Monday, July 11, 2011

I Wasn't Allowed To Drink Kool-Aid

Mom never let us "drink the Kool-Aid."

As a youngster in the late '70s and early '80s, there were foods Mom never let us have such as Shake 'n Bake and sugar cereals. Kool-Aid was another fun product banned from our house. The Kool-Aid commercials interrupted all of my favorite TV shows.

I longed to be a Kool-Aid kid screaming, "HEY KOOL-AID!" The icy cold red liquid goodness served up in that beautiful glass pitcher looked so refreshing and delicious. Never mind the insane, red round singing Kool-Aid man rescuing thirsty kids all over America. That freak never came to my Long Island street on a hot summer day.

One of the many fun Kool-Aid flavors and
promotions I missed out on.

I wonder what it was about Kool-Aid that made Mom's banned food and beverage list. I think it had to have been the bright fun Kool-Aid colors. Then again, maybe it was the idea of adding your own TWO cups of sugar - the reality being that sugar was the main ingredient.  Here is a vintage commercial from my childhood advertising the famous drink I so badly wanted to try.


Were there any non-alcoholic beverages or foods that were or are banned in your home? I'd love to hear about them!
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20 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 11, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Love this post!

    I used to be jealous of the kids who came to school with the telltale Kool-Aid mustaches.

    And I too wasn't allowed those candy-for-breakfast cereals. Though now that I'm older I loved that I couldn't have them because there are still cereals to this day that I haven't tried!

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  2. mamahasspokenJuly 11, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    I love Kool-aide just because you can control how much sugar you use. When I had exchange students from Germany, they loved Kool-aide and even bought several packs to take home with them.
    Soft drinks were the band drinks growning up. We were only allowed to have half a bottle of soda on Saturday night. I was envious of those who could have one whenever they want it.

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  3. Lady EstrogenJuly 11, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    ME NEITHER!

    But the worst? Oooh the worst, was that my father would buy Coke by the case full - fully stock the fridge, BUT we weren't allowed to drink it. It was ONLY for him! Phhhh-sshhaa!
    Evil.

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  4. Oilfield TrashJuly 11, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    I used to drink it all the time as a kid.

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  5. RandiJuly 11, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    No Kool-Aid or Hawaiian Punch...and no Drake's Cakes or Hostess...which totally screwed with me because as soon as I went to a friend's house I would eat too many! If we had it around the house it wouldn't have been turned into such a temptation!

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  6. titaniumgrrlJuly 11, 2011 at 12:25 PM

    Hahah
    We had the same childhood - No Kool-aid, no Shake and Bake and NO craft dinner. (that being said, we had homemade macaroni which was VERY tasty...)

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  7. Pat TillettJuly 11, 2011 at 12:36 PM

    My Kool-Aid era was about 20 years before yours. It seemed like everyone drank it back then. There wasn't any banned food in my house. Of course, there was no McDonalds or things like that back then either.
    Kool-Aid
    Kool-Aid
    Tastes Great
    Wish We Had Some
    Can't Wait!

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  8. BelleJuly 11, 2011 at 1:41 PM

    I had Kool-Aid every day. Also sugared cereal, cookies, cakes, brownies, fudge and popcorn with tons of butter. No wonder I was always dieting!

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  9. aliciaJuly 11, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    we drank ONLY kool-aid in my house. it wasn't until i was an adult that i understood just how little of a shit my mom gave about feeding us properly. i would go to a friend's for dinner and be confused by the vegetables on the plate. i'm 30 now and i still have trouble eating them!

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  10. CopyboyJuly 11, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    I wasn't allowed Kool-aid either. Though I did send away for the Kool-Aid comic.

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  11. Cat and DOG Chat With CarenJuly 11, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    I wasn't allowed to drink it either for the same reason.

    Does that stuff still even exist?

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  12. Ms. AJuly 11, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    I don't recall there being anything off limits when I was young. I do remember we never made ice tea and I loved it at my aunts house. They always had tea and never enough milk. When my cousins came to my house, they went straight for the milk. When I went to their house, I went straight for the tea!

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  13. -stephanie-July 11, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    We rarely got anything "good" like that. That's why I spent my days at a friends house. Her mom bought all that junk and she shared nicely. :o)

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  14. Amber Von FeltsJuly 11, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    We were allowed Kool-Aid and sugar cereals but something that I really longed for in our own home was Ramen Noodles! I remember eating them at a friend's house as her after school snack...they were soooo good! I don't know why we weren't alloweed to have them? I love the Ramen now though!

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  15. MarleneJuly 11, 2011 at 10:13 PM

    My mom never had Kool-Aid in the house, either. Funny...I had it for the first time as an adult...and I really liked it....for about a year. That was a long time ago. Now it's just gross. Reminds me of jello that hasn't set yet. :)

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  16. TomJuly 11, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    I remember the Kool-Aid Man and in some commercials his mouth moved. I always wondered how they did that.

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  17. TILTEJuly 11, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    ha! kool-aid was actually one of the few things we WERE allowed. I'm assuming because it was so cheap and we were pretty much poor. but there was a list of goodies we couldn't have- soda, capri-sun, sugar cereals, chips, handi-snacks, cookies- because they "go to fast" and we would eat them the second they came out of the grocery store bag.

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  18. anonymousJuly 12, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    Kool Aid wasn't allowed. My mother got another drink called "Funny Face" instead. I guess it was a cheaper knock off! lol. Then that disappeared when I went to the dentist and a few too many cavities! Banned-- Shake n Bake, Hamburger Helper, any tomato sauce in a jar, Biscuit, sugary cereal and probably other stuff, that I can't recall at the moment. Old age has set in... : )

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  19. AmandaNovember 7, 2013 at 8:04 PM

    Just discovered your blog, going back through the archive... I was born in 83, but I remember a ton of these, some that after seeing the photos or the video clips just bring back memories! I grew up with cool aid... it was okay, but as an adult it's just way to sweet. I'll make Lemonade on occasion, but thats it. We never did have anything banned.

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  20. AmandaNovember 7, 2013 at 8:05 PM

    Just discovered your blog, going back through the archive... I was born in 83, but I remember a ton of these, some that after seeing the photos or the video clips just bring back memories! I grew up with cool aid... it was okay, but as an adult it's just way to sweet. I'll make Lemonade on occasion, but thats it. We never did have anything banned.

    ReplyDelete