The 1970s was the decade of cool cereals, slimming snacks and show-off dinner parties. When Generation X were children, the Egg McMuffin came out, cheese fondue was fashionable, Watergate salad became a family favorite and Blue Nun was the drink of choice. Take a trip down memory lane with these surreal meals from the Seventies.
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Toastwiches
The 1960s and 1970s were the decades of the toasted treat. Examples include Betty Crocker’s sausage and maple-flavored French Toastwiches, grilled cheese Toastwiches and Pizzaburger Toastwiches. Found in the frozen aisle, they went straight into the toaster, making hectic mornings easier.
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Sloppy joes
Hunt’s Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce was invented right at the end of the 1960s and proved popular through the 1970s. Many will remember the quick evening meal of the tomato sauce mixed with ground beef and piled into a hamburger bun. You can still buy the mix in grocery stores today.
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Alpen
It’s hard to imagine a more wholesome cereal than a bowl of muesli, and Alpen certainly helped spread its popularity when it launched in 1971. The idea came from one of Weetabix’s board members, after he tried Swiss muesli on a family ski trip.
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Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper was a powdered sauce and pasta product by Betty Crocker that was cooked with ground beef to make a meal. It appeared on shelves in 1971 and proved so popular the brand followed by launching Tuna Helper and Chicken Helper.
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Cup Noodles
Dinner doesn’t get much simpler than instant ramen. Cup Noodles were invented in Japan in the 1950s and crossed the Pacific to the US in 1971. Since the debut of the flavored noodle snack, it has sold over 40 billion cups.
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Hawaiian cuisine
As package vacations became more accessible to Americans, so Hawaii’s culture was embraced and copied back home. In the 1970s, food magazine Bon Appétit featured a plethora of Hawaiian-inspired recipes including chicken baked in pineapple. Poke, the still-fashionable raw fish salad, became popular around this time too.
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Black Forest gâteau
As beautiful as it is delicious, Black Forest gâteau was the obvious choice to round off a 1970s dinner party. Known as schwarzwälder kirschtorte in Germany, it’s a light, creamy layer cake with bitter chocolate, sour cherries and boozy kirsch.
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Perrier
Drawn from a spring in southern France, Perrier was introduced to the US in the mid-1970s. Already the number one sparkling water brand in France, the green glass bottled water soon became a status symbol among the health-conscious American middle class. Now nearly 160 years-old, it’s still well regarded.
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Munchkins Donut Hole Treats
These bite-sized donut snacks, with flavors including jelly, glazed and chocolate, were brought out by Dunkin’ Donuts at the beginning of the 1970s. They were invented to use up the excess dough cut from donut holes – a delicious and genius idea, we think.
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Egg McMuffin
Created in 1972, the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin consists of a perfectly round fried egg (cooked in a ring), a slice of bacon and a slice of American cheese on a toasted English muffin. Part of the chain’s iconic breakfast menu, the dish is now a fast food classic.
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Snapple
Also launched in 1972, Snapple was one of the first iced tea and juice drink brands to challenge the soda industry by claiming to offer healthier beverages. Notorious for its advertising campaigns and the fun ‘real facts’ on the inside of the bottle caps, the brand is still around today.
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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Pop Rocks
When Pop Rocks went on sale in 1975, they were a hit with kids who loved the crackling sound and tingling mouthfeel of the garishly-colored treat. They’re made by trapping carbon dioxide inside sugar crystals and the mysterious popping noise they make is the gas escaping when the sugar dissolves on your tongue.
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Golden Grahams
These crunchy, toasty, brown sugar-doused squares were instantly popular after being launched in 1975. In this 1978 Woman’s Day ad it was even suggested Golden Grahams could be mixed with nuts for a sophisticated cocktail snack.
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Fajitas
The origins of this Tex-Mex dish of sizzling strips of meat and vegetables wrapped inside a soft tortilla are humble. It most likely evolved around the campfire after cattle round ups, before popping up in Texas restaurants and fajita stands in the early 1970s. Today it’s a go-to family favorite for an easy midweek meal.
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General Tso’s chicken
Chef Peng Chang-kuei is generally credited as the inventor of General Tso’s chicken – a crispy, sweet and saucy chicken dish and American Chinese restaurant classic. The Hunan province native created the dish in Taiwan in 1952, but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that Peng opened a restaurant in New York City and it was adapted to American tastes into the dish loved around the world today.
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Subway BMT
Sandwich giant Subway’s flagship BMT, made with layers of pepperoni, salami, ham and salad, was introduced in 1975. If you’re wondering what its initials stand for, it was named after the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit system.
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Jelly Belly
The Jelly Belly jelly beans we know and love today were introduced in 1976. Made from natural purée, the first flavors included grape, green apple, root beer and cherry. There are now more than 50 different kinds to try, but the originals are some of the best.
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Mississippi mud pie
This rich chocolate dessert is made with layers of pudding, cake, biscuit, ice cream, whipped cream, liqueur and a cookie crust base. The origins of Mississippi mud pie are murky, but most agree it takes its name from its resemblance to the gooey, chocolate-brown banks of the Mississippi River. It became popular in homes in the 1970s.
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Pasta primavera
Italians have been rustling up stunning veggie pasta dishes for centuries, but pasta primavera is a resolutely American creation, invented by chefs at the upmarket Le Cirque restaurant in New York, in the late 1970s. It’s an explosion of greens – asparagus and peas with spinach, broad beans, broccoli or zucchini – on a bed of spaghetti or tagliatelle, served with a creamy sauce and Parmesan.
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Quiche Lorraine
The go-to food to serve at brunch in the 1970s was quiche Lorraine, a dish which came from France. Rich and salty, it contains crispy lardons, cheese (Gruyère, Emmental or Cheddar), eggs and cream, baked in a pastry case.
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Watergate salad
Made from Jell-O pistachio instant pudding, canned pineapple, nuts, whipped cream and mini marshmallows, Watergate salad is the brainchild of Kraft’s cookery team. It was originally called Pistachio Pineapple Delight and no one really knows how exactly it got its Watergate moniker. Some say it was renamed by food writers to capitalize off the biggest political scandal of the 1970s. Others say the salad’s name was inspired by Watergate cake – a green-hued dessert with pistachio pudding in the mix, whose name was in reference to the events leading to President Nixon’s resignation.
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Granola bars
Nature Valley created the first mass-produced granola bar, introducing this fruit, nut and cereal snack to the American public in the mid-1970s. Making time to sit down to breakfast was to be a thing of the past, as pre-packaged “healthy” snacks were offered as a convenient alternative for busy people.
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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Twix
Twix was originally launched in the UK and didn’t make it to American shores until 1979. The crunchy candy consists of two biscuit fingers covered in soft caramel and chocolate. It has done remarkably well ever since and is one of the country’s favorite sweet snacks.
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Frozen yogurt
Can’t imagine life without soft, refreshing, low-calorie frozen yogurt? You only have to go back to the 1970s, which is when it was first created at Hood Dairy, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. At first people thought it was too tart and too similar to normal yogurt, so it took a few years and adjustments of the recipe to catch on.
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Carrot cake
Dessert-lovers in the 1970s believed carrot cake was a healthy alternative to other puddings because of the nutrients in the veg, and it took off in a big way. In fact, the sugary bake, made with grated carrots, raisins, cinnamon, oil, sugar and cream cheese frosting, was listed as one of the top five fad foods of the time by Food Network.
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Blue Nun
The 1970s were the “glory days” of Blue Nun, which counted David Bowie and Rod Stewart among its fans. People’s memories of the sugary, fruity German riesling are thought to have given all the country’s wines an unfair reputation for being sweet and simple.
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Happy Meal
We have 1979 to thank for the Happy Meal, a work of marketing genius. As well as a burger, cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets, there were small fries, a drink and a toy inside. But the food was secondary for most kids who preferred the free gifts – the first were spinning tops, stencils, wallets, puzzles and erasers.
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Chicken tikka masala
Universally believed to be an Anglo-Indian dish (Glasgow in Scotland is often billed as its place of origin), chicken tikka masala is one of the more enduring dishes to have emerged from 1970s Britain. Chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, grilled then served in a creamy tomato-based sauce. It remains a favorite today.
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Cheese fondue
Although fondue has been around much longer in Switzerland, this DIY dish took off in America in a big way in the 1970s. A molten pot of Gruyère – with a splash of wine poured in – served alongside pieces of bread and meat for dunking, it’s the perfect set up for a cozy night in.