The '90s Breakfast Dish That Made Playing With Food Totally OK

Growing up, we've all heard an earful from our parents whenever we played with food — but did you know that food play is actually encouraged to help kids develop smart eating practices? Even as adults, this touch of whimsy to our everyday lives every now and then can help with anxiety, so who says we shouldn't have fun with what's on the dining table? A particular '90s breakfast dish, Oatmeal Swirlers, invited foodies to bring back fun to food during its heyday — and maybe we could learn a thing or two about its approach. Oatmeal can be bland and boring, especially when consumed everyday, but Oatmeal Swirlers came with a razzle-dazzle that had everyone hooked. With flavor packets that you could swirl on top of the instant oatmeal, you could reach for strawberry, raspberry, or cinnamon (among plenty of others), and even draw fun shapes as you layered it on top — or play tic-tac-toe because, why not?

Oatmeal Swirlers certainly made breakfast exciting for kids, and it's perhaps one of the reasons why plenty of us have a sweet tooth today. Unfortunately, though, we don't see it being part of nostalgic treats that have been reinvented any time soon, so we don't have a choice but to look back and bask in our childhood memories.

Oatmeal Swirlers was one of the popular snacks from the '90s we'd like to taste again not just for its novelty appeal, but also for its addictive sweetness. But its high sugar content was a double-edged sword, as it might be the reason it was discontinued. The fiber-rich snack can be a nutritious treat on its own, but topping it with a lot of sugary ingredients is a mistake that everyone makes with oatmeal. It's also possible that Oatmeal Swirlers lost a lot of customers who were hoping to get boxes of just one flavor, as each one came with a variety. Although exciting, it was a bit of a downer to not have the freedom to choose.

If you're missing this nostalgic treat, perhaps you can recreate it at home by using fruit jams. It might not have the same appeal as the original, but, unfortunately, since it's no longer on the market, it's the best next thing to indulge in our nostalgia.