Random '90s School Lunches Led Directly To Hipster Foods (15 items)

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  (#1) Kudos Became KIND Bars

  Kudos are granola bars that most '90s kids grew up eating. Even though Kudos are still around, millennials have moved on to KIND bars, which has ingredients more focused on whole, healthy foods and minimal processing.

  This makes sense, considering millennials drive the healthier snack food market. They were also instrumental in getting KIND bars released in a smaller, snack-size variety.
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  (#2) Lunchables Became Charcuterie Boards

  Thanks to Lunchables, we were prepared quite early in life for the coming popularity of charcuterie boards. You can trace a more or less clear line between the single-serving crackers and meat and cheese squares of Lunchables with those creative pilings of meats, cheeses, and assorted accompaniments on a large platter.

  Lunchables were "like a low-end version of a Parisian picnic," as one millennial described them. Charcuterie boards are just Lunchables all grown up.
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  (#3) Peanut Butter Bars Became Protein Bars

  If you grew up in the 1990s, you'll recognize this favorite school lunch dessert: lunchlady-made peanut butter bars. Most schools followed the same general recipe, and these little jolts of sugary, peanut butter deliciousness graduated into protein bars as millennials came of age.

  Today's bars are much healthier and made with more natural ingredients, but millennials are the driving force behind the high-protein bar revolution - thanks in part, perhaps, to cafeteria peanut butter bars.
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  (#4) Dippin' Dots Became Unicorn Food

  Unicorn food is a culinary trend that has gained traction. It's basically any bright, pastel-colored, often-glitter-bombed food, ranging from cupcakes and cookies to Starbucks's famous limited-edition Unicorn Frappucino.

  All this unicorn love may well have its source in millennials' lingering affection for the ice cream treat of their youth, the almighty Dippin' Dots. Memories of those itty-bitty frozen balls of goodness are hard to surpress.
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  (#5) Chocolate Milk Became Lattes

  As a kid, few things were more exciting than a tiny carton of chocolate milk at school lunch. Once millennial kids hit coffee-drinking age, they took their love of chocolate milk into the Big Kid World by adding heaps of cream and sweetness to their java drinks.

  But, in reality, any type of java drink, not just chocolatey ones, are a hit among the millennial population. According to Mark Miles of the Coca-Cola Company, "Millennials drink more types of coffee than any other generation, and they over-index on espresso, lattes, iced coffee, and slushy coffee."
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  (#6) Tater Tots Became Sweet Potato Fries

  Who didn't love those crispy puffs of potato heaven that were the culinary strongholds of the school lunchroom? Cooked to a golden brown, tater tots were served atop casseroles and as a side dish.

  Millennials, however, have likely taken note that white potatoes are super-high in carbs, which is why they've made the transition to sweet potato fries.
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  (#7) Fruitopia Became LaCroix

  Fruitopia juice beverages were a slightly more mature take on Little Hug Fruit Barrels, and it was that maturity that likely helped them evolve into the millennials' eventual taste for LaCroix. LaCroix is one of those love-it-or-hate-it products, and millennials love it.

  Among the millennial palette, the hippie-inspired names and flavors of Fruitopia (Strawberry Passion, Kiki Karma) grew into the more sedate names and flavors of LaCroix (key lime, coconut, peach-pear).
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  (#8) Little Hug Fruit Barrels Became Kombucha

  Little Hug Fruit Barrels - which are still around - are kid-sized plastic jugs of fruit-flavored drinks. The containers are shaped like barrels, each one covered with a foil seal, and the flavor options include fruit punch, grape, and blue raspberry.

  As millennials grew up drinking these sweet treats, they eventually adapted it to fit their burgeoning interest in health. Enter kombucha, the millennial answer to Fruit Barrels. The fermented beverage is an adult version of the Fruit Barrel juice, still made with fruit flavors  - albeit more natural ones.
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  (#9) Tuna Salad Became Poke Bowls

  Oh, how school cafeterias loved to throw a vat of mayonnaise into virtually anything and call it a salad. One favorite of most lunchrooms was tuna salad, which motivated a lot of millennials to look for a more mature version as they themselves grew into adults.

  They found it in poke bowls, a Native Hawaiian dish of chopped fish and fresh vegetables. Poke is perfect for millennials unsatisfied with the old canned-tuna-and-mayo combo.
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  (#10) Mac 'n' Cheese Became Cauliflower Rice

  Macaroni and cheese is one of those dishes that will never not be popular. For millennials, it was a frequent dining option in the school cafeteria and at home. Now that they're adults, it's hardly surprising that the millennial generation is the one to give us cauliflower rice, a low-carb pasta substitute that can also be drenched with cheese.

  Millennials are, however, choosing more exotic cheeses, causing the American cheese market to suffer.
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  (#11) Instant Oatmeal Became Quinoa Bowls

  Instant oatmeal has existed since 1966. But it wasn't until the '90s that it got something of a makeover, marketed as a microwavable breakfast in a snap and gussied up with lots of additional flavor options, like Maple & Brown Sugar, Strawberries 'n Stuff, Radical Raspberry, and Cinnamon Graham Cookie.

  Nowadays, millennials love another grain - quinoa - and they love meals in bowls. The quick oatmeal has gotten replaced by slower-cooked quinoa. The meal isn't limited to breakfast, and the flavors are more sophisticated. You can eat your quinoa with egg and millennial superfood avocado for breakfast, or you can have quinoa burrito bowls for lunch or dinner.
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  (#12) Heinz EZ Squirt Ketchup Became Sriracha

  For a brief period at the turn of the millennium, Heinz EZ Squirt ketchup was the new food trend. It came in shocking colors like purple, pink, orange, teal, and blue. There's a strong correlation between Heinz EZ squirt, which was discontinued in 2006, and the millennial taste for Sriracha.

  One boldly colored condiment replaced another, and the fire of the Sriracha flavor is just another sign of the ripening of millennial taste buds.
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  (#13) SpaghettiOs Became Handmade Pasta

  Millennials seem to have a taste for the foods of Italy, and anything handmade, handcrafted, artisanal, or the like is always a selling point. It's only natural that many '90s kids now gravitate toward fresh, handmade pasta as adults. However, their first experience of this Italian staple was through a much humbler product: SpaghettiOs.

  Circles of white-flour noodles swimming in tomato sauce have been bested by hand-cut pasta and slow-simmered marinara. SpaghettiOs manufacturer Chef Boyardee may have noticed; the company hired millennial rapper Lil Yachty to sing the SpaghettiOs theme song in August 2018.
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  (#14) Dunkaroos Became Artisanal Cupcakes 

  Cake is by no means a millennial fad, but millennials have definitely made cake trendy with the proliferation of cupcake-specific bakeries and cake pop stands. The affection for all things cakey could be rooted in Dunkaroos, those '90s-era cookie sticks that came with their own single-serve icing cups. Just dip the cookie in the frosting and eat.

  As a grownup, you can put the frosting and the pastry together and launch a cake renaissance.
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  (#15) Handi-Snacks Became Pâté And Liver Mousse

  Handi-Snacks were a natural precursor to crackers with pâté or liver mousse. What started as single-serving cheese spread across a cracker with a little red plastic stick transformed into something much grander as the millennial crowd grew up.

  And - surprise! - millennials love salty snacks. Now, the Ritz are table water crackers, ak-maks, or chunks of baguettes, and the spread isn't cheesefood but pricey pâté and duck, chicken, or even rabbit liver mousse.

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