Food of the Eighties, Products Beginning with M

I've been asked a couple of times for information about what food was specific to the 80s, so I've started a small list which I'm sure will grow pretty rapidly. Cereals of the 80s have their own page.

This list contains items that were around before and after the 80s, I'm looking for stuff that was still popular in the 80s. So this list will contain items that were around in the 70s, and maybe earlier if they were still popular.

Please note! Zima and clear colas were a 90s fad, not an 80s fad! I know it might seem like a long time ago, but that's only because they tasted so awful and were marketed so heavily. (Somehow, Zima still persists, though no one has determined why).

This page currently edited by: 80s Cheerleader. Past editor: Banasy



Food beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]
M & M Royals
These were 'chocolate brown' and 'mint green' colored M&Ms with a mint flavor. I used to buy them in/after high school (78-82). Yummy!!
Magic Middles
Does anybody remember these? They were by Keebler. They were cookies with choclate fudge in the middle.
Magic Pan crepes
A restaurant chain sold these wafer thin meals with filling inside. It was popular on both US coasts, but it wasn't so successful in-between.
Magic Shell Ice Cream Coating
A chocoate syrup intended for sundaes that was supposed to turn into a hard shell after a few moments on the cold ice cream. Never really worked as good as the commercials said, but it hung around quite a while, and may still be out there! Haven't seen an ad for it in years though!
Malamars
They were marshmallows covered in chocolate and filled with raspberry jam on a cookie.
Mallow Cup
A candy like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, with a marshmallow filling. Also, every package contained a promotional card that was worth random points. The points could then be traded-in for novelty items.
Malt Duck-Malt Liquor
It was purple and came in quarts. It was real cheap and tasted like grape juice.
Malteesers
Round Chocolate Candy with like a crunchy center w/ little holes in them. They still exist. I remember the commercials, they were the coolest when I was kid: if you ate one, you became so light you were able to walk on the ceiling and people were just dancing up there!
Mama Leone's Pasta Suprema
There were a handfull of glass jarred ready-to-eat pastas in the 80s. I always thought this was the next advance beyond the nasty canned pasta, boy was I wrong! This stuff was SO GOOD I would say it was even better than some frozen pastas of today. Where did it go, and why hasn't anyone brought back this great idea? They put Ragu in jar, this just had the pasta too. It holds MUCH better flavor than canned, and stores way easier than frozen. It was also better than those plastic microwave ones they have by Hormel or whoever. I might have the "Leonne's" spelled wrong. Thanks for a great site! Dave
Mama's Cookies
They were chocolate cookies with a hole in the middle and sugar sprinkled on top. I can't find them anywhere. They were out when I was a kid then they were gone. They brought them back a few years ago and took them away again. They were my favorite cookies.
Mamba's Candy
A chewy candy the came in 3 different flavored long pack. Each flavor had 5 pieces individualy wrapped. Lemon, Orange and Strawberry were the flavors.
Maple Buds
They were in a brown plastic pouch, they were tiny little chocolate buds that would melt in your mouth (I'd love to get ahold of some)
Marathon Bar
It was a "candy bar" about 12 inches long and an inch wide. It was a chewy chocolate. It stretched and the its claim to fame was that it lasted a really long time. I remember a commercial of the (red baron?) in a plane eating one in the sky. They tasted great!
Mario soda
Shasta's promo soda for the new mario game they were about half the size of a regular soda can and they came in 4 flavors; Mario was friut punch,Princess Peach was cherry,Luigi was berry and Yoshi was apple it was cool but the only soda that was actualy good was the Luigi.
Mars Bars
The Mars bar was made using chocolate, almonds, and caramel, around since the 50s.
Marshmallow Fluff
All this was regular marshmallows melted down and put in a jar. You're supposed to make fluffernutters, sandwiches with peanutbutter and this marshmallow spread, but it kind of killed the idea of eating marshmallows. Well, the fluffernutter fad went out with the dogs in the early 1990s.
Matilda Bay Wine Coolers
Remember when wine coolers were all the rage? These were supposedly Australian wine coolers with bizarre commercials. The characters had bad accents and did wacky things.
Maypo Hot Cereals
Run-of-the-mill farina and oatmeals probably still lurking around the back of a bodega.
Mc Chicken sandwich
It went away, but now they have it back on the $ menu. It was the first wavy in chicken sandwich popualrity in the 80's. Call me crazy but it was better than all the redesigns for the chix sand since.
Mc Donalds Danish
Cinnamon, raspberry and cheese we're my favorites. They also had apple.
Mc Donalds McDLT
This was a odd packaged sandwich that came in a styrofoam container with 2 seperate compartments. One compartment contained half the bun with the hot meat. The other compartment was the top of the bun with the cold mayo, lettuce and tomato. The idea here was as the ad said "keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold"
Mc Onion Bits
A very short promotion they were basically onion rings, only there was no ring to them. They came in a small box,and were quite tasty.
McDonald's BeefSteak Sandwich
It was basically an extended hamburger on a poppy seed bun. It was great because it did not take that long to make plain and I was a picky eater!
McDonald's Breakfast Biscuits
Large homestyle biscuits with either sausage, sausage and egg, or bacon, egg, and cheese. Still made today. Very good.
McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
First appeared in the 80's and still going strong
McDonald's Deep-Fried Pies
Deep fried apple or cherry pies! Cherry use to be my favorite. They used to be so hot when you got them that they would sizzle and burn your mouth. They were great. Much better than the baked ones that are served now!
McDonald's Mini burger
In 1986 McDonald's had these small hamburgers that came in rectangular shape box with three inside. There were better than Whitecastles. I ate the whole summer of '86.
McDonald's Shaker Fries
These were crazy. They came with a shaker bag, and you could choose flavours like BBQ and Sour Cream and Onion, and what you did was sprikle the powder in the bag with the fries, give them a good shake, and enjoy!
McDonald's Shangai McNuggets
Limited time deal; it was the regular McNuggets but came with teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour, and mustard sauces. They also gave you chop sticks with them.
McDonalds Pizza
It came out in the late 80's and tasted like cardboard.
McLean Deluxe
McDonald's McLean Deluxe was rumored to be made out of all sorts of things, but actually was made with extra-lean beef. Very tasty IMHO, but unfortunately died in the early '90s along with most '80s diet food.
McRib Sandwiches
Basically a boneless serving of rib meat on a bun with lettuce and tomato... This is not a mainstay, but something they have offered occasionally.
Mcdonalds Fiesta McNuggets
I saw this offered in the Winter of 1988 (November/December), didnt see it afterward. Basically the nuggests came with a different variety of sauces and the meat might have even been marinated a little differentky from the regular McNuggets.
Mello-Roll Ice Cream Cone
Round vanilla ice cream in wrapper that fit in special shaped cone
Mello-yello
Much like surge today, yellow in color, soda.
Mexican Pizza
From Taco Bell... I've not seen the Mexican Pizza originate elsewhere... or at least not before it was introduced by Taco Bell. The Taco Salad may have also originated in the 80s, but I'm not sure.
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars
They were ice cream bars, shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. The face was vanilla ice cream, with chocolate ice cream where the eyes and mouth went. The ears were covered in a chocolate shell. I remember thinking these were one of the best treats ever.
Micro Magic Food
Hamburgers, fries, milkshakes that you could cook in the microwave found in the frozen food section in a red box
Micro-Rave
Cakes and brownies that you could cook in your microwave. Came with it's own microwave-safe tray to cook it in. They were disgusting!
Micro-Shake
A shake that you heat up in the microwave. It was for those who didn't know how to boil water, according to the radio ads.
Microwave Popcorn
Not really a new food more than adaptation to the introduction of the microwave. Microwave popcorn continues to be a big seller.
Microwaveable Brownies
It was brownine mix that came with a microwaveable plastic pan. You would make the brownies as usual by adding water and oil to the dry mix but the brownie batter would be poured in the pan and placed in the microwave to cook. The brownies would then cook in the microwave. I think that Pillsbury and Duncan Himes both had them out. I remember them in like 87-88.
Mike and Ike's
Introduced in 1940, but became much more popular in the 80's when they came out with several new flavors. For example, Cherri and Bubb (cherry and bubblegum) which is my all-time favorite. Also, Lem and Mel (lemon and watermelon), which was an odd combo that I didn't care for. Also, Strawbana was awesome (strawberry and banana). I never liked the original Mike and Ike's, but the variations were pretty good.
Milgurt
Basically, a little plastic bottle (containing a milky-yogurt drink) that was packaged in a small carton of four bottles. It tasted very sweet and delicious.
Milk Break Bars
Wafer bars covered with chocolate. Was supposed to have half a glass of milk in each one. Different flavors available, came out in about 1984.
Milk Duds
Very very chewy, it was either caramel or toffey drops covered in chocolate, They were good but they stuck to your teeth.
Milk Mate
Kinda like Nestle's Quick, but not. It was a chocolate syrup that wouldn't quite dissolve properly in milk. "Milk Mate, Milk Mate... tastes great!"
Mini Middles
A mini version of Magic Middles!
Mint Chocolate Bubble Yum Gum
It was this funky green/brown coloued gum, made by Bubble Yum. It tasted like some of the best mint chocolate I've ever had! It was out in the very early 80's.
Minute Maid Orange Soda
Orange soda with REAL Minute Maid orange juice in it! It came out around 1987.
Mister Misty
This was from Dairy Queen and sort of like a slurpee or slush puppy but it was icier and less foamy. You could pick from several flavors (lime, raspberry, cheery, etc). Don't know why they got rid of them--I miss them!
Mojo
They were penny candy, similar to fruitella, came in fruity flavours. (Maybe only a Canadian thing)
Monster Chomps
These were cookies that were shaped like they had a bite taken out of them.They may not have been a huge thing or been in every store, but I remember them and I LOVED them.
Monster Pops
Popsicles shaped like Frankenstein, Dracula and other scary creatures. Oh how I miss Monster Pops.
Morning Funnies
It was a sweetened cereal, and the box had comics on it, and the front of the box opened like a flap so there was more funnies. Good reading.
Mountain Berry Punch Kool-Aid
Best flavour of Kool-Aid ever. I think it was a mix of Blackberry, Raspberry, and Strawberry or something, discontinued (in Canada, at least) around 1987-8. I remember the sadness I felt while mixing up the last batch of it, knowing I'd never taste it again...
Mountain Dew Red
Mountain Dew Red came out around 1988 but didn't stay on the market for long. It was a red carbonated beverage that tasted terrible.
Mr. Melons
Made by Fererra Pan (maker of Lemonheads) these were like large green jelly beans flavored like watermelon. They were 25 cents a box and oh so good!!!
Mr. Phipps' Pretzel Chips
Disc-shaped pretzels, about an inch in diameter. Came in a yellow box with cartoon 'Mr. Phipps' on the front.
Mr. Salty Pretzels
Thin little pretzels that came in a blue box, like a cereal box.There was a little guy made out of pretzels.
Mr.G's Red Hot Potato Chips
These chips came in small to medium sized red and white bags. They were made by the Gibbles Snack Company. These chips were hot, spicy and good.
Mug O Lunch
Came 2 pouches to a box. My favorite flavor was the mac & cheese. Put the mix in a mug, add hot water and a pat of butter and you're good to go. Scrumptious.
Munch Peanut Brittle Bar
First made by Snickers, then Combo, then Snickers again. Basically peanut brittle with more peanuts.
Mystery Mix Now and Laters
Half purple and yellow, no one knew what flavor they were, but they were phenomenal.


Food beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]
Do You Remember Something Food Related We Forgot?

This site grows only with submissions from dedicated visitors like yourself. If you would like to reflect about a concert you attended, please fill out the form below.

Crystal Colas came out in the 1990s. Please stop entering these!

Please only submit one item at a time with the form. After you submit the information, go back and enter additional items.

There is a separate page for corrections. DO NOT USE THE FORM BELOW or your corrections will not get saved. Spelling and grammar mistakes on this page are from the original author of the comments, and are intentionally left uncorrected.

If you have a question to ask, please use the Messageboard, otherwise you will not receive an answer.

All fields are required! The email is not gathered or displayed on the page, and is only used to contact you if there is a question about your submission.