The following news requires your full attention, so pause that episode of Friends you're (re)watching and lean in close: Clearly Canadian is officially back in stores for the first time since 2009. Yes, you read that correctly. The sparkling water of choice during the '90s is available in all the flavors you remember: mountain blackberry, wild cherry, orchard peach, and country raspberry.
A lot's changed in the past couple decades—all the cool kids have phones instead of beepers, Tracy Anderson has usurped Jane Fonda, and Elaine from Seinfeld made it all the way to the White House—but Clearly Canadian is stuck in time. It looks the same (pretty much) and its ingredients are unchanged, which, alas, isn't exactly a good thing: One bottle of this nostalgic beverage packs 25 grams of sugar.
Which brings up an interesting question: Was anything considered healthy in the '90s actually good for you? Rounded up here are three cult favorites, and how their nutrition info stacks up based on what we know now.
Scroll down to find out how your favorite food and drinks from the '90s would be viewed today.
Snackwell's Devil Food Cookie Cakes
Even parents who didn't buy sugary cereal or Little Debbie treats likely had some Snackwell's stashed in the kitchen—billed as fat-free, they had a rep for being the "healthy cookie." So, what's the first ingredient? Cacao? Almond flour? Nope, it's sugar. (Just one of several inflammation-causing ingredients.)
Verdict: Not healthy
SlimFast
SlimFast was the smoothie of the '90s. (Hey, it's not like there was a Juice Press or Liquiteria anywhere.) Marketed as a meal replacement, it came in yummy flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry—and still does. But just like Clearly Canadian and Snackwell's, this throwback fave is loaded with sugar. One chocolate "shake," for example, has 19 grams. (To be fair, it also has 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber—two big positives. And there is a new Advanced Nutrition line that has prioritized being much lower in sugar.) But overall, there's just too many sketchy ingredients in it to be billed as healthy. (Sigh.)
Verdict: Not healthy
Yoplait Yogurt
Yoplait still takes up a decent amount of grocery store real estate in the dairy section, but it was definitely A Thing in the '90s. There were so many flavors: Boston cream pie, Key lime pie, strawberry banana...and then there were the "whipped" ones, somehow both thick and light at the same time.
But you know how this story ends right? Yep—sickeningly sweet. On average, each yogurt has about 18 grams of sugar, and not nearly enough vitamin content to make up for it.
Verdict: Not healthy
Hey, at least this '90s-inspired activewear is sugar-free. And since throwback food trends are clearly not the greatest for your body, here's what trending now that actually is.
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