I Ate 16 Beloved '90s Kids Snacks To See How They Taste To Me As An Adult, And Some Are Still Surprisingly Tasty
Hi, I'm Christopher, and in recent years I've revisited foods and drinks that were popular when I was a kid in the '90s to see how they taste to me as an adult. Today we're going to do more of that with 16 things that my mouth is revisiting for the first time in years.
1.Let's start things off with a beverage — specifically, this mainstay in countless lunchboxes throughout the '90s: Hi-C.
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A sweet lil' box of orange or fruity greatness that took turns being a lunchbox mainstay with the likes of Capri Sun and Kool-Aid Jammers.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: The only options available were Orange Lavaburst and Flashin' Fruit Punch. I obviously went with the latter, and the first sip was borderline a time-traveling experience. Pleasantly surprised that this stuff isn't overwhelmingly sweet the way a lot of childhood favorites turn out to be. That said, the size of the drink is like two sips because it's for children, but if they ever make adult-size juice boxes, count me in.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 70/90
2.Banquet Frozen Dinner: Chicken Nuggets With Mac & Cheese.
Here's what the meal looks like after being cooked in the oven:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Honestly, I don't know if these were ever considered "tasty," but they were certainly there for some of us when we needed a struggle meal.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: The bar was on the floor and yet this managed to trip over it and stumble into a garbage can bland macaroni first. The highest praise I can give is that it's edible. The mac 'n' cheese is soupy, the brownie is goopy, and the chicken nuggets are a number of unflattering words that unfortunately don't end in a -py rhyme. It's not gourmet, but it is cheap and requires zero effort to prep, so that counts for something, I suppose.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 12/90
3.Totino's Pizza.
Here's how the pizza looks after being cooked in the oven:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Another cheap buy for those who weren't rolling in the dough but wanted to taste some semblance of pizza.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: Have you ever seen someone do an impression that's not great, but you still clearly know who they're impersonating? That's this in a sense. If you go in expecting authentic pizza, you'll find that it's not delivery and it's not DiGiorno, and you're disappointed. HOWEVER, if you enjoy it for what it is, the same way you would with Pizza Rolls or Bagel Bites, you'll be satisfied because they haven't changed the taste at all. For me, it felt like running into an old friend who helped me through some very tough financial times. I ate a whole bunch of it.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 74/90
4.Smucker's Uncrustables.
(I already know what you're thinking, but give me a break — they were all out of the strawberry jelly ones.)
Here's how the lil' sandwich looks:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Arguably the GOAT of sandwiches in a top-tier form. No bullshit crust, just the perfect peanut butter–to–jelly ratio packed neatly into soft, round bread.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: They're still that good. If you're an extremely lazy individual (which I can be at times), you'll find joy in not having to make a dirty knife and fork because with Uncrustables, you just realize you're going to be hungry in the next hour and take it out of the freezer to thaw. Part of me wondered why I don't buy these more often, until the box was gone within 36 hours.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 81/90
5.Kool-Aid Jammers.
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Everything I said about Hi-C applies here — these were a trusted, tasty juice option.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: If you took a Capri Sun and pressed CTRL + C, then CTRL + V, and then photoshopped the Kool-Aid man onto the package, this is what you would get. The straw and hole are the same as a Capri Sun, the pouch is the same as a Capri Sun, and the taste is just like a Capri Sun. Given that Capri Sun came out first, I have to assume the Kool Aid Jammer was deeply inspired by it; the similarities are undeniable. For the record, all of this is a compliment: The juice was good, and I had more than just one of 'em.
ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 70/90
6.Corn Nuts (Original flavor).
Here's what the actual Corn Nuts look like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A delicious crunchy snack covered in seasoning and packed with flavor.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: These still smack! Loved 'em, though they really feel like a lot of hard work for your teeth/jaw. They reminded me that Ranch Corn Nuts exist, and now I'll be tracking down some of those to try ASAP.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 78/90
7.Milano Cookies.
Here's what the actual cookie looks like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A LUXURY FOOD ITEM. I remember thinking these were a very fancy, pinky-up, wealthy-person cookie.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: They're not like a super-sweet cookie, but more like a biscuit with a thin, not-very-intense layer of chocolate. The taste reminds me of a Pocky in that they're like a cracker with light flavoring vs. a sugar-heavy cookie. That said, I liked 'em alright, though as an adult, I'd like to pair them with a hot cup of coffee.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 67/90
8.Teddy Grahams.
Here's what actual Teddy Grahams cookies look like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A superior animal cracker.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: One food from childhood that just doesn't really pop up when you're an adult is graham crackers. I feel like 99% of the graham crackers I've eaten were in elementary school, and the other 1% were from s'mores. Anyway, these taste a lot like the classic graham cracker, which makes sense, since it's in the name, but the little extra hint of honey on these makes 'em next-level addictive. Dangerously easy to eat by the handful.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 81/90
9.Cap'n Crunch's Oops! All Berries.
Here's what the actual cereal looks like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: While Lucky Charms wasn't brave enough to do a box of all marshmallow, Cap'n Crunch was willing to step up and make the dreams of countless children a reality with ALL BERRIES.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: STILL A BANGER. To be fair, I love sugary cereals, but these brought me just as much joy as they did when I was growing up. As an adult who has very little self-control when it comes to food, I was scared to realize how good this cereal is, because I can now buy it as often as I want and scoop spoonful after spoonful, bowl after bowl, box after box of it into my body. If I haven't been clear, yes, it's still a treat.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 85/90
10.Golden Grahams.
Here's what the actual cereal looks like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A good, graham cracker–y cereal that was discontinued, adding to its appeal/our desire to have it back.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: Fortunately, these were revived from the dead because they're a really solid cereal for those who are big on texture — crunchy, lined with ridges, with a strong honey taste that's honestly like a Teddy Graham in cereal form.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 79/90
11.Sour Punch Straws and Twists.
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Sweet, sour, sugary, flavorful fan favorites.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: These remain magnificent and make for a great movie theater candy. They remind me of chewy Jolly Ranchers, but they have a uniqueness to them that makes Sour Punch its own kind of special. These packages don't list flavors, but I rank red as #1, blue as #2, and green as #3.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 76.5/90
12.Famous Amos cookies.
Here's what the lil' cookies look like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: A rival for Chips Ahoy! and any other packaged cookies.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: Impossible to stop at one. I'm not even a massive fan of crunchy cookies these days, but these things turn me into Angelica Pickles. They have a PERFECT number of chocolate chips in each bite-size cookie, and I think I may like them even more now than I can recall. This bag was gone expeditiously, and more will be consumed in the near future.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 85/90
13.Airheads.
Here's how the candy looks out of the wrapper:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: Chewy, sweet, and elite.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: Chewy, sweet, and elite. Nothing changed! These are dangerous, especially in miniature form, because you can eat 10 of 'em before you realize you're overloaded on sugar.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 81.5/90
14.Almond Joy.
Here's what the candy bar looks like:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: In a candy section full of chocolate that's filled with nougat or caramel, it's tough to be filled with coconut and a single almond. That said, there were those who loved 'em, and they've lasted this long, so...
HOW THEY ARE NOW: Yeah, this one is not for me. They're not gross or anything, but I don't love coconut, and that's what this mostly consists of. Why not call it Coconut Joy? Gripes with the name aside, take my rating with a grain of salt if you enjoy coconut.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 50/90
15.York Peppermint Patties.
Here's what the patty looks like inside:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: I feel like they were associated with old people, and I recall them regularly being overlooked when I was a kid in a grocery store line selecting a candy option.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: YORK PEPPERMINT PATTIES DESERVE MORE RESPECT! The patty is like a giant, flat Junior Mint. I want to buy some of these and stash 'em in a freezer because I know this would be fire if it was stone cold. I'm sorry you don't get the love and appreciation you deserve, York, but I plan on making up for lost time and taste with these things moving forward.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 81/90
16.Oreo Cakesters.
Here's how the Oreo Cakester looks:
HOW THEY WERE IN THE '90S: OK, we're ending with an exception to the whole '90s thing because I bought these before Google told me they were introduced in 2007. That feels like a straight-up lie, but whatever, we'll chalk it up to a matrix glitch or a Mandela effect or anything other than my garbage memory being garbage. Anyway, these were discontinued despite being beloved, but they were revived from the dead Frankenweenie-style in 2022.
HOW THEY ARE NOW: They're solid — not texturally, but quality-wise. It's a soft cookie with fluffy cream that I think would taste better if it were just the regular Oreo cream, but who am I, and what do I know? Anyway, they're pretty good, but they just made me crave classic Oreos.
RATING ON A SCALE OF 1–90: 70/90
