From the Frozen Foods Aisle: Monster Freez'ems

Product: Monster Freez'ems
Company: Welch's
Years: Mid 70's

Boo!
(Did you know it's impossible to scare someone using text?)

So it turns out that Good Humor wasn't the only company offering a scary treat to kids in the 70's and 80's. Welch's also had a product in the mid 70's called Monster Freez'ems. They came in 4 different flavors: Grape, Orange, Cherry, and Lemon-Lime, or as my kids would call it, "That's it?"

My kids are spoiled rotten, you guys.

OK, so maybe technically  these shouldn't be in the Frozen food section. You actually buy these unfrozen, and you pour the juice into these little monster molds that come with it, place the stick in it, then freeze it. After some time, bam: You've got yourself some ghoulishly delightful treats. So I guess these could be in the Misc. Products aisle, but since they are consumed in a frozen state (Minnesota?), I'm leaving them with the other Frozen Foods.

Like the 3-D monster Pops, I wasn't able to dig up (Ha! Halloween puns FTW!) much info on these items. So if you have more info, fill in the blanks for us!

Back from the Dead for Halloween!!! Monsters!!!! (Well, Monster Cereals, anyway...)

 Sometimes they come back.......the Return of Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy!

A little different post today to make everyone aware (thought it seems like everyone has known about and been extremely excited for these for a while now) that General Mills has brought back two of it's Gone but not Forgotten Cereals for Halloween, Yummy Mummy and the legendary Frute Brute! I've talked about them before, but a few months ago when I heard they were coming back from the dead, I was genuinely excited, as I'm sure most of you were. Both these cereals have been gone for 20+ years, so it's quite exciting (and an A+++++ for General Mills) to see a company listening to the cries of us thirtysomethingers (that's a word, right?) to bring back the cereals that we miss from our childhood. Simply bringing them back would have been enough for most people, but like me, I remember a lot of people saying "Wouldn't it be cool if they not only brought them back, but brought back the original packaging that we all loved so much?" As it turned out, General Mills was doing their homework, because the next day it was announced that they would be available for a limited time,  IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGING, from Target! Simply amazing. The nerd in me made plans to check Target each and every day until I found these (which sadly I still haven't spotted them in my area), but I did get a surprise prize package in the mail from General Mills (provided through MyBlogSpark) containg 3 of the 5 boxes, Boo Berry, Frute Brute, and Yummy Mummy.

So I did what any 30+ year old would do who is longing for the simpler times that were his youth would do: I woke up with my kids early one Saturday Morning, popped in a DVD which contained a 3 hour block of cartoons with Original Commercials from my youth (1984 to be exact), and cracked open all 3 boxes of cereal, which my kids and I quickly devoured.

Boo Berry and Frute Brute were the first to go, followed up by Yummy Mummy. It was a glorious morning, and my kids and I loved them all. I have to thank General Mills for doing this. I can't help but think that they will have a spike in sales simply from people like myself, as I know some of my internet buddies are buying 2...3....even 4 boxes at a time. Stock up, and display the boxes proudly! (We all know how much the original Fruit Brute boxes go for, so the Retro box will have to do for now!)
I still need to hunt down the Count Chocula and Frankenberry retro boxes to finish my collection, and I will continue to check Target until I find them.

And if having the retro boxes of love wasn't enough, if you purchase 3 retro boxes at Target between now and October 31st you will get a Monster Bash magazine, which contains tips and tricks for making your Halloween the spookiest and creepiest Halloween ever, and its FREE when you purchase 3 boxes in a single shopping trip. So what are you waiting for! Stock up while you can!!! The clock is ticking, and Halloween is almost here!!!

Once again, I want to thank General Mills for making this retro nerd happy this Halloween season (It's a Halloween miracle!) I'd also like to thank MyBlogSpark for sending me the boxes of love!

Get more information from General Mills here! www.grocerysavvy.com

(Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.)

From the Candy Aisle: Mr. Bones

Mr. Bones
Company: Fleer
Years: 1970's



One of the greatest novelty candy ever invented has to be Mr. Bones. I mean, not only did you get candy, but you got a puzzle, and after the candy was gone, you had an awesome plastic casket to use with your GI Joes (look, those little rubber bands that held them together were ALWAYS breaking, and every now and again, a Joe had to be laid to rest. I miss you, Roadblock.....).
So in a nutshell (or in a coffin?), Mr. Bones was this: a series of candy pieces shaped like bones that could be put together to form a skeleton (Mr. Bones, if you will).  They came in small coffing like this:



The only downside to these memorable candy treats was that many times you were missing pieces and couldn't properly assemble Mr. Bones, which was a shame, as he was quite a memorable fellow. A Memorable, delicious, candy fellow. So I'm happy to add him to the list of GBNF Groceries this Halloween season.

 

Photos By Jrod49 and Neato Coolville