From the Canned Goods Aisle: Pac-Man Pasta

Pac-Man Pasta
Company - Chef Boyardee
Years: Early-Mid 80's


Photo courtesy of Grickly

Who didn't love Chef Boyardee's Pac Man Pasta? I mean besides Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde. And Ms. Pac Man (he was kind of a chauvinist after all...).

There were several flavors of this in the early 80's, from regular pasta with spaghetti sauce, pasta and Meat Balls, and even pasta in a "golden chicken sauce". Yup. Ugh.

In the early 80's, when Video game craze ran rampant, it needed to have a video game tie in to be a hit. (see also Pac-Man Cereal/Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. Cereal, etc.) Pac Man pasta was what made the 80's so great. Product placement within other products. Now if they'd just flipped it and made a Chef Boyardee Video Game, my head would have imploded.

So did you love this stuff as much as I did? I remember the Pasta with Meatballs, mostly. Mmm.....power pellets......

From the Beverage Aisle: Milk Mate

Milk Mate Chocolate Syrup
Company: ?
Years - Late 70's/Early 80's


Alright,  this one is new to me. I ran across an ad in some old Newspapers recently, and have come to the conclusion that it isn't around anymore. I have very little info on it. Other then it's more chocolaty then powdered chocolate mixes. And they'll give you a wagon to haul around your Milk Mate drink mix/friends in.

Is there anyone out there who remembers this stuff? Anyone? Helloooooo.............Echo.......echo.............echo..........



Please leave comments below

From the Snack Aisle: 4 Minute Fudge

4 Minute Fudge
Company: Salada/Kellogg's
Years: 1974-Early 80's


What do we want? FUDGE! When do we want it? NOW!!!!

Seriously, was there actually a time when people were saying "Man, I could go for some fudge right now, but I don't even have 5 minutes to wait for it....I wish someone would come out with a product that could satisfy my fudge urges."

Now, I'm not sure if Salada is the original company and was later bought out by Kelloggs or what (as you can see below by the coupon), but as far as I can tell, it's a miracle this product lasted in stores for more then 4 minutes.


Here are some product reviews from the Lakeland Ledger, November 12, 1975 :

"I sure didn't have fudge in 4 minutes, I had a soupy mess" - Karel Hammer

"The texture is not smooth .... it takes 15 to 20 minutes to make this fudge, despite what the label says. My Grandchildren did not like the candy, they said it was too grainy." -Doratea Addison

So if this stuff was so bad, why was it still being sold until at least 1980? Did they reformulate the recipe? Or are people just suckers for fast fudge, even if its not fabulous fast fudge.

This product is gone, and this one might be forgotten too. Correct me if I'm wrong.

From the Cereal Aisle: Powdered Donutz Cereal

Powdered Donutz
Company: General Mills
Years: 1980-83/84


Powdered Donutz Cereal (using the Z instead of the S before it was cool to do that) was basically a fat powdered Cheerio. They didn't think that was a very good slogan, so they went with their second choice, "A Crispy, Sweetened 3 Grain Cereal".
Doesn't quite catch the eye like "Just A Fat Powdered Cheerios", does it?
I don't honestly remember this cereal either, but what was with all the Donut Cereals in the 80's/90's? Powdered Donutz, Dinky Donuts, Dunkin Donuts Cereal.....
Anyway, much like Urkel-Os, General Mills tried to dress up Cheerios and give it a new name, but to no avail. It was around to see the early 80's and then it was gone.

What did you think of Powdered Donutz Cereal?

From the Cereal Aisle: OJ's

OJ's Cereal
Company: Kellogg's
Year: 1985-87


image by dustincropsboy

You don't see a lot of orange flavored cereals, and there is a very good reason. People enjoy drinking a glass of OJ with their morning cereal, not pouring it directly over the cereal. Orange flavored milk? Ugh.

OJ's was a fun new cereal when it came out in 1985. It claimed that "every bowl had the Vitamin C of a 4 oz glass of Orange Juice. Plus a delicious Orange taste your kids will love!"

Well, they didn't. It lasted for just under 2 years and was gone.

The cereal did have one thing going for it, a cool mascot called OJ Joe, a cattleman who rode around on an orange and corralled and roped other oranges that he then took to the Orange Processing Factory where they were brutally squeezed to death to make the very cereal that he was on the front of. The humanity.

If you remember OJ's and were a fan, you can sign an online petition that's out there trying to get Kelloggs to bring it back: http://www.petitiononline.com/bjchsdcb/petition.html

And if you have any memories, be sure to comment below.