What a nice surprise before my morning commute yesterday! A friend treated me to a to-go breakfast bag, and I found a little bottle of Sunny-D inside. I couldn’t help but laugh that back in the school days I drank this stuff religiously. I immediately took a look at the label to examine the sugar content. Huh, not as bad as I would have thought. Doesn’t mean it isn’t unhealthy, but also not necessarily giving us all diabetes.

Then I got to thinking about the other high-octane “juice drinks” we drank during school lunch and honestly how awesome they were. Not at all nutritious, but awesome nonetheless. And you weren’t cool unless you brought these tasty beverages to school in your lunchbox. Let’s reminisce.

Hi-C

The first thing that comes to mind for me when I think of Hi-C is the special edition Ghostbusters: Ecto Cooler. The Ecto Cooler launched in 1989, and remained on the market through the end of 2001. The decision was made to rebrand it as Crazy Citrus Cooler.

The flavor was an orange-tangerine, so I was naturally a fan without the help of rebranding the flavor. And of course, the color of juice was green, to give all the Slimer vibes.

My go-to flavor for any of these drinks was always orange. For Hi-C, Citrus Cooler always hit the spot. Hi-C was created in 1946 and is still found on the grocery store shelf today. You can even buy it in “drink mix” form.

Capri Sun

The ultimate challenge in opening a juice pouch without spilling it everywhere!!

Kids coming up with creative techniques to ensure no messes were to be made. From squeezing the sides of the pouch a specific way with a specific pressure, to just turning the whole thing upside down and stabbing the straw through the bottom. But then how are you going to set it down on the table?

SqueezIt

The challenge here is in opening the bottles. And that thick plastic! It was like drinking out of a toy. But also, less messy than the Capri Sun. Again, I was a fan of the orange flavor and the only one I ever asked my parents to buy.

And did you know there was once a color changing SqueezIt? Can’t tell you I remember these. You drop a little tablet inside the bottle for the liquid to change color. Sounds suspect, but we were doing all sorts of random (and probably worse) things to our foods back then.

Sunny-D

This was our orange juice. And our neighbors’ orange juice. In fact, this was all the rage for “orange juice” next to my grandma sitting there making freshly squeezed in her little electric juicer every morning. Not gonna lie, when I was around to get a sip, I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh stuff.

It was nostalgic to take a sip of Sunny-D yesterday. Obviously, I made my weekly post on lunchbox juice drinks!

Hawaiian Punch

“Hey! How ’bout a nice Hawaiian Punch?”

Although Hawaiian Punch was invented in 1934, it has remained popular amongst kids both young and old. I remember it coming in an aluminum can and some kids would have them in their school lunch. And just the original flavor. There’s a wide variety of flavors today. Honestly couldn’t tell you about any of them. But can I tell you a secret? Fruit punch is not a favorite of mine, so I rarely drank it. I only really remember cans being handed out to us during “field days” at school (along with Otter Pops). Pretty sure we kids also used the slogan as an excuse to run around and punch each other.

You can find these drinks on the store shelves today. Maybe some different branding and packaging. It also might just be a quick comeback. Like the Hi-C Ecto Cooler made last summer.

So once we’re past all these Arctic blasts keeping us indoors, let’s go out and grab a juice pack. Time to enjoy some of the wonderful beverages that once starred in our childhood, or maybe even early adulthood.