This list does not include the candies and chichirya we either sneaked in from the school cafeteria or bought from the sari-sari store nearby with our five-peso allowance. While our moms disapproved, we had the freedom back then to snack to our heart’s delight because health in relation to food wasn’t a concern then, and junk food wasn’t yet banned from our schools.
Meanwhile, here’s a throwback to what our moms made us eat and drink:
Zesto, Funchum, and the other orange juice drinks
Why didn’t orange juice drinks come in tetra packs? The challenge here was always getting the straw in without making a mistake and squirting orange juice on our uniform! One method was to punch a hole from the bottom of the pack.
Chocolait, Chuckie, Moo, Choc-O and the other chocolate drinks
Which came first, kids’ addiction to chocolates or manufacturers mixing chocolate with everything? Back then it seemed like chocolate-flavored was popular among us kids, with vanilla or strawberry only coming in second.
Oreo, Tini Wini, Cream-O, and other sandwich cookies
Americans certainly made Oreo like the cool thing to baon and eat before bed (twist, lick, dunk!) with milk. Then there was the local version Cream-O, and the miniature version Tini Wini (who remembers its commercial?).
SkyFlakes, Rebisco, and other crackers
Ang sarap ng filling mo! Rebisco’s tagline was certainly memorable, while Sky Flakes was a brand our moms swore by. Up until we’re older, Sky Flakes would still be a staple pangtawid-gutom snack at work, especially when we have limited time for merienda break!
Yan Yan, Pretzels, and other chocolate or strawberry-covered snacks
Before Pocky and Pepero, there was Pretzels. It had one of the most fun packaging cut-outs that you can form into a village! Yan Yan was the type of snack we never wanted to share with anyone—especially the choco or strawberry dip!
The homemade sandwiches
If Americans had PBJs, we had Star Margarine with brown sugar as palaman on our sandwiches and it tasted great! Another popular filling was the Lady’s Choice sandwich spread, which came in tuna, ham, and chicken variants.
Donuts, ensaymada, or the cake slices
Our moms heavily relied on what were commercially available—Goldilocks, Red Ribbon, and Dunkin Donuts. Looking back now makes us realize that aside from chocolate or anything sugar-coated, we were also fond of anything with butter or margarine, like the ensaymada usually bought from local bakeshops.
Tender Juicy hotdog, bacon, Spam, and other palaman
Was there any kid who didn’t love hotdog, bacon, or Spam? We didn’t have a concept of what “processed food” was yet, and there were no documentaries yet on the negative health effects of these. What mattered was it tasted great with bread or rice, and it was an easy way to feed us.
What were your favorites? Tell us about them below!
