Canned Fruit-a-Palooza

We all have those blogs we follow that we love so much it makes us jump for joy every time we see a new post pop up in our reader. For me, one of those blogs is Caker Cooking.

Recently, Brian at Caker Cooking posted a crafty recipe involving Canned Pineapple Rings. He actually created a kitschy jell-o mold that you make right in the freaking can! And I was like -- Are you kidding me? Come on! How did I never think of this? I immediately began to ponder how Jean Nidetch missed out on this one. I was perplexed and inspired all at the same time.

And then I came across the following recipe in my new 1978 WW Hot Stuff Recipe Pamphlet:

Annie's Easy Fruit

1 can fruit cocktail, no sugar added (reserve the can)
1 envelope unflavored Knox Gelatin
1 drop red food coloring
1 teaspoon cherry flavoring

Drain fruit cocktail and combine the liquid with gelatin. Add food coloring and heat to dissolve. Remove from heat, add flavoring, and cool slightly. Stir mixture into can. Chill. Unmold and slice. Makes 4 servings.

OK. First of all. Who is Annie, and why does she think fruit needs to be made "easy"? Isn't it easy enough already? In my opinion this recipe made it more difficult. It should have been called "Annie's Difficult Fruit", because the whole process was a huge pain in the arse.

This recipe defies gravity

Secondly, this was awful. Just awful. I would've much preferred to have just eaten the fruit cocktail right out of the can, and ditched the Knox Gelatin. But that's just me.

Please note my cat looking on in the background. Horrified.

I have a feeling the Caker Cooking, super sweet, non-WW version might be quite a bit yummier. But maybe next time I'll just have a piece of fresh fruit and skip the can altogether. What do you think?

By the way-- did you know that today is Lose-a-Palooza, a one-day social media event sponsored by Weight Watchers to help fight world hunger? So if you are looking for something more virtuous to do with your canned goods -- why not contribute them to the Weight Watchers Lose for Good Campaign instead? Visit www.weightwatchers.com/loseforgood for more info!