As you've no doubt noticed, the snacks most kids are packing in their lunchboxes these days are a lot different than the processed junk food we consumed on a daily basis growing up — they're even a lot different than what kids were eating 10 years ago! Indeed, there's a health-conscious substitute out there for nearly every trashy retro treat.
Here are some of our favorite snacks from years past, along with their contemporary counterparts. (Admit it, you like some of the old ones better!)
Images via Callie/Flickr; Jodi Green/Flickr
Then: Funyuns
Like onion rings in a bag! With a sort of weirdo aftertaste that probably had something to do with preservatives. But who cared? Like onion rings in a bag!
Now: Kale Chips
Mmmm, kale chips (said no one ever). Just kidding, they're really not so bad — as long as you're not trying to convince yourself that they taste anything like, say, Funyuns. (They don't.)
Then: Yoo-hoo
It's not chocolate milk, it's chocolate "drink" — got that? The Yoo-hoo people wanted to make sure there's no expectation of nutritional value going on there.
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Now: Green Power Smoothie
A brilliant way to sneak veggies into a kid's diet, green smoothies are the new soda. (Well, maybe that's a stretch, but still.)
Then: Cheez Balls
Bright orange fingers were a small price to pay for these little spheres of artificial food coloring–laden yum!
Now: Seaweed Snacks
Just call these salty green squares The Cheez Balls of the Sea! Or don't, because they're not. (They are good for you, though.)
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Then: Dunkaroos
Is there anything more fun than dunking cookies into a tiny tub of icing? Probably not. Nope, that's as good as life gets (sorry, kids).
Now: Hummus & Veggies
Dunking raw veggies into chickpea/tahini dip is just like dunking cookies into icing, because it involves dunking, right? WRONG.
Then: Fruit Roll-Ups
Fruit Roll-Ups are "made with real fruit," and that was a good enough reason for our parents to buy them! (Also, we asked for them all the time in a really whiny voice.)
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Now: Freeze Dried Fruit
Not only is freeze dried fruit made with real fruit, it is real fruit. Except not quite as perishable.
Then: Pop-Tarts
Pop-Tarts are part of a complete breakfast! (Assuming there's an entire other breakfast involving actual food that you serve, too.)
Now: Avocado Toast
If you've never heard of avocado toast, you've never gone on Instagram or Pinterest (or the Internet at all). This IS a pretty yummy snack. If only it came with a refined sugar rush!
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Then: Pudding Cups
Pudding in a disposable cup means pudding anywhere, anytime. Which also pretty much means pudding ALL THE TIME.
Now: Greek Yogurt
Does anybody even eat regular yogurt anymore? Greek yogurt ain't pudding, but it's not half bad.
Then: Twinkies
Twinkies are nature's perfect food. It was pretty scary when they were gonna stop making them, wasn't it? Thankfully they're back on the shelves! Not that we're going to eat them, or anything.
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Now: Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake
With a rise in cases of gluten-intolerance (and other food allergies), gluten-free treats are becoming the norm, not the exception. Some of them are pretty good! None of them are Twinkies.
