Do you ever find yourself craving your go-to childhood snack or lunchbox favorite? From sugar-coated cereals and candy bars to quick TV dinners and fast food classics, the food we ate growing up always holds a special place in our hearts (and our stomachs).

We've eaten our way through the decades to bring you the crowd-pleasing foods that were launched in the year you were born, click or scroll through this gallery to find out more. Let us know which ones you remember.

Now produced by confectionery giant Hershey's, the Almond Joy chocolate bar was the brainchild of the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company back in the 1940s. Similar to a British Bounty, the candy bar sees coconut and almond encased in creamy milk, or sometimes dark, chocolate.

Salty and skinny French fries are a staple of the McDonald's menu. But they haven't always been. Up until 1948, McDonald's served chunkier potato chips rather than its world-famous fries. Today, unsurprisingly, McDonald's fries are a bestseller and the company buys more than 3.4 billion lbs of US potatoes per year.

Whether you prefer it spread across bite-sized crackers or oozing out of a Philly cheesesteak, you've no doubt tasted this processed cheese at some point. First introduced in 1952, then rolled out across the States in 1953, Kraft's Cheez Whiz has been a staple of American pantries and student dorms for almost seven decades. This 1950s ad raves about its "tantalizing Cheddar flavor" and its versatility. 

As television sets sprang up in more and more homes throughout the post-war 1950s, the TV dinner cemented itself into American culture. It was the creation of frozen food company Swanson's, which launched a full turkey dinner neatly organized into a tray with compartments. Despite tapping into the zeitgeist, the product is actually something of a fluke. It was created as a way to use up the 520,000 lbs of turkey the company had left over after Thanksgiving. Its success was a happy accident.

A jolly white rabbit has long been the mascot for this colorful breakfast cereal, which debuted in 1954. Invented by General Mills, the brand is known for its rainbow of fruit shapes – think half-moon watermelons, bright orange segments and purple grape bunches – and its satisfyingly sweet taste. 

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While you know and love them as Starburst today, these rainbow-wrapped chews began life as Opal Fruits in 1960, before a bold name change years later. They're now available in tropical flavors including Mango Melon and Piña Colada, but they launched with a fail-safe medley of Strawberry, Lime, Orange and Lemon. In our opinion, the originals are still the best.

Now a signature McDonald's burger, the Big Mac – a towering creation with two beef patties and a famed special sauce – was at first met with uncertainty from the chain's big bosses. It was pioneered by franchisee Jim Delligatti, who created the mammoth "double-decker" burger to satisfy the appetites of his laboring clientele. After being rolled out at Delligatti's own store in 1967, the burger was a big hit and available nationwide by 1968.

Another genius Frito-Lay invention, these tasty snacks are a packet-based answer to your onion ring craving, and have been on shelves since 1969. You can't beat the original flavor but, for the adventurous, there's also Flamin' Hot and Chile Limón, among others.

"Pure beef. Pure pleasure" – that's what McDonald's promised customers when it launched its classic Quarter Pounder. Just like the Big Mac, this staple menu item was actually invented by a franchisee. Al Bernardin, of Fremont California, created the burger in 1971. Eaten up by patrons of Bernardin's store, the Quarter Pounder was added to menus nationwide two years later in 1973.

America's favorite ice cream brand was launched in the late 1970s by founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who originally had plans to start a bagel company. By some miracle they turned their attention to the sweet stuff and their innovative flavors and creamy recipes have been winning over ice cream fans ever since. Early pints included Oreo Mint, French Vanilla and Chocolate Fudge, and now chocolatey Half Baked and Cherry Garcia are among the top sellers.

Who remembers the McDonald's Deluxe range? While sales didn't soar as much as the fast food heavyweight had hoped, the low-fat McLean Deluxe burger did amass a loyal following among diet-conscious diners. Although, sadly this wasn't enough and the sandwich was discontinued by the 2000s.

The early 1990s saw the release of General Mills' Dunkaroos, a sweet snack with Graham crackers and indulgent dips like Chocolate Frosting and Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles. Despite its popularity, the lunchbox treat was discontinued in the 2010s. However, Dunkaroos fans needn't lament their favorite snack any longer – it made a return in 2020.

While it's not hard to whip up your own Rice Krispies sweet snack in the kitchen, Kellogg's launched its own version in 1995. These moreish treats see the cereal bound together with marshmallow and wrapped up in the brand's distinctive blue packaging. Those in the UK will know them as Rice Krispies Squares.

Satisfying sweet-toothed coffee lovers everywhere, the Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino debuted at the end of the decade. It's the ultimate caffeine indulgence – caramel syrup is blended with coffee, milk and ice, before being doused in whipped cream and yet more caramel sauce. It's still a menu staple more than 20 years later.

A refreshing variation of the time-honored soft drink, Pepsi Twist – Pepsi with a twist of lemon – was introduced at the turn of the millennium. Much to the dismay of die-hard fans, it's no longer available in the US at the moment, but there's life in it yet in several places worldwide, including parts of Europe.

Now take a look at the most popular cereals from the decade you were born

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