The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

I stumbled across The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan the other day, and I had a blast reading it. (If you’re a fan of books by James Lileks, you will too.) Wendy McClure found a bunch of Weight Watchers diet recipe cards from the 1970s and has republished the pictures, complete with snarky commentary, especially when it comes to the props they surrounded the food with.

The book is now out of print, but never fear, you can read the website. (Or buy it really cheaply used, as I did, since there are cards in the print version that aren’t online.) It’s a great way to waste a couple of hours — just don’t read it at work unless your co-workers don’t mind occasional outbursts of giggles. I just wish we could see the actual ingredients for some of these dishes, because you sure can’t tell what some of them are from the picture.

The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

Some favorites: Explaining the title. What they used to call shishkabobs. What used to pass for international cuisine (aka tomato on toast). Bizarre “drinks”. Ridiculous things to do to hot dogs. She doesn’t point this out, but pay attention to the recipe categories, on top of the cards. They include “Fish Spectaculars”, “Budget Best Bets”, and my favorite, “Convenience Fish”.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *