they were utterly addictive. They were introduced in 1992 and were gone by '93, IIRC.

Haagen-Dazs introduced three or four flavors in solid-colored containers: green, purple, brown, maybe red. The green was Cappuccino; the brown was Brownies and Vanilla Ice Cream; I don't remember what came in the other containers. Even better, there was a Strawberry Cheesecake frozen yogurt flavor that may single-handedly have turned me into the fat whore I remain to this very day. This was during the same early-'90s period.

Does anyone else remember these foods? I'm especially interested in finding out the brand name F-L used for these chips.

TIA.

Macadamia nuts. They were the fancy food all plebs and poor people would dream of being able to buy.

R91 They were Dorito Thins. They were the first Doritos with rounded corners.

Yes, r93. They're the ones. I wonder why they flopped. I loved, loved, loved the salsa flavor.

Thanks so much.

Now you have to help me convince Häagen-Dazs to make their Strawberry Cheesecake flavor available in the U.S. again.

I have lobbied them from time to time, r95, to bring back Pralines and Cream, Belgian Chocolate with a Raspberry Swirl, and Strawberry Cheesecake. But they are relentless in their refusals, even though P&C is available in Canada.

Strawberry Cheesecake is also available in Canada. My sister knows to stock up when I visit. I really liked those Salsa Dorito Thins. I remember my middle school crush snacking on them in Algebra class.

Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's ice creams in the pint containers (back then, you got an actual pint). Anyway, they were expensive (still are, kind of), but they'd go on sale every so often and my mom would buy a few at a time. My grandma even liked the HD coffee ice cream.

Blackened pepper everything.

Surge soda

Starburst Fruit Twists

Tostino Pizza Rolls

Bagel Bites

Jolt Cola, the precursor to energy drinks...does it still exist? It was a cola with like 10 times the caffeine...beloved by nerds and computer freaks

Slim fast shakes

I really associate Cajun food with the early 90s. There were a couple of take out places near me that sold jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, etc.

Turkey wraps were big.

Olestra was supposed make fat free potato chips a reality, but the anal leakage warning labels put people off.

If you have Polar seltzers in your area their Orange Dry flavor tastes a lot like Orangina.

blackened chicken sandwich, blackened chicken salad, etc.

Butter bomb Chardonnay