This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (2024)

Molded asparagus salad, anyone? Via Candyboots, where you can see these recipe cards with their original captions by Wendy McClure.

by Hilary MitchellBuzzFeed Contributor

When writer Wendy McClure, of the site Candyboots, stumbled upon a set of 1970s diet cards, she couldn't stop laughing.

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Wendy McClure

Wendy explained: "When I found the card for the "Rosy Perfection Salad" I Iaughed so hard I started coughing. I waved the card at my mom, who just rolled her eyes. "Can I please have these?" I begged. "What do you want them for?" she asked. "To cook?" "No," I said."

Instead of cooking the recipes (and why would she? Why would anyone?), she made them into a book.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (6)

Wendy McClure / Via amazon.co.uk

Wendy said: "These cards mystify me. None of them have calorie information of any kind, and in some instances it's hard to tell what's dietetic about the recipes at all, except that they're unspeakably grim. And yet also, completely insane."

Here are 21 of the 'best' diet cards from her collection.

1. Molded Asparagus Salad.

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Wendy McClure

"In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup tomato juice. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Stir in remaining tomato juice, vinegar, sweetener, salt and hot sauce. Chill until syrupy. Fold in asparagus." Mmm, syrupy asparagus jelly.

2. Chilled Celery Log.

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Wendy McClure

This recipe for a stuffed, chilled celery 'log' invites you to mash a cauliflower, stir in some chopped green pepper, insert the mixture into some celery and then refrigerate for 45 minutes before slicing. Delicious.

3. Frankfurter Spectacular.

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Wendy McClure

Yes, this really is a mixture of frankfurters, pineapple, onion and carrot. To give the dish a particularly jaunty air, you're encouraged to staple the frankfurters onto the pineapple core before serving.

4. Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.

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Wendy McClure

Do you have dehydrated onion, mackerel, egg and a green pepper in your house? You do? Then you have everything you need to make this delightful pudding. Simply mash everything up, bake the fish-gloop in the oven and top with sliced egg.

5. Crown Roast of Frankfurters.

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Wendy McClure

This meaty crown filled with shredded cabbage is definitely a dish fit for a king, as long as said king doesn't have eyes or taste buds.

6. Broiled Appleburgers.

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Wendy McClure

These burgers are made with actual beef (rather than mackerel, gelatin or frankfurters), but instead of frying them you're asked to 'broil them on a rack' then serve them with apple because whoever made these cards hates people.

7. Peach Melba.

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Wendy McClure

This dish looks almost normal (if you ignore the ceramic cheetah, that is), but when you check the recipe you find that the cherry-like objects are actually made from diet soda mixed with gelatin. Argh.

8. Stuffed Lettuce Wedges.

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Wendy McClure

"What are they stuffed with?" I hear you cry. Why, cottage cheese, of course! The most disappointing of all the cheeses.

9. Spinach And Egg Mold.

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Wendy McClure

These diet cards were clearly sponsored by a gelatin manufacturer: it's in everything. This recipe combines gelatin, egg, cottage cheese and spinach to make a radish-topped horror jelly that will haunt your nightmares for years to come.

10. Jellied Tomato Refresher.

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Wendy McClure

This crime scene of a meal is basically a jellified Bloody Mary without the vodka, decorated with bits of green pepper and served in brandy glasses. WHY?

11. Inspiration Soup.

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Wendy McClure

The only thing inspiring about this watery tomato, beansprout, asparagus and green bean soup is the jaunty napkins. The candles are quite nice too.

12. Cucumber 'Cream' Salad.

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Wendy McClure

Bet you can't guess what the 'cream' is in this dish. No, it's not that: don't be disgusting. It's cottage cheese, of course! Everything is cottage cheese!

13. Perfect Pizza Lunch.

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Wendy McClure

There is nothing perfect about this. Nothing at all.

14. Frozen Cheese Salad.

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Wendy McClure

"So you want me to mix cottage cheese with blue cheese, freeze it and then serve with brocolli?" "Yes." "Can I at least cook the brocolli?" "No."

15. Liver Pâté En Masque.

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Wendy McClure

This mixture of liver, gelatin and green beans with a delicious grey 'glaze' is the colour of sadness.

16. Fish With "Butter" Sauce.

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Wendy McClure

The sauce in this dish is made from something called 'diet margarine'. Nope.

17. Snacks On A Stick.

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Wendy McClure

What was that? You thought this was chocolate ice cream? Don't be silly. These 'sticksnacks' are actually made from coffee mixed with- you guessed it- gelatin.

18. Fruit And Cheese Mold.

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Wendy McClure

This recipe combines cottage cheese with orange flavoured diet soda and - of course- gelatin to create this monstrous, lettuce fringed ring. Kill it with fire.

19. Lettuce Potage.

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Wendy McClure

Spoiler alert: this is just hot, blended lettuce.

20. Fish "Tacos".

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Wendy McClure

Because all the very finest Mexican food is made from shredded cabbage, bits of cod and a piece of wholemeal toast.

21. Madrilène-Cheese Salad.

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Wendy McClure

This recipe somehow manages to combine all of the misery of the previous 20 into one dish. The red stuff is jellied tomato juice and the white stuff is- of course- cottage cheese. It's served with lettuce, raw brocolli and a side order of tea towels.

After a while, Wendy's fans started to recreate some of the recipes at home. Here's the Chilled Celery Log:

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TheKarenD / Via Flickr: karen_d

The canoeist really adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the dish.

Molded Asparagus Salad:

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Miranda / Via Flickr: mirandala

Jesus would not have approved of this.

Fluffy Mackerel Pudding:

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Miranda / Via Flickr: mirandala

The horrified expression on that fish's face really does say it all.

Crown Roast of Frankfurters.

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Andrew Huff / Via Flickr: deadhorse

Last but by no means least, we have the pièce de résistance of these mind-bending recipe cards: the Crown Roast. Just look at the way it glistens in the light. Yum.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (2024)

FAQs

What was the diet like in the 1970s? ›

1970s. The 1970s marked the start of a reduction in our intake of vegetables. The average person ate a pound of red meat each week, compared to just over half of that today. Fruit juice arrived in the shops but only one in ten people consumed it regularly.

What to eat to lose 20 pounds in 14 days? ›

The Scarsdale diet's main claim is that it can help you lose 20 pounds (9 kg) in 14 days via a protein-rich, low calorie diet consisting of mostly lean meats, eggs, low fat dairy, leafy vegetables, and some fruit.

What was the American diet like in the 1960s? ›

Fruit, meat, and pastry consumption was high in the United States; cereal and alcoholic drink consumption was high in Italy; and bread consumption high in Yugoslavians except for those in Belgrade.

What is the classic American diet? ›

The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn ( ...

What is the best diet for people in their 70s? ›

Older adults' unique nutrition needs

Choose foods with little to no added sugar, saturated fats, and sodium. To get enough protein throughout the day and maintain muscle, try adding seafood, dairy, or fortified soy products along with beans, peas, and lentils to your meals.

What was the 70s hippie diet? ›

The cuisine that the counterculture took to in the late 1960s, and then helped introduce to the mainstream in the 1970s, embraced whole grains and legumes; organic, fresh vegetables; soy foods like tofu and tempeh; nutrition-boosters like wheat germ and sprouted grains; and flavors from Eastern European, Asian, and ...

How to lose belly fat in 2 weeks? ›

BEAT BELLY FAT
  1. Eat more fiber. Foods that are high in refined carbs and sugar don't actually tame your hunger, so you end up reaching for more. ...
  2. Walk every day. If you don't have an established exercise routine, “walking is a pretty good entry point for people,” says Gagliardi. ...
  3. Begin strength training.
Oct 24, 2023

How to lose 10 pounds in 3 days? ›

To lose 10 pounds in 3 days would mean decreasing your calorie intake by 35,000 calories in just 3 days! The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends a slow and steady weight loss of no more than 1/2 to 1 pound a week. Otherwise you are losing muscle and water, as well as weakening your bones.

What was the 60's diet drink? ›

Metrecal was a brand of low-calorie, powdered diet foods (to be mixed with water as a beverage) "containing the essential nutrients of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals" introduced in the early 1960s by the Mead Johnson company, with the first variety going on the market on October 6, 1959, the same day ...

What was the typical daily menu in the 1950s? ›

1950s Dinners

There was no such thing as the keto diet in the 1950s—meat and potatoes reigned supreme. You'd find hearty main dishes like Salisbury steak, beef stroganoff and meat loaf on a '50s dinner menu, plus scrumptious sides. Casseroles were also popular, particularly those featuring seafood or ham.

What snacks did they eat in the 60s? ›

However, packaged snacks were not about to concede to the fast food trend. Peanut M&Ms, Atomic Fireballs, Certs Mints, Hot Tamales, PEZ candy, Pixy Stix, Smarties Candy Necklaces and Marshmallow Peeps were all candies developed during this decade.

Which country has the healthiest diet? ›

Japan. Japan is generally thought of as having one of the healthiest diets in the world. The country often ranks highly in lists of the most healthy countries and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. There are various things contributing to Japan's overall health, but diet is a definite factor.

What is the sad American diet? ›

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is the dietary pattern the majority of Americans follow. It's packed with processed foods, fast foods, added sugars, and sodium. Wholesome foods such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds are largely forgotten.

What did people eat for breakfast in 1970? ›

Breakfast hasn't changed much. People ate eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, cereal, milk, and juice. Breakfast bars and breakfast burritos weren't a thing then.

What were two of the most popular fad diets in the 1970's? ›

The period of low-fat everything had a strong focus on consuming single foods, with exotic-sounding names like the sexy pineapple diet, the grapefruit diet, the wine and eggs diet (yes, it really was a thing!), and even the cabbage soup diet, AKA the Dolly Parton diet.

What was the calorie intake in 1970? ›

Results. Adjusted mean energy intake increased from 1955 kcal/d during 1971–1975 to 2269 kcal/d during 2003–2004 and then declined to 2195 kcal/d during 2009–2010 (P-linear trend < 0.001, P-nonlinear trend < 0.001).

What was the low carb diet in the 1970s? ›

Atkins Diet

Created by cardiologist Robert Atkins in the early 1970s, the Atkins diet claims to produce rapid weight loss without hunger. It consists of four stages, including an initial two-week Induction Phase that restricts carbs to 20 grams per day, while allowing unlimited amounts of protein and fat.

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