Roll the Video!

If you have ever visited this blog and wondered, "Who the heck is this Jean Nidetch lady you keep talking about, and why do you want to meet her so badly?" -- this post is for you.

Please enjoy this perfectly "legal" Martini recipe along with a fabulous video I found this morning on YouTube courtesy of the Sun Sentinel.

The "Legal" Martini contains:

1 cup hot water
1 packet instant chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp bitters

Combine, chill and garnish with a button mushroom. Yes, I said a button mushroom. Olives are not legal, silly!

The video contains:
An amazing interview with my idol Ms. Jean Nidetch -- the founder of Weight Watchers. Jean might be a little long in the tooth and a little rough around the edges, but I simply love her to pieces.

So sit back and enjoy your Retro WW Cocktail while Jean tells us how Weight Watchers was born. Be careful, though. You might just fall in love with her, too!

Something New

I loved the 80's. The music! The fashion! The hair!

But do you wanna know what was totally awesome about the 80's? The crazy new free-stylin', free-wheelin' Weight Watchers food plan!

In tune with the awesome new 80's life-style, WW began to offer more freedom, flexibility and FUN! The introduction of the "Full Choice" Food Plan opened up a whole world of new possibilities to the Retro WW Gal, and she was loving every minute of it.

That's right! Check out the cover shot below from the 1981 Weight Watchers 365-Day Menu Cookbook. Do you see anything shocking in this photo?


You are not hallucinating. You really are seeing peanut butter, popcorn, nuts, olives, salad dressing, graham crackers, wine and BEER!

So--Apparently, in keeping with the needs of a changing society, WW finally started offering some more flexible options in 1981. They even inaugurated a vegetarian plan for those who chose a meatless lifestyle and "Personal Action Plan" to help manage behavior changes.

Such a smart company. So cutting edge. Always evolving with the changing needs of the consumer and following the latest nutritional science.

But wait....what's that on page 250? Something familiar...Oh no...Could it be???


It's good to see some things never change. A delicious Fish & Tomato Aspic and a Macaroni Cheese Mold always hits the spot no matter which decade you prefer. As Jean Nidetch says in her introductory note, "Isn't it delicious to know that with this book, the choice is yours?"

Me? I choose to stick with the simpler times of 1972. My next recipe? I haven't decided yet. But I can assure you it will be groovy, baby.

Retro Movie Time

I don't say this often, but you may want to pull out your blender and grab a jar of pimentos, because this next recipe is a keeper. For real.

If you are a 1972 Retro WW gal, one thing you know for sure is that popcorn is illegal. The horror! So what do you nibble while you kick back for a chick flick with your gal pals? You make yourself a "W.W. Popcorn Bowl" filled with all of your favorite unlimited vegetables and gobble to your heart's content.

Chop up some celery, green peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers, radishes and cauliflower into bite-size pieces. And if you really want to get wacky? Pair your "Popcorn Bowl" with this easy Retro WW Dip for Veggies:

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Dash Hot Sauce (I used many dashes)
6 oz. cottage cheese (I used fat free)
1 4-oz. can pimentos, drained
dash salt
dash garlic salt

Puree in blender until smooth!

I suspect even the modern day PointsPlus gals will flip for this dip!

FYI: The top Oscar winners in 1972 were The Godfather and Cabaret. Marlon Brando, Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey took home the statues. Now, I ask you, what could be better than that?

So kick back with your favorite classic flick and enjoy this wonderful Retro WW snack! I promise - you won't even miss the popcorn!

Un-Holy Mackerel

Today, I opened a can of mackerel and proceeded to make pudding with it. I'm not really sure what else to say about that. Frankly, I'm a little freaked out.

You'll have to excuse me, because this experience has left me a little speechless, so I'll be relying heavily on pictures to tell the tale of my Fluffy Mackerel Pudding adventure.

FYI - here is what canned mackerel looks like when you take it out of the can.


I was not prepared for this. But I pressed on.

The recipe card told me to start by putting 2 stalks of celery and a green pepper through a food grinder. I used my food processor. That worked fine. Then I combined my chopped veggies with some spices, onion flakes, mustard, and of course - the mackerel.


I then mixed in 2 raw eggs, as instructed, and divided the mixture evenly into 4 heatproof cups. As I popped them in the oven for 35 minutes -- I crossed my fingers.


My biggest fear? What if they don't get fluffy? What if they don't get FLUFFY?!? WHAT IF THEY DON'T GET FLUFFY?!?!? I was very concerned about this.

But alas! My fears were unfounded when I finally pulled my lunch out of the oven and was overjoyed by the fluffy little cups of fishy goodness. I happily applied the finishing touch: a slice of hard cooked egg for garnish.


Here I am taking a big bite of some Fluffy Mackerel Pudding for your viewing enjoyment. How did it taste? See below to find out...

The Party's Over

Returning from vacation is never easy. But, as a Retro WW gal, I can tell you--it's pretty close to torture.

For seven glorious days... I ate no knox gelatin. No tuna. No bean sprouts. And I drank alcohol. A lot.

But now I am once again faced with the dreadfully horrible task of jumping back on the Retro WW Wagon.

I'm not gonna lie. There were many times today when I asked myself: Can I do it? Can I return to the exciting life of a celery slingin', jello moldin', cottage cheesin', tuna eatin' Retro WW lady??? Can I???

The answer was simple. All I had to do was look in my September 1970 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine. On the first page was Jean Nidetch - all white pant-suited up and emanating an ethereal glow while beckoning me with the following ad:


And just like that, I'm back in the saddle.

So give me a few more days to adjust, hit the grocery store, and I promise I'll be back to my old tricks again. And I haven't forgotten about that can of mackerel sitting in my pantry...

In the meantime, please stop over and check out my recent guest post on the super fantastic Carla's blog - MizFitOnline. I was honored to contribute a post about retro fitness where I discuss the importance of leg warmers, leotards and satin gym shorts. Be sure to leave a comment and share your Retro Fitness Secret!

Feeling Mackerelly...

I recently had a change of heart.

Long time followers of the 1972 Retro WW Experiment will recall a weekly feature known as Thanks But No Thanks Thursdays. In the weekly TBNT post, I would typically select a recipe from my vast collection of 1970's Retro WW cookbooks and highlight it as a dish I would never EVER consume. These dishes, commonly known as "dietetic disasters on the platter" were not only horrifying. They were, in many cases, vomit inducing.

But now. Over a year later, I have done a lot of soul searching, and have decided to actually try one of my TBNT classics. I know. Crazy.

I've carried the Fluffy Mackerel Pudding 1974 WW Recipe Card around with me for over a year. I've slept with it under my pillow. I even made a special little outfit for it to wear:


So I think I am almost ready to whip up some Fluffy Mackerel Pudding for you. But we'll all have to wait one more week. You see, I'm getting ready for my Summer vacation, and I just don't think I can handle it right now. Come on--We've waited an entire year. What's one more week?

Oh but I did buy a can of Mackerel to prepare myself. And I'll be packing it in my suitcase. What? Doesn't everyone bring a can of Mackerel on vacation with them??


It warms my heart when I think of this dusty can of mackerel getting plucked off the grocery store shelf and being thrust into a world of Retro WW excitement. Oh you lucky mackerel!! You get to be in a Fluffy Mackerel Pudding. All your Mackerel friends would be so jealous!

So, I'm off to the beach. But, be patient, my friends, because the next time we meet, I'll be fluffing some mackerel and serving it up just for you!

Bring on the Booze!

Sometimes you just need a cocktail. As I prepare for vacation, I decided we needed a little break from the Retro WW action, so I enlisted the help of a fellow blogger buddy. Since my vintage WW mags and cookbooks contain no recipes containing alcohol, I asked Emily (AKA the fabulous yinzerella) to mix up some retro cocktails and snacks for us -- figure friendly of course. She did not disappoint. So gather round, ladies and gents. Let's get loaded! And be sure to stagger on over to Emily's blog for more Retro Food & Fun...

Greetings and Salutations! Firstly, I want to say how flattered I am that Miss Mimi invited me to contribute to her fab blog.

I am currently working my way through the 1972 Dinner is Served! recipe card series, but since those are most definitely NOT ‘figure-friendly’ I turned to one of my new acquisitions, The 2 in 1 International Recipe Card Collection for Mixed Drinks and Hors D’Oeuvres, published in 1977 by Random House. This set of more than 300 cards includes a section titled “Low-Calorie Drinks.”

According to The 2 in 1:

“…there is no reason to go on the wagon just because you want to lose a pound or two. In fact, if you do give up liquor and substitute high-calorie sodas, or worse, milk shakes, or worse still, if you proceed to munch your way through the cocktail hour on cheese and creamy dips, take second helpings at dinner instead of a glass of wine, and raid the fridge at nightcap time, you’ll find yourself getting fatter than ever.”

Well, that makes perfect sense to me! Yay to wine! Yay to nightcaps! Ole! to Margaritas and No-Crust Chili Pizzettes!

I reduced the amount of beef (I used 93/7 ground) to 8 oz and reduced the amount of tomato paste and egg in half, but used the same amount of veggies and spices as directed in the recipe. I didn’t have any Cayenne in stock so I used extra chili powder and instead of regular ol’ green pepper I substituted the slightly spicier Poblano.

After they were balled, pattied, smothered, and sprinkled, the pizzettes went into a 400 degree oven in a cast-iron grill pan. About 15 minutes later they emerged from the oven and I plated them along the lo-cal Margs.

Here’s the result:

I love any reason to bring out my baby sombrero.

Where the hell was the ‘chili’ in the No-Crust Chili Pizzettes??? It wasn’t there. These were bland. In hindsight I should’ve used a Jalepeno or hotter pepper and seriously upped the spices as a whole (that doesn’t mess with points!). I can only imagine how super-bland it would’ve been if the flavors were diluted by twice as much ground beef. Also, in what parallel universe does ½ cup of tomato paste + oregano + garlic = enough topping for a full tablespoon on 8 patties let alone 16?

Furthermore, I love how at the bottom of the recipe it reads, “if desired, place patties on round sesame or Euphrates crackers.” Uh…doesn’t that totally negate the point of them being ‘No-Crust’?

The Margarita was skimpy. Thong skimpy. That’s not a cocktail. That’s a shot. I ultimately made the Margarita as prescribed but put it on ice in an 8 oz glass and topped it with diet 7Up. Yum. The result is the same points-wise but is a much more satisfying beverage.

According to current WW calculations = 2 pts. per No-Crust Chili Pizzette & 3 pts. per Margarita.

The verdict: for a mini fiesta, you’d be better off dipping crudités in bean dip and putting some Bethenny Frankel’s Skinny Girl margaritas on the rocks. I’m just sayin’.