Company: American Kitchen
Date: 70's
Photo Courtesy of Jason Liebig
Rule #1 of trying to make foods "kid friendly": You can't combine something that kids don't like with something kids do like and think they won't notice. Kids are way to smart for that and won't put up with it. Riots have been started because of it. Nations have fallen. Products have failed. And this is a prime example.
American Kitchen came up with the idea to take something Kids love (French Fries) and combine them with something kids hate (in this case, peas). They mixed them both up and formed French Fry shaped sticks that I'm assuming tasted as bad as they looked.
Coming along with I Hate Peas for the great Fail Tour of the 70's was "I Hate Corn", "I Hate Broccoli", "I Hate Spinach", and "I Hate Carrots", which fittingly, were all hated by kids. These products only lasted a short time before they disappeared from stores, as kids decided they'd rather eat real peas and not be insulted by this trainwreck of a side dish.
Anyone remember eating these as a kid? Share your stories with us, because we want to know what the hell American Kitchen was thinking too.
I just included an article in a weekly financial blogger roundup about 10 grocery items that flopped. The blogger missed this item, which I recall from my childhood. I found this site and gave it a mention in that roundup.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.joetaxpayer.com/an-i-hate-peas-roundup
(I linked, and gave credit for the image, fyi)
Thank you for this site as it has brought back many memories. Who in our time would have thought to save a carton (container) or take a picture of the packaging of the foods we ate foods we ate. I have for years told people about the I hate peas fries as well as the other veggie infused French fry products I tried as a youth. All thought I was crazy or making the story up. I can now direct them to this blog site to see for themselves. Again thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. No one I ever mentioned these to remember them. Thanks for proving I’m not crazy
DeleteI've never tried them, but for some sad reason, I remember the commercial and the jingle the kids sang! Talk about an ear worm!! "I hate arithmatic and abc's, I hate washing my elbows and my knees, I hate saying thank you and please, but more than anything, I HATE PEAS!!" I guess there's something to be said about good advertising!
ReplyDeleteBeat me to it by five years. I also remember the jingle from the commercial, although I never ate the stuff, having been too old.
DeleteI could eat a TRUCK load of cafeteria "veggie sticks" right now....sort of the same principal I guess. LOL
ReplyDeleteI have been called crazy by friends and family for years over this product.
ReplyDeleteI knew they existed and they really sucked!
I remember I Hate Peas, but not the other varieties. I was very young, but I think I actually liked them because they tasted more like French fries than peas. And to this day, I still hate peas!
ReplyDeleteWe had the I Hate Peas and I Hate Carrots. I ate them for a while, but when I actually noticed that the inside of the I Hate Peas "french fry" was actually GREEN, I wouldn't touch them anymore. Ironically, it wasn't too long before I started liking real peas ...
ReplyDeleteI do remember these. I actually liked them more than canned vegetables. I remember these fries, especially the I Hate Peas, having a very dry taste though (not crispy on the outside and moist on the inside like you’d expect from a good french fry). I’m pretty sure my mom baked them in the oven. We tried several versions (I Hate Carrots, etc). I liked that you could put ketchup on them which certainly made them taste better than canned veggies. I remember asking my mom to buy more, but she couldn’t find them in the store anymore.
DeleteI even remember the jingle!
ReplyDeleteI apparently loved these as a kid! I don't remember it (perhaps because I was young enough to fall for the ruse)... but my mom said it was an amazing way to get me to eat my veggies.
ReplyDeleteI do have to wonder, though, how nutritious they actually were. Too bad 70's packaging didn't have nutrition information....
Whereas, buying them frozen and then defrosting when you want the fruit/vegetable can actually retain more nutrients.
ReplyDeleteFirst for Frozen
I was just asking my wife if she remembers this product and if she had them. My mother bought them and I liked them lol. Thanks for putting this up.
ReplyDelete