Cornball Cake

During my days as a Retro Weight Watchers Gal -- I have made "cookies", "candy", "ice cream" and one time I even almost made a "pie". But the other day I realized that there is one dessert dish I have never made in the classic Retro Weight Watcher "Quotation Mark" style...

CAKE! Or as we like to call it: "CAKE".

So I found a wonderful cake recipe in my 1978 WW Hot Stuff Recipe Pamphlet, and got to work on it right away.

Strawberry Corny "Cake"

1 cup skim milk

2 tbsp artificial sweetener

1 ounce cornmeal

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup strawberries

Heat milk & sweetener and bring just to a boil in saucepan. Sprinkle cornmeal into milk gradually, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in vanilla and egg. Fold in strawberries and turn into a baking dish. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Here's a tip: don't bother pulling out your 9x13 pan. This cake is just a tad bit smaller than that. Luckily, I had a very teeny, tiny cake pan (thank you, Pyrex). For reference, here is a picture of the entire cake (before I baked it) sitting next to my cell phone. 

The good news is - you get to eat the entire thing! Yep. It is only one serving. Yeeehaw!

Ladies and gentlemen. Every so often, I stumble upon a Retro WW recipe that truly blows me away. It is so good, it makes me want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. A recipe like this spans the generations and brings us all together! Modern day Weight Watchers girls can enjoy this entire cake for a mere 6 PointsPlus! Retro WW gals can rest assured that this is a perfectly legal way to eat cake. We can all hold hands and rejoice.

Cake is good. Cake is corny. Cake is our friend.

The Fellowship of the Pin

Funny story.

I was at work yesterday, having a casual conversation with one of my co-workers. We'll call her Peggy. She was telling me a story about her family, and we were chatting about life in general. You know. No big whoop.

At some point during our discussion, I noticed something shiny on her shirt. It was a pretty round brooch. It had gold swirlies with a tiny chip of diamond in the center. Upon further inspection, I realized it was the 1972 Weight Watchers 16-week award.

Holy. Flipping. Crap.

My eyes fixated on that thing like a fighter jet pilot locked on his target.

As Peggy told me a story about her grandson, I found myself staring at the pin and bursting with excitement. Where did she get it? Was she aware of its powers? Could I touch it???

So I waited for Peggy to pause from her story, and I jumped right in.

"Peggy." I said. Trying to sound calm. "Is that a 1972 Weight Watchers Pin? And if so, can I take a picture of it?"

The Precious

Luckily, she agreed. We laughed and shared some fun Retro WW stories. Turns out Peggy was a WW member as a teenager. She loved tuna, but never ate the liver, though. She joined with her mom and her sister back in the 1970's, and they all lost weight together. 

Peggy's story gave me a warm feeling inside as I thought about all the daughters and moms out there who have made Weight Watchers a "family affair". With Mother's Day approaching, I can't think of a better way to celebrate the female bond than to salute all of the women who have been inspired by their moms, daughters, sisters, aunts and best friends to get healthy and change their lives.

My mom has always been my role model. She's also my best friend and Weight Watchers buddy. We stick together through thick and thin. Then thick again and thin again. But mostly thin.

And there's nobody else I'd rather hang out with and share a carton of low fat cottage cheese.

Have a Happy & Healthy Mother's Day

WTF "Ice Cream"

After more than two years of Retro Weight Watchering, the question I am most frequently asked by my friends, family and followers is - "How long are you going to keep this up?"

My answer is simple: "Until I run out of crazy and interesting Retro WW recipes."

It never fails. Every couple months, I fear I have hit the end point. I flip through my cookbooks and magazines, but nothing strikes my fancy. Everything seems just ordinary. And then I say to myself, "OK, Mimi. I guess it's time to pack up your jello molds and call it a day."

Then I turn the page, and a beauty like this one shines upon me like a ray of sun. Just like that, the day is saved.

Please note the recipe illustration. It takes the mind to a very dark place.

When you see an Ice Cream recipe that involves Condensed Milk, Coconut Extract and Sauerkraut - you don't just WANT to make it. You HAVE to make it. You really have no choice in the matter.

I spent a LOT of time debating whether or not to invest in a bottle of coconut extract. Yeah, it was only $4.00, but still. I saved a little by purchasing the generic sauerkraut. I'm not proud of that. How did it taste? Not unlike an air freshener dipped in sauerkraut juice. Really. Try getting that flavor out of your sense memory. We might need to perform an exorcism up in here.

Perhaps I didn't rinse the sauerkraut well enough? Perhaps next time I will use a different extract flavor? Perhaps I should just move on with my life and pretend this whole thing never happened? Yep. That's the ticket.

Cloven Footers

There are just so many things wrong with this recipe from the February 1970 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine. So many things...

  Cloven Footers

1 Pound All-Beef Frankfurters

1 Tablespoon Dry Mustard

1/4 Cup Whole Cloves

1 Cup Shredded Cabbage

Split each frankfurter lengthwise. Sprinkle mustard over cut side of frankfurters. Stick cloves (20-30) into each frankfurter in rows. Broil  for 15 minutes. Serve with cabbage. Makes 2 servings.

Now then. Where to begin?

OK, first - there is the utter foolishness of sticking cloves into 1 whole pound of sliced wieners. That's a total of 8 wieners and approximately 160 cloves.  It is soul crushingly boring. I only did two Cloven Footers before I lost my patience and had to stop. That was enough.

Next - there is the shocking revelation that this recipe makes only two servings. That is ONE WHOLE POUND of hot dogs split between two people. Horrifying. Am I right?

Next - do we even need to address the fact that this recipe assumes you will consume approximately 80 whole cloves at one sitting? Nowhere in the recipe instructions does it say ANYTHING about removing those cloves. What do we do? Are we to eat them and risk a guaranteed projectile vomiting incident? I think not.

Finally - the saddest part of this recipe has to be the moment when it is broiling away in the oven, and your loved one comes running into the kitchen and excitedly proclaims, "It smells like ham in here! Did you make a ham??" Then you reach into the oven and proudly present this:

You will never be forgiven.  Nor should you be.

Mimi's Book Club

My husband recently bought me a very cool gift. He found a collector's edition original copy of "The Story of Weight Watchers" (c. 1970) on Amazon. Oh - and it is autographed by the author. Who wrote this book, you ask?

None other than...Jean Nidetch!

That's right. I own a book that was touched, held, and signed by Jean Nidetch - the founder of Weight Watchers. The inscription reads, "To Shirley, Love and best wishes - Jean Nidetch"

Surely you can't be serious.  I am serious - and don't call me Shirley.

So it took me about 72 hours to devour this amazing memoir which contains a vivid history of Jean's life as an overweight child and adult, a review of the 1970 WW program rules from Jean's perspective, a detailed description of "what happens at a WW meeting", and a bazillion inspiring quotes from the brilliant mind of a F.F.H. (formerly fat housewife - Jean's self-proclaimed title)

Reading this book only strengthened my admiration and respect for Jean Nidetch and Weight Watchers. From the cover shot of Jean standing arms-crossed and confident in her white pant suit, to the powerful punch-in-the-gut final quote: "One thing's certain: You don't ever have to be fat again" - I was enraptured.

But there was something about this book that amazed me most of all.

It occurred to me that for the past two years, I have been focusing my blog on how different the 1970's Weight Watchers program is from the current plan. And it is - with all the crazy food, rules and whatnot. But the thing I never realized is that there are so many things that have stayed exactly the same. Close to 50 years later, the heart of Weight Watchers remains intact. Examples?

• No one can work for WW unless they have been overweight themselves and have successfully worked the plan
• Empathy, rapport and mutual understanding are the foundation
• Its a lifestyle, not a "diet"
• It's affordable
• It works.

What else hasn't changed?  The battle we are fighting. Reading the success stories and struggles in this book is no different than reading a current issue of Weight Watchers magazine. We are still fighting the same "war" that Jean talks about in 1970:

Obesity is a war and we who are fighting it daily are well aware of the turmoil and strain of the battle. You win battles by developing a tremendous desire for something that's more important than cake - being thin. I used to eat my rewards. Now the reward is self-respect. It's worth it.

So yeah. I pretty much LOVE HER.

Near the end of the book, Jean tells a story about one of her members who did a great deal of traveling during her weight loss journey. She would always keep a few cans of mushrooms and a can opener in the glove compartment of her car. If she got hungry during her commute - she would pull off the road, open a can of mushrooms and eat them. One night, while she was pulled over happily eating her shrooms, a police officer approached her car to make sure she was alright. "Yes, officer, I'm just eating my mushrooms", she replied. About three months later - she was parked again, and the same officer suspiciously approached her car. Before she could utter a word, he said, "Oh my God, it's the nut with the mushrooms again!"

Here's the thing. If you have ever been a Weight Watchers member - past or present - that story sounds familiar. Doesn't it? We just "get it". Whether it's 1970 or 2012, we still need weight loss strategies that work. No matter how crazy they sound.

Jean says, "Losing weight is like basic training. It's finding out how to eat intelligently - it's learning how to fight the war." I like that. I like to think we are all soldiers in Jean's army.

And it is a pleasure to serve in this army with each and every one of you.

Now that I have read Jean's perspective, I am eagerly awaiting the release of
our current leader's book: "Weight Loss Boss" by David Kirchhoff - the CEO of Weight Watchers. It comes out in May, and I think its going to be great. I'm looking forward to hearing about how the world of weight loss has changed (or stayed the same) nearly 50 years later.

I sure hope I can get a signed copy. Inscribed lovingly to Shirley, of course.

Magical Muffins

Oh my gosh you guys. I have so much to tell you, but all I have time for right now is a really quick post about these crazy-good muffins I just made yesterday.

So here's the deal...

These muffins are by far THE BEST thing I have made so far on my Retro Weight Watchers adventure. You should totally make them. Here's how:

Spiced Apple "Muffins"

3 Apples
3 Eggs
3 Slices of Bread
3 tbsp Artificial Sweetener
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Coarsely grate apples; set aside. In mixing bowl, beat eggs; add sweetener, extracts, and spices. Crumble bread into mixture: blend well. Blend in grated apples. Spoon mixture into 6 equal amounts in non-stick muffin pan. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Makes 3 servings.

NOTE: If you are like me, and you don't happen to have any orange extract on hand - just skip it. You won't miss it. Trust me.

Mine turned out perfect. And they tasted divine. My husband even ate one - and he liked it. I know, crazy - right?


So why on Earth did this recipe only place third in the 1971 Weight Watchers Magazine Gourmet Contest? I have no idea. But I would like to officially recognize Ms. Emma R. Fendler of Shorewood, WI for this delicious creation. She won a 5-year subscription to Weight Watchers magazine for her Third Place prize. Big whoop. In my opinion - she should have been awarded the Grand Prize and sent directly on an all-expense paid vacation to the destination of her choice. Take that Mrs. John E. Kelley and your soggy "egg rolls"!

Congratulations Ms. Fendler! You may have come in third place back in 1971 - but forty years later, your recipe is still a winner in my book!

Cucumber Confusion

Have I ever told you guys how much I love cucumbers? I love them so much that sometimes I have to stop myself from gobbling up two or three of them at a time. My love for cucumbers runs deep. It goes way back to the 1970's when my grandma would serve up a huge platter of sliced cucumbers for me during my visits with her. It was my favorite snack. I especially loved the way she would scallop the edges by running a fork around the length of the cucumber before slicing it. I felt all fancy with my fancy cucumber platter.

In my opinion, it would be impossible to ruin the cucumber. It is the perfect food, and there is nothing that could change that. The cucumber will always be faithful to me. At least that's what I thought.

But dammit if Mrs. Gerald S. King from Houston, TX didn't just go ahead and desecrate the one vegetable that I hold most dear.

You will recall from a few posts back, I promised another 1971 Weight Watchers Magazine Gourmet Recipe Contest Second Prize Winner. So here's what Mrs. King submitted. Was she serious? Was she just being ironic? We'll never know.

Cucumber Gel
1 Tbsp Knox Gelatin dissolved in 3/4 Cup hot water
1/4 Cup artificial sweetener
1/4 Cup lime juice
3-4 Drops green food coloring
1 Medium cucumber, grated
1 Tbsp horseradish
1/4 Cup buttermilk

I can't even begin to tell you the disgusting details of this recipe. So I will just allow the following pictures to illustrate for you how a cucumber goes from this:

To this:

To this:

To this:

My very first gelatin un-molding fail. Oh, the horror!

Let me just tell you. There are instructions that go along with this recipe. They involve words like "fluffy" and "frothy" and "consistency of unbeaten egg whites". I don't even like to think about those things, so we just won't go there.

It is suggested that we serve this gelatin mold atop a bed of spinach leaves and garnish it with pimentos and capers. But seriously why would we do that? Why??? Let's not waste any more perfectly good vegetables for the sake of this dish, OK?

Did I take a taste of your Cucumber gel, Mrs. Gerald S. King? Of course I did. It frightened and confused my taste buds. Gelatin that tastes like a cucumber? There is just no logical reason for it.

I'll take my cucumbers the way nature intended them: crunchy and crispy. Not slimy and gelatinous. Thank you very much.