—————————————————— Gator Gum and 7 Other Discontinued Snacks That I Wish Were Still Around | Eating Our Words | Houston | Houston Press | The Leading Independent News Source in Houston, Texas

Snackshot

Gator Gum and 7 Other Discontinued Snacks That I Wish Were Still Around

Remember Gatorgum? No, it's not a gum disease caused by the disgustingly sweet nature of Tim Tebow that has been crippling the entire female population ever since the QB's time back at the University of Florida (although that's not a bad name for the Tebow hysteria, is it?).

It's the Gatorade brand of chewing gum developed in the '70s that was available up until the early 2000s. It came in flavors like lemon-lime and orange and...oh, wait, that was it. Regardless, Gatorgum had an odd appeal, and I kinda miss it. Gets me all nostalgic and shit.

And now that I think about it, there are plenty of other old-school snacks that I miss.

Here's the list of defunct snack foods that I wish were still around:

7. Giggles Cookies Looking back, these cookies were creepy as shit, but they were freaking delicious. Somehow, despite the fact that he probably went food shopping once a year, my grandfather (or Poppa, as we called him) always had Giggles at his house. If you knew Poppa, you'd find his fondness for Giggles fitting, given that his m.o. on his frequent visits to New Jersey was sitting in our garage...in the dark...by himself...and scaring the shit out of my friends when the floodlight flashed on. (I guess that's what made Poppa giggle.)

Regardless, at Poppa's house, heading over to the cookie jar and grabbing a couple of cookies with possibly the world's scariest smiley faces cut into the tops became a ritual. With both chocolate and vanilla cream filling, these cookies were the predecessors to snacks like today's Double Stuf Oreos.

6. O'Boisies Potato Chips

"Oboisies are o'boisterous!" Somehow, this slogan flew in the '80s, and to my knowledge, no one was fired because of it. Amazing, isn't it?

These "oboisterous" Keebler-brand thick-cut potato chips were filled with plenty of dips and bubbles. And they were my absolute fave; I tried to sneak them into the shopping cart on probably every grocery store trip with my mom, but my request was usually denied. Available in Original and Sour Cream & Onion, the chips being incredibly crispy, incredibly salty and incredibly greasy. Most likely they were incredibly bad for you, too.

5. Cheez-It Party Mix

Sure, there's a Cheez-It mix now, but it's not the same. I'm talking about before they lamely renamed the box Cheez-It "Snack" Mix. Before they got rid of the playing-card-suit-shaped, cheese-flavored crackers (shuffles) and replaced them with wheat squares. With tangy Cheez-Its, salty pretzels, cheese-flavored rice balls and sesame bread sticks, the mix was perfect as is. Why ruin the party, Cheez-It? Why?

4. Shark Bites

These gummy "fruit" snacks came with mystery-flavored, creamy-textured white sharks whose actual flavor I could never fully identify. And they remain among my favorite fruit snacks to this day. Luckily, the shark-shaped fruit snacks can still be bought on Amazon (but for a price).

KEEP THE HOUSTON PRESS FREE... Since we started the Houston Press, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Houston, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Brooke Viggiano is a contributing writer who is always looking to share Houston's coolest and tastiest happenings with the Houston Press readers.
Contact: Brooke Viggiano