Raspberry Zingers are snack cakes that remind me of lunch in elementary school. These decadent treats are basically Twinkies covered with raspberry and coconut.
My school didn't have a cafeteria, so I brought my lunch from home each day in my lunchbox. I have nostalgic memories of my Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox with a matching thermos. It usually contained soup in the thermos, a sandwich, an apple, chips and, if I was lucky, a tasty dessert item like the Zingers or a Fruit Pie.
Except for hot lunch days. On those days, the hot lunch ladies at school passed out culinary delights like pizza or hot dogs and for dessert: orange push up pops!
I don't remember drinking anything but milk with lunch. No pop machines to be found. My school's janitor dropped off a plastic crate filled with single serving milk cartons a few minutes before lunch. I always picked the chocolate milk.
Did you bring your lunch to school or did you have a cafeteria in elementary school? What were your favorite foods? Did you ever trade your lunch with a classmate? Did you have a favorite lunchbox? There is a long list of vintage lunchboxes up for bid on eBay. Take a peak and see if you remember any of them.
If you have kids, what do you put in their lunches today? There's a push for healthy school lunches, which sounds like a practical idea. But I'm glad I enjoyed the 80s school lunch experience before childhood obesity became an epidemic and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver called for a "Food Revolution." Sometimes a kid just needs a junk food treat like a Raspberry Zinger to get through the school day!
4 comments:
I ate in the cafeteria most of the time unless it was something I really hated then I had a lunchbox. My mom got rid of all my lunchboxes and I could kill her for it too. Metal ones from the late 60s and early 70s. My last one was a vinyl Peanuts box in about 3rd grade. I don't remember trading stuff in my lunch box w/ anyone though.
Epic fail in our cafeteria though: they thought it'd be a good idea to give us our milk in little plastic clear baggies instead of cartons. You stabbed at the baggie w/ a sharp straw to get it in. Needless to say, it was extremely messy. If you so much as picked up the baggie to drink, milk spurted out of the straw.
I think I had a Dukes of Hazzard lunch box and a Fantastic Four -- maybe an Empire Strikes Back, too. Once, my mom put ice cream in the thermos so I had a vanilla milkshake with my lunch. That was a great day in the cafeteria.
JoJo-The milk in the baggie idea sounds crazy ( : It's surprising they tried something so messy! Sounds like something kids would come up with as a prank vs. the cafeteria passing out the milk that way. Reminds me a bit of those Capri Sun juice boxes. Always a stuggle to get the straw in without spilling.
M-DukesOH and EmpireSB? You were in the lunchbox top tier of coolness! Ice cream in the thermos is the best idea ever. Very creative of your mom. That is a great lunch memory!!!
I, too, am glad for the 80's cafeteria - especially high school where I could have a plate of french fries, drenched in gravy and a chocolate shake daily! Though, I have to argue the case for the Lemon Zingers! First, doesn't have all of that coconut on it, and then ... it's LEMON!
Our kids packed lunches were fairly healthy, and I am thankful that not only they appreciated it then (they would come home to tell me that 'Joey's' mom didn't love him because he had soda and chips in his lunch box!), but are healthy eaters today, now they are in college!
Hopping by (finally) from A to Z Blog Challenge! Hope you can stop by mine!
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