Brian Gets Nostalgic About Twinkies

Today is a huge day in the history of food. 80 years ago today the Twinkie was invented, mmmmm, Twinkies. The Twinkie was originally filled with banana cream, they are baked for 10 minutes, have 145 calories and 500 million are produced every year and I help to curb the population by at least a few dozen a year. Don’t worry, I have a Twinkie permit.

As if the birth of the Twinkie weren’t enough, today is also the anniversary of the TV dinner from Swanson, the foil wrapped tray of deliciousness was on sale for the first time on this date in 1954. I still love a TV dinner, the crunchy breaded piece of mystery chicken, (I want to see the Swanson farms chickens because they have parts that I haven’t seen on other chicken), the burning hot gob of mashed potatoes with the frozen tundra center, the blurb of watery corn and the high rising square of brownie type substance still makes my mouth water.

Celebrating these birthdays today has made me think of other foods l loved as a kid like pop rocks, you know, the dangerous carbonated candy that allegedly killed Mikey from the Life cereal commercials, we all know that is a urban legend, he was killed by Diet Coke and Mentos.

Another old favorite of mine was Mouthful Bubble Gum, is was a rectangular brick with a smiley face on the wrapper and sometimes a baseball card of a hot rod or motorcycle inside. Do you remember Lollys, those sour powdered candy suckers? I loved those! Whatever happened to the cheese in a tube with the yellow plastic cap that you squeezed on your crackers or tongue? Now that packaging seems exclusive to the braunschweiger. I remember getting my teeth all waxed up from eating those wax soda bottle candies with the squirt of fluid inside. So refreshing.

The food I miss the most though has to be the Marathon bar. It was a foot long feast of braided caramel covered in chocolate that came in a red wrapper with yellow letters and had a ruler on the back so you knew how many inches you had eaten. After taking this trip down memory lane I see how I ended up an adult diabetic. Happy birthday Twinkie and TV dinner thanks for all you have done for me