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11 bygone breakfast cereals from the 1970s we want to bring back
Seventies kids know Buc Wheats and Fortified Oat Flakes were way more delicious than they sound.
Images: Kellogg's via Vimeo / General Mills
There's something about breakfast cereal that pokes the nostalgia center of our brain with a spoon. Perhaps it is because a heaping bowl of crunchy, sugary cereal is irrevocably linked to watching Saturday morning cartoons in our youth. The kooky mascots, the silly commercials, the free prizes inside — it all takes you back.
That being said, there were also some "adult" cereals back in the day that were equally delicious. We're going to stroll down the cereal aisle of the 1970s and remember some of our lost favorites.
Which cereal would you want to revive?
1. Waffelos
Sure, Post may still offer its Waffle Crisp on shelves, but when it comes to waffle-themed spoonfuls, nothing compares to Ralston's Waffelos. The texture, the maple — it was sublime. Oh, and they also launched a Blueberry Waffelos spin-off in 1980.
Image: BlueCrabMagnets / Etsy
2. Fortified Oat Flakes
To younger generations or the unfamiliar, "Fortified Oat Flakes" might sound bland on paper, but this Post offering had rabid fans, both young and old. It is currently ranked No. 9 by eaters on Mr. Breakfast, the online cereal authority. As one devotee explained, "[It] had the malty goodness of hot oatmeal but was refreshing with milk."
Image: mrbreakfast.com
3. Fruit Brute
Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy remain the overlooked members of General Mills' "Monster Cereals." When Fruit Brute popped up in Pulp Fiction, younger people wondered, "Why can't I eat that?" General Mills briefly revived the cereal (and Yummy Mummy) for Halloween in 2013. However, the updated packaging was disappointing — as was the tweaked recipe. The 2013 comeback was only cherry flavored.
Image: General Mills
4. Buc Wheats
Like Fortified Oat Flakes, this one may not sound dazzling by its name, but it developed a devoted following. Originally, the flakes were maple flavored. However, in the late '70s, General Mills flipped the flavor to honey, and fans dropped off. By 1982, it was gone.
Image: Click Americana
5. Corny Snaps
"Masked Turtle" may not rank up there with Tony the Tiger when it comes to cartoon Kellogg's mascots, but Corny-Snaps had a some things going for it. For starters, it was a unique S shape, like a cheese puff (minus the cheese, of course). It is also just fun to say.
Image: Kelloggs / Vimeo
6. Crazy Cow
As the prize implies, this hit the shelves in the summer of Star Wars mania, 1977. We'd love a box just for the trading cards. The cereal was designed to make chocolate (or strawberry) milk, so it was a bit like a "leakier" Cocoa Puffs. That being said, perhaps people don't want to be reminded of mad cow disease when consuming dairy.
Image: nightflight.com
7. Graham Crackos
Speaking of Star Wars, any child of the '80s will wax nostalgic about C-3PO's cereal. However, '70s kids know that the figure-eight shape of C-3PO's was essentially a copy of Kellogg's Graham Crackos (which were much different than Post's Corn Crackos of the 1960s).
Image: commercialclassic / YouTube
8. Most
This entry from the end of the decade was similar to Quaker's Oatmeal Squares. Again, with its wheat germ and bran, it was healthy, but still rather addictive to munch.
Image: YouTube
9. Magic Puffs
Yeah, the name certainly brings to mind a certain lifestyle of the '60s and '70s, not to mention the trippy imagination of Sid and Marty Krofft. The mascot was something straight out of their show Lidsville. We loved the consistent magic theme, as the boxes even came with tricks inside.
10. Super Orange Crisp
Orange is the most neglected flavor of breakfast cereal, despite being once prevalent and popular. Sugar Bear had his Super Orange Crisp, which we loved, but there was also Quangaroos (an orange cousin to Quisp and Quake) and OJ's, which followed in the 1980s. We drink orange juice, so where'd all the orange cereal go?
Image: YouTube
11. Sir Grapefellow
While we're on the topic of neglected flavors, here is cereal that Grape Ape would adore. Sir Grapefellow and his companion Baron Von Redberry were basically like the Monster Cereals with a World War I fighter ace theme. Boo Berry and Franken Berry still sell, so why not send these boxes flying back to our mouths?
Image: Jason Liebig courtesy of CollectingCandy.com / Flickr
SEE MORE: 13 FORGOTTEN CEREALS FROM THE 1960S
We could go for a bowl of Buttercups and Cornados, too. READ MORE
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