Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas to all my Retro Weight Watchers friends! I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday filled with everything you love!

As for me, I am very busy preparing for a festive week with my family and friends! But I wanted to take a break to send you a holiday greeting and a very helpful Retro WW hint...straight from Jean Nidetch herself!

For us guys and gals who worry about those pesky "food pushers" at our holiday gatherings, here's a diagram from the 1964 Weight Watchers Program Cookbook showing us exactly how to respond...

Crazy? Or genius? You decide.

Reminder! Celery is an unlimited vegetable! Alcohol is strictly prohibited! So enjoy your sad crudité with a lame-ass sparkling water and have a BLAST!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine...

Yeah I take my puppy to visit Santa. What of it?

I promise to post more in 2014. It's my New Year's Resolution! See ya next year!

Unlimited Vegetables

Between the Vincent Price Cookalong and the Meat/Gelatin Guest Post extraordinaire, I almost forgot that we are supposed to be right smack dab in the middle of a full-blown overview of the Retro WW Rules. I apologize if it seemed I had lost my way. I think we are back on track now.

For those keeping score, we are now onto Rule #6 of the Retro Weight Watchers program guidelines overview. And I can't even contain my excitement about this one...

RULE #6 - Unlimited Vegetables. You may eat all you want of the following vegetables:

asparagus

broccoli

cabbage

cauliflower

celery

cucumber

endive

escarole

peppers

kohlrabi

lettuce

mung bean sprouts

mushrooms

pickles

pimentos

radishes

rhubarb

sauerkraut

spinach

squash (green)

string beans

water cress

I'm sorry. But when someone tells me I can "EAT ALL I WANT" of something, I just get really REALLY happy. I don't even care what it is. For example -- just the other night, I ate 2 entire bunches of celery just because I could. I am not even kidding. I have been known to polish off an entire jar of kosher pickles in one sitting. Seriously. Two-pound bag of frozen broccoli? Bring it. Gigantic vat of french green beans? No problem.

I am what the experts call a "volume eater". That is a label I wear with pride.

So my love for vegetables comes in really handy. In fact, one time I even wrote a blog post about my undying love for celery. Luckily my body is well-trained and can handle mass quantities of cruciferous vegetables and soluble fiber without any negative consequences. If you cannot say the same for yourself, I would recommend you tread lightly when it comes to this rule. It takes time to work up to the super-human level of digestive prowess which I have achieved.

To celebrate the joy of unlimited vegetable consumption, I made myself a heaping bowl of bean sprout soup today. You know, it's just chicken broth mixed with a can of bean sprouts. What's that you say? Oh you don't think that sounds very good?

COME ON! IT'S FREAKING UNLIMITED, PEOPLE!!!! 

YOU CAN EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!! 
SUCK IT DOWN!!!!

Sorry. I got crazy excited for a second there. Anyway...Here is a super appetizing picture of my Bean Sprout Soup. You should totally try it!

That's a full pound of sprouts, baby.

I'm curious....What's your favorite "unlimited vegetable" on the list, and how will you prepare it this week?

The Vincent Price Halloween Cookalong!

'Twas the night before Halloween. And I was kickin' it old school with half a chicken fryer, a bottle of Angostura bitters and some classic horror cinema.

Yes, friends. Thanks to my pal Jenny over at Silver Screen Suppers, my Halloween Eve was spent preparing for the Vincent Price Halloween Cookalong!

Did you know Vincent Price was a culinary master as well as a creepy movie star extraordinaire? Well, now you do! And I was invited to prepare a dish from the twisted mind of this charming superstar, and serve it up for my Halloween dinner. Then reveal it to the world, right here on my blog -- TODAY!

My assignment for this blogging/cooking challenge was pretty easy: Vincent Price's Chinese Chicken

The recipe comes from an advertisement Vincent did for Angostura Aromatic Bitters from 1971. And it sounded pretty good, actually.

It called for 6 chicken fryer halves, but I decided to go with just one. Because the thought of six raw chicken fryer halves made me almost throw up a little bit. Honestly - can you imagine? What the Hell was I supposed to do with that much chicken carcass?

One was bad enough...

*mimi shudders in horror*

I salted and garlic rubbed the poor little guy and then moved onto the marinade.

It was a tangy combo of tomato sauce, pineapple juice, grated onions, butter, and of course -- aromatic bitters. I boiled it and brushed it all over that creepy little chicken body. Then into the oven he went. For an hour.

FYI--This sauce was delish!

Vincent recommended I sip on a "New Fashioned" cocktail while I waited. And really. Who am I to argue with Vincent Price for Heaven's sake?

So the "New Fashioned" is a fancy drink containing a sugar cube, some club soda, whiskey, a twist of lemon, a cherry and of course -- aromatic bitters. On the rocks. Smooth.

As I sipped my cocktail and cued up my movie choice for the evening, I suddenly became very disappointed that I never sent away for the "FREE COOKBOOK" which is referenced in the advertisement. I certainly could have used those mysterious 82 recipes. That "Authentic Chutney" would have gone great with this. Dammit. I've never been good at planning ahead.

Anyway -- Here is my Chinese Chicken in full glory. I served it with some quinoa and broccoli on the side. I'm sure Mr. Price would have preferred a nice fried rice or something, but I just couldn't make that happen. Whatever. Take it or leave it.

I love how it looks all bloody and murderous

We actually really enjoyed the chicken. We sliced it up and watched The House on Haunted Hill. In the dark with candles lit. We even dressed up as our favorite characters. It was a whole big thing.

I was Annabelle. Of course.

Sometimes you just gotta pick a theme and go wild with it. Am I right?  HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN!

I have to warn you...this blogging challenge is really freaking huge! Seriously, this thing is WORLDWIDE, people! But if you have some time, take a tour through the internet of my blogger buddies who also celebrated their Halloween in Vincent Price Style, and lived to tell about it:

Brian of Caker Cooking – Fish Fillets Nord Zee

Cathy of Battenburg Belle – Deviled Shrimp and Rice

Sally of My Custard Pie – Deviled Rib Bones

Ruth of Mid Century Menu – Unwealthy Wellington

Angela of Glamorous Glutton – Steak Moutarde Flambe

Lauren of The Past on a Plate – Ayrshire Poacher’s Roll

Emily of Dinner is Served! 1972 - Beef Hearts Stewed

Carol of Craftypants Carol – Deviled Crab

Erica of Retrorecipe – Cucumber Crocodile and Melon Monster

Susie of Bittersweet Susie – Carolina Deviled Clam
Please go visit Silver Screen Suppers for a complete rundown of everyone who participated in this fun and freaky Vincent Price Halloween Cookalong. And a GREAT BIG SPOOKY shout-out to Jenny (the author of Silver Screen Suppers Blog) who organized the entire thing and welcomed us all into the Inscrutably Delicious world of Vincent Price Cooking!

Signing off with a .......Mwaaahhh Haaaaa Haaaaaaaa Haaaaaa (Vincent Price demonic laugh)

One Brave Follower...

One day, on Facebook, I begged asked for volunteers to do a guest post for my very special meat & gelatin recipe from 1978 - and out of HUNDREDS of followers, only one brave lady stepped forward. 

My dearest Cynthia G. -- you are a true Retro WW warrior and a hero. I salute you. I am proud to call you my Facebook friend and Retro WW Soul Sister.

The Recipe:

Chicken Sandwich Loaf!

The Source:

The Guest Post:

Isn't this beautiful? So exciting to prepare a tasty, visually appealing Weight Watchers recipe for Mimi!

Oops, sorry gals. These gorgeous vegetables would be in a 2012 Weight Watchers recipe...

This is 1972:The Retro Weight Watchers Experiment. You don't really expect colorful, do you?

Here are the ingredients for Chicken Sandwich Loaf, submitted by Donna Naugle in 1978. Clearly Donna was half-starved to come up with a recipe with these ingredients:

First, in keeping with the bland and colorless theme, I poached the chicken breast in water. No low fat spray, olive oil, butter. Just water. Amazingly enough, the chicken had it's own fresh, sweet taste. Let's see if we can change that.

The next step was to sprinkle the Knox gelatin over 1/2 cup water until soft.

Easy enough...

Now we're getting creative. I couldn't find onion bouillon at any of my local grocery stores, and Lipton Onion Soup mix contained actual pieces of actual dehydrated onions, and sugar, and flavor, so I rebelled a bit and used two chicken bouillon cubes instead of one.

Hypertension in overweight individuals was not apparently a concern in 1972.

Now for the really spooky part of this recipe! Here we have a tender, nicely cooked and naturally flavorful chicken breast. Today we would eat it as is. In 1972, we do something completely different: BLENDERIZE it.

Here I'm pouring the chicken bouillon-plain gelatin concoction into the blender with the poached chicken....
.

 3...2...1...

BLENDERIZE!

And now I am pouring the glop into my vintage gelatin mold. (Mom made many a lime gelatin with cottage cheese and pineapple in this!)

Looks like hummus; smells like the chicken sandwich meat you buy in the deli.

Well, there it is in all it's glory. Now to chill it. And eat it.

Impressions: Color is underwhelming and not at all appealing, especially when I took my fork and attempted to pick off a bite. Rubbery, but not tough. I finally pegged what it reminded me of.   Have you ever had Hormel's canned chicken spread? THAT'S what it tastes like, only low fat. Rubbery, low fat, congealed Hormel's canned chicken spread. 

I would question the perversion of a decent chicken breast into a bouncy, pale gelatin, but this recipe IS from 1972, and we all know what sort of debauched gelatin-based cookery went on back then.

 

Stick a fork in it. It's DONE!

Meat FAIL

I told you I was going to struggle with this damn MEAT rule.

OK. So it has taken me over a month to summon up the courage to post something about meat.

And I am now here to tell you that I have officially "chickened out" -- no pun intended. OK. Major pun intended.

After a month of screwing around, I am happy to report that I have found a poor sucker brave and wonderful person to do a guest post for my Retro WW meat recipe! Now I don't have to do it! Hooray!

The recipe our guest poster will be making is a little treasure from 1978 called "Chicken Sandwich Loaf", and it was inspired by one of my favorite Weight Watchers Icons of all time.

The One. The Only...

Her confidence literally gives me goosebumps.

 (source: askflorine.com)

FLORINE MARK!!!! I love this woman. Everytime she walks into a room, I imagine a horn section following her around just to announce her entrance with a "TA-DA!!!" She is classy and coiffed and professional. Florine is one of the leading WW Franchise Owners in Weight Watchers history. She talks the talk and walks the walk.

Get ready for a Florine-inspired meat & gelatin combo that will make your hair curl and your butt clench. Stay tuned...

Also--I am very excited to be participating in yet another Retro Blogging Challenge. And this one has a HALLOWEEN THEME! Later this month.....

Oh yeah. It's a Vincent Price Cookalong, baby! My friend Jenny over at Silver Screen Suppers has organized a creepy & crazy blogging challenge involving all recipes from Retro Vincent Price Cookbooks. Who knew this could even be a thing? Let me tell you...This challenge is HUGE. And awesome. In fact, Vincent Price's freaking daughter is even going to participate. I KNOW, RIGHT!?!?

And since my assigned VPC recipe for the challenge involves Chicken. I guess we will be sticking with the meat & poultry thing a bit longer. More meat. More fun. More retro love.


And to think, I was dreading this meat chapter.

Meat and Poultry

I don't want to write this post. I don't want to do this rule. I don't want to make these recipes.

But I have to.

RULE #5 - MEAT & POULTRY 

Select a maximum of 5 weekly meat meals (luncheon or dinner) from Group A (Chicken, Turkey, Pheasant, Organ Meats, and Rabbit) and/or select a maximum of 3 weekly meat meals from Group B (Beef, Frankfurters, Lamb) 

Portion control is KEY here. For luncheon, 4 ounces of cooked meat may be selected. For dinner, 6 ounces is permitted. It is advised that you weigh your portion. I repeat. WEIGH YOUR PORTION. Do not screw around with this.

Remove all visible fat. Broil, boil, bake or roast ONLY. And for the love of all that is holy --- NO MEAT AT BREAKFAST!

Oh - and lest we forget. Liver is REQUIRED once per week. So figure out when you are gonna fit that into your repertoire.

If I had my druthers, I would completely skip this chapter. I would be perfectly happy without the meat. Without the liver. Without the frankfurters. But - since it is the longest chapter in the book (40 pages), I assume this is an important rule. So onward we go...

As I work up the courage to prepare my next meaty recipe, please enjoy a few Retro WW meat photos.

Why can't we just grill up a nice chicken breast on the Retro WW Program? Why not just a simple frankfurter on a bun? Why must we do horrifying, traumatic things to our meat? I will never understand this.

We may need more than one week to explore this rule. Just sayin'.

Knoxapocalypse II - The Sequel

In a world...(Note: it works best if you say this part in the voice of  legendary movie voiceover guy Don LaFontaine, so go ahead and start over)...IN A WORLD where gel cookery is a competitive bloodsport, six retro food bloggers challenged each other to a full-blown gelatin recipe dare. The stakes were high (not really), and the pressure was almost unbearable (this is a slight exaggeration).

The Bloggers (Erica, Emily, Ruth, Brian, Susie, Jenny and of course - yours truly, Mimi) all submitted a recipe. But not just any recipe. Oh no. It had to be creative, crazy and of course...containing GELATIN. Then they randomly swapped recipes, and got to work. (OK--you can stop with the voice now)

My assignment:   Molded Avocado and Tuna (Courtesy of Brian at Caker Cooking)

Well my friends, it should come as no surprise to you that I am not a stranger to Tuna Molds. As a Retro WW Gal, tuna is my middle name. And FYI - it is also not my first time at the double-decker gelatin mold rodeo. Remember that time I vlogged about it? So yeah. I was feeling pretty confident going into this challenge.


But here's the catch: I have never made a recipe from the Gel Cookery "Bible". ..Or as I like to call it - "The Big Show". That's right. My recipe challenge comes from The SACRED Knox On-Camera Recipes: A completely new guide to Gel-Cookery, 1961. So I knew right away, I better not screw it up, or else the Goddesses of Gelatin would curse my copper molds forever.

Since I was already familiar with the process of making a double decker gelatin mold, I knew I would need to set aside a nice long chunk of time to complete my challenge. Like 8-10 hours. No shit. By the way, it amazes me to think about the women who actually prepared this type of food on the reg. How did they have so much time on their hands? How did they do anything else?

I digress.

So--long story short. The top layer goes in first. So it looks like the bottom layer now. But, you know. You're going to flip it over later. So this will all make sense at the end.

Mayo, Sour Cream and Avocado. Hail to FAT!

The tricky part of this whole project is TIMING. The consistency of the gelatin must be JUST RIGHT or else it all falls apart. So when you add the bottom layer (It will look like the top layer now. But you get it), the top layer can't be completely firm, but it also can't be too soft either. So you find yourself checking the mold 20 or so times to make sure it is exactly the right moment before you pour in the next layer.

You are like some crazy OCD mental patient in a fancy apron, jumping up every five minutes, running to the fridge and sticking your finger in the gelatin to test the firmness. It really is bizarre.

Tuna and Veggies - Suspended in Gel

So now you have both layers chilling until completely firm. My advice? Go out for cocktails. Go shopping. Go to bed. Otherwise you will just obsess over the damn thing.

Now comes my favorite part. No seriously. It is one of my favorite things on Earth to do. After hours and hours of waiting. And then a few more hours after that...You get to UNMOLD.

Like a BOSS

I soak mine in a little lukewarm water, run a knife around the edges and then flip it over onto a plate. The moment of release when it makes that sound -- THWAPPPHH --- is quite possibly the greatest triumph any human being can experience.

Look at it.

NAILED IT!

No really look at it.

Really get in there

I hate the thought of even slicing it up and eating it. To me, a gelatin mold is more a work of art than an edible meal. But a major part of this challenge is actually taking a taste, and reporting our results.

So I gingerly took a small bite. And it wasn't too bad. So I ate some more. Maybe 3 or 4 big bites. It was cool and refreshing. It was creamy and crunchy. A perfect balance. I took two more bites. And then I instantly got heartburn. Like full-on GERD. Oh boy, my body did not like this combo one little bit. Ooof.

Anyone have a Prilosec handy?

When my husband snapped this picture, his exact words were, "Congratulations on another disgusting, inedible slab of crap, honey!"

So there it is. Another masterpiece. Or slab of crap. Whatever you want to call it. Either way, I am glad it is over. Until next time....I ask myself will there be a Knoxapocalypse III - The Trilogy??? Only time will tell.

If you have a hankering for some more gelatin, and you want to keep this party going, please visit the other bloggers posts to see what they came up with. But I warn you. Tread lightly...You are dealing with the Jello Mafia. It could get ugly.

Emily at Dinner is Served 1972 – Olive Wreath Mold

Erica at Retro Recipe Attempts – Betty Davis’s Mustard Ring

Brian at Caker Cooking – Maple Fluff

Susie at Bittersweet Susie – Melon Mousse - A Retro WW Recipe submitted by ME!!!

Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers  – Turkey In Aspic

Ruth at Mid-Century Menu – Pickle and Pineapple Salad

Five Fish Meals

Well, here it is.

The most talked-about and most notorious rule of the Retro Weight Watchers Plan. If you can make this happen, you are a Retro WW Superhero.

RULE #4: FISH - You must eat a minimum of 5 weekly fish meals (luncheon or dinners). 

This does not preclude your having fish more often, and at breakfast also. 

Follow your Menu Plan,and change frequently.

There are 2 groups (Group A and Group B) to choose from, and you must adjust weights for cooking and bones. But I won't confuse you with all that. Let's just say: you need to eat a TON of fish. So you better get started now.

Can you do it? Can you be a FISH MASTER?

By the way....I need to tell you that I am really excited about the timing of this rule. It coincides perfectly with Labor Day, and I plan to whip up a doozy of a moldy fish dish.

Tuna + Gelatine = PARTY

Come back next Monday when I will reveal my post for the "Knoxapocalypse II Cross Blog Challenge". If you have been a long time follower of this blog, you will recall a few years back when I participated in this crazy gelatin-filled smackdown where me and some of my fellow Retro Food Bloggers challenged eachother to make some really awful jell-o molds. We called it Knoxapocalypse. It was EPIC.

Well. We are doing it again. And it is bigger, bolder, and jigglier.

You are all invited to a Retro Labor Day Gelatin-Encrusted Picnic you will never forget! See you there!

More Cheese

Hey everyone. I didn't have time to put together a full-blown post for you.

But I did make another cheese recipe this week.

Oh. And FYI -- it just so happens to be the MOST REQUESTED RECIPE in the history of this blog.

BOOM!

I don't really have time to write anything witty and/or clever. In fact, I am heading out of the door as I type this. So I have created a sort of "recipe storyboard" for you involving a series of awful pictures and some random comments.

Enjoy.

Yes. This Recipe Involves a Schematic

Bread & Cottage Cheese in the Blender. Be Still My Heart.

The "Pancake". Before it went under the broiler.

The finished product. Before it went in my belly.

So there you have it! The ever popular Austrian Breakfast Pancake for your viewing pleasure. Give it a whirl! By the way. I didn't like it very much, but let me know what you think. I'll take a good old fashioned Terrace Tempter over this catastrophe any day!

OK--I am heading out for a nice long weekend, so please don't panic if there isn't a new Retro WW Rule posted on Monday. I will be sure to post the next Rule as soon as I get home! And believe me, its a BIG ONE. Omigosh Omigosh Omigosh....I seriously can't wait to tell you!

Until next time...

Cheese Time!

I am soooo excited about this next rule. In fact, I do believe it is the best part of being a Retro WW Gal.

It's the CHEESE!

RULE #3: CHEESE - Cheese is only allowed at breakfast or luncheon, not at dinner. 

At breakfast, 1 oz. hard cheese or 1/4 cup cottage cheese or pot cheese may be used, following your Menu Plan. At luncheon, 2 oz. hard cheese or 2/3 cup cottage cheese or pot cheese may be used.

FYI - Hard cheese includes: Cheddar, American, Asiago, Edam, Gruyere, Muenster, Parmesan, Provolone, Romano, and Swiss to name a few. Farmer Cheese and Pot Cheese are also legal.

But the cheese that gets top billing in my book is the one...the only...

I put this sh*t on EVERYTHING

Anyway. To prepare myself with all the information I needed for this week's Cheese "Rule", I decided to go to the Master.

So I called my mom.

Back in the day, my mom's favorite Retro WW lunch treat was a toasted "twofer" topped with a legal serving of Farmer Cheese and a packet of Sweet n' Low, placed under the broiler for a few minutes. According to my mom, it tasted just like cheese cake.

Alrighty then.

It's Called "Almost a Danish"

I didn't have Farmer Cheese, and I wasn't about to repeat the great Twofer Debaucle of 2010. But I did make myself a nice little "cheesecake" treat with some light wheat bread and cottage cheese. And it wasn't too bad. Who else out there is going to give it a try? Hit me up in the comments section and let me know how you liked it!

OK. Listen Up. Ohmigosh you guys...Get this. Later this week, I will be whipping up another cheesy concoction, and you will not want to miss it. Why? Because it is the NUMBER ONE READER REQUESTED RETRO WW RECIPE OF ALL TIME!!!!

That's right. I know you are all trembling with anticipation. And I will be making it for the first time EVER. This week. I am way more excited than I should be.

YAY CHEESE!!!!!!!

Bring It On

Well. It's Monday.

Are you ready?

The Original Weight Watchers Program had 12 "Rules". Count 'em.... TWELVE.

Starting today, we are gonna bust out the "Rules", one-by-one and in correct order; from start to finish until we get through them ALL.

I should warn you up front. Some Rules are easier than others. Some are just plain silly. And some are FREAKING RIDICULOUS. We will devote a week or two (or three) per each Rule, and I might even throw in a recipe or two.

I dare you to follow along. And please do share your thoughts in the comments section. I will share mine too. Don't be shy!

So here we go:

This Post will include the first TWO RULES!!!

RULE #1: Eat ONLY the foods listed in your Menu Plan, in the quantities specified 

and at the meals specified.

What does this mean? In short: DO NOT SCREW AROUND. Rule #1 Simply means... follow the freaking rules. And don't complain about it. Next?

RULE #2: EGGS - Limit them to 4-7 per week. 

They may be taken only at breakfast or luncheon, not at dinner.

So this week, we conquer Eggs. It's simple, really. Don't over-do it, and don't eat them at dinner. Got it? Good.

To begin my journey, I whipped up an egg recipe from the 1966 Weight Watchers Program Cookbook...

Speedy Summer Breakfast

2 Envelopes Sugar Substitute

1 Egg

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon lemn juice

1 small strip lemon peel

Put everything in blender and run for about half a minute. Serve cold.

Drink.

Yea, I just drank a raw egg and some buttermilk. And didn't throw up. So I am pretty much ready to take on the world! Cheers!

Beginning Again... Again

Wow. Is it August already?

When last we met, I do believe I stated that I am TERRIBLE at blogging in the Summer. Well, it's true. And apparently I am also terrible at eating healthy and following any kind of weight loss program during the Summer too. But I discovered that I am really good at eating ice cream every day and sitting on ass in the sun.

Ouch.

So it's back to the drawing board again.  Again.

That's right. You heard me. We are going BACK TO BASICS. And I am dragging all you bitches back on this Retro WW wagon with me.

Here's the deal:

We are starting with Chapter One and working our way through the "RULES" of the original Weight Watchers plan. One by One... Page by Page... Recipe by Recipe.

Every Monday, I will unveil a new "RETRO WW RULE" and a corresponding recipe (or two) throughout that week.

Now, here's where you come in, my lovely friends, followers and readers....YOU get to join in the fun by following the RULES along with me. Don't be a chicken! Its only one per week, so it will be nice & easy. And you can share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section. I promise to respond to any and all comments with my own experience as well.

We are all in this together. Misery loves company. Go Team Retro WW!

So enjoy your weekend, because starting Monday - we get back on track. And there's no room for crybabies on this Retro WW Bandwagon.

Summer Lovin'

One of my favorite movies EVER is "Rushmore". Have you seen it?

No matter. Anyway -- there is a great dialogue between two of the main characters that happens to be one of my favorite movie scenes of all time. It goes like this:

Herman Blume: What's the secret, Max?
Max Fischer: The secret?
Herman Blume: Yeah, you seem to have it pretty figured out.
Max Fischer: The secret, I don't know... I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then... do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's going to Rushmore.

source: IMDb

So what does all this have to do with my blog and the Retro WW Experiment?

Well. You may have noticed I haven't been posting much lately. In fact, it has been over a month since my last post. And a full two months since I have cooked up any Retro WW dishes.

I have received a few emails, Facebook messages and Tweets asking about the blog and wondering where I have been. A few people actually said they miss my posts. That made me feel really warm & fuzzy inside.

So I felt compelled to check in and let everyone know that all is well. And the posts are not going away. This blog is not going away. I am not going away.

I am just REALLY bad at blogging in the Summer. Seriously.

But here's the thing.

Even though you may not see me here for a few weeks or months, it doesn't mean I have "fallen off the wagon" or given up on Weight Watchers -- Retro or otherwise.

I am a Weight Watchers lifetime member. I am a Weight Watchers leader. I am a Weight Watchers ambassador. I am a Weight Watchers blogger.

I love Weight Watchers, and I plan to do it for the rest of my life.

It's MY Rushmore.

Here's to a wonderful Summer vacation for us all! I probably won't be posting much on the blog, but please do look me up on Twitter or Facebook so we can stay in touch! Otherwise, "I'll See You in September" as they say. In the meantime -- Here's a final thought from Jean Nidetch circa 1966...

See ya around!

Retro WW Hits the Big Time!

Hey guys! This month, Weight Watchers celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

And guess what? They released a kicky new cookbook to celebrate 50 years of eating like a Weight Watcher. The cookbook puts a modern twist on many of our favorite Retro WW classics, and even contains tons of history about the program and how the food plan has changed through the years.

No. They didn't ask for my input. Yes. That was a bummer.

But, the good news is -- I did get a chance to go on a local morning show here in Pittsburgh to talk about the new book and all things Retro Weight Watchers! I even got to show off some of my Vintage Pyrex and a few items from my Retro WW collection!

I know, RIGHT?!?

Check it out...



Now promise to meet me back here all throughout the month of May as we celebrate this momentous occasion! New recipes! Fun facts! Fifty is nifty!

Coming Out of Hibernation

If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably know that I have been incessantly complaining about the weather here in Pittsburgh for about 5 months now. Let me explain something: I despise Winter. Like it makes me evil and murderous. Couple that with the fact that my job forces me to spend a lot of time shlepping around outdoors, and the fact that this has been one of the worst Winters we have seen in ages. Well. Let's just say - Mimi has not been a happy person.

My basic attitude about everything in life has been...

"Ain't nobody got time for that. I'm too freaking cold!"

But this week, things are looking up. We even had a few days reach 80 degrees! I was ecstatic!

So I pulled out my Weight Watchers Magazine from Summer 1970 and found the perfect Warm Weather Delight!

This recipe combines two of my favorite ingredients: Knox Unflavored Gelatin and Nonfat Dry Milk. It also involves one of my favorite hobbies in the world: PUTTING THINGS IN MY BLENDER. Yahooo!

After ten minutes of spinning all of the ingredients with the Knox gelatin, a burning smell started coming from my blender, so I had to stop. But I was pleased to find that my Warm Weather Delight had really come together nicely. It was thick and smooth and creamy.

Like mayonnaise.

Ew.

It kept GROWING and getting thicker by the minute.

 I have to admit -- It did taste pretty good, though. Full disclosure: Since I didn't have any black walnut extract on hand, I used almond extract instead. Which was good, because I love me some almond flavoring.


I am hoping the warm weather is here to stay. Although as I type this post, I am wrapped in my fleece blanket and wearing my fuzzy slippers. I hear the high temperature today in Pittsburgh is going to be 50 degrees.

Uh oh. Better stay off Twitter.