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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017


NEW BLOG ALERT!


GUESS WHAT? After 3 years -- I have decided to start a new blogging adventure!

Go check it out and discover what kind of retro recipe trouble I am cooking up
now!

Just click the link below, and I will see you there!


Once Upon a Salad




And so the story continues....

Posted by Mimi at 10:11 AM 11 comments:
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014


ALL GOOD THINGS


After four years, 266 posts, countless jello molds and one very important pair
of skinny jeans - I have decided it is time to call it quits. The Retro Weight
Watchers Experiment is officially OVER. For realzies this time. I feel pretty
confident that I have done just about all I can do here. I have made my own
Catsup. I have gelatinized every possible food from tuna to pimentos to beets. I
have "Fluffed" a Can of Mackerel. And of course, I have Spectacular-ized a bunch
if innocent Frankfurters.

It just feels like there is something I forgot to do.

Something really, REALLY important.

Oh yeah.

This never happened...




I never met Jean Nidetch. 

I tried. I wrote letters. I did research. I sent emails. I thought about
searching for Jean on a recent trip to Florida - but promptly chickened out. I
just couldn't see myself as a creepy retirement home stalker.

For Christ's Sakes I even sent a letter to freaking Katie Couric begging for her
assistance with meeting my idol. (Hashtag YOLO?)

In a last ditch effort, I finally tracked down the contact information for one
of Jean Nidetch's family members who lives in New York City. Out of the blue, I
sent this poor, unsuspecting young woman an email. Here is a carbon copy of what
I wrote:



> Hello --
> 
> My name is Mimi. I hope you do not mind my reaching out to you via email, but
> I would like to get a message to your Grandmother, Jean. Here's why...
> 
> For the past 4 years, I have been working on a blogging project which is
> devoted to the food and fun of the original Weight Watchers program from the
> 1960's/70's. My blog, "The Retro Weight Watchers Experiment" is a tribute to
> the work of Jean Nidetch and the life-changing institution she created.
> 
> Over the past 4 years, I have re-created almost every gelatin mold,
> frankfurter casserole and tuna/mackerel dish you could ever imagine. I have
> done unspeakable things with cottage cheese. I have literally had a BLAST
> learning about the history of Weight Watchers and creating an online community
> of fellow "Retro WW Fanatics"... Including my mom who actually followed the
> program in 1972 and lost 90 pounds.
> 
> One of my goals was to meet Jean. But unfortunately, I never made that happen.
> And it breaks my heart.
> 
> As I begin to wind down my project and close up shop on the blog - I feel like
> I must (at the very least) contact Jean to let her know how much she has
> changed my life. I lost 40 pounds on WW in 1999, and if it weren't for WW - I
> never would have had the confidence to make that happen.
> 
> My only hope is that she will be able to take a look at the blogging project I
> have created in her honor. It is fun and silly, but there is a lot of love and
> admiration behind it. And there are a lot of people who have connected with me
> through this project, because they feel the same way I do.
> 
> If you could somehow share this message with your Grandmother, I would be so
> very grateful. I do not know her current health condition, but I very much
> hope she is healthy and happy.
> 
> Thank you so much. I am currently working on the final post for my blog, and
> if there is any way I could include a quote or comment from Jean - that would
> truly be the cherry on the top of this marvelous journey. Please let her know
> it would mean the world to me!
> 
> Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for your time and consideration.
> ~Mimi


After a few days, I got a very nice response. It was short and sweet:


> Thank you for your support and admiration.  Congratulations on your success. 
> It is wonderful to hear of another person who my grandmother’s life has so
> positively affected.
> 
> 
> Best of luck to you on your blog and all your continued success.


Welp. I do believe THAT, my friends, is what they call in the business - "The
Brush Off". But its OK. I am fine. Really.

No. REEAALLLYY. Its fine. I'm over it.

If there is one thing Weight Watchers has taught me, its that the journey is
everything. Its truly not about the destination. And boy oh boy, have I enjoyed
this journey! I have met some unbelievably fun and talented and inspiring people
on this blogging adventure. I have tried so many new things and challenged
myself in so many ways. I have had a blast. And it was life-changing. Simple as
that.

Funny thing is, I am sorta glad we are ending in a totally different place than
where I expected. I always pictured my final post would be all about my meeting
with Jean and how cool that would be. Talking about the past, and all the
wackiness of the Retro days. You know...drowning in nostalgia and whatnot.

But in the end - this post is dedicated to all of US. Right now. The losers. The
winners. The fighters. The Weight Watchers Warriors who are still living the
dream over 50 years later, and getting better all the time.

We are pretty freaking awesome. Let's never forget that.

So here's to the future of Weight Watchers. What lies ahead is so exciting!

And the beat goes on...

Posted by Mimi at 10:02 AM 20 comments:
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MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014


PIEATHALON!


Here’s a fun fact about me: I have a Master’s Degree in Existential
Phenomenology.




I am not even messing with you.


So when I got my assignment for the First Annual “Pieathalon” Retro Blogging
Challenge, I was a little disappointed in myself.



OMG - I can't even.



How could someone fully grasp the writings of Heidegger, Sartre and Nietzsche --
but then stare at this recipe for "Nesselrode Pie", and feel overwhelmingly
perplexed and completely baffled almost to the point of mental paralysis? In the
Philosophy business, this is what we call an “Ontological Crisis”. But I
digress…


Anyway --after reading the recipe about 50 times, Googling the word “Nesselrode”
like a mofo, and then drawing a schematic diagram for myself - I felt ready to
get to work in the kitchen.



When in doubt - make a Pie Flow Chart



By the way – this particular Nesselrode Pie recipe is from The Betty Crocker
1971 Card Set (you know the one with the attractive moss green plastic box).
History tells us that the Nesselrode Pie was named after Count Nesselrode of
Russia, and then became very popular in New York bakeries in the 1950’s. It
contains rum, heavy cream, chestnuts, candied fruit, chocolate and gelatin. So I
guess this is what the Retro Weight Watchers gals were eating when they fell off
the wagon??

According to Wikipedia – this Pie is officially extinct.  That’s right I said
EXTINCT!


Well -- not anymore, Bitches!!!!!


I began by pulling out every single bowl and utensil in my entire kitchen.
Seriously. I needed 2 pie plates, multiple mixing bowls, a beater, a grater,
whisks, spoons, saucepans…the list goes on. Needless to say my kitchen was a
total freaking mess.


I set up work stations.


There were things happening in my kitchen that have never happened in there
before.



A Full Blown Kitchen Catastrophe



I will spare you all the gory details, but let me just say – after a LOT of
intense concentration and some horribly offensive swear words, it all came
together.  I wound up with two pie plates filled with Nesselrode goodness
sitting in my fridge. But I still wasn’t even close to being finished.



Layers of Love and Anger



Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I still had to let these two separate pies chill
completely for hours and then carefully place one on top of the other without
breaking the whole freaking thing into a giant pile of gelatinous goo. Not too
mention the topping. The God-forsaken whipped topping!


OK. Can I be honest? At this point, I really considered buying a can of
Redi-Whip for the topping. But these recipe challenges are hardcore, and I
couldn’t risk my fellow Retro Bloggers shaming me for not whipping my own cream.
Have I mentioned that these people are not to be messed around with? (Let's just
say there's a reason I call them the "Jell-O Mafia") So I slapped together my
two Nesselrode Pie layers, and got to work on my whipped topping.


Stiff peaks and all.


So here is the finished product.  Not perfect. But I did it. I FREAKING DID
IT!!!!



Look Ma, I made an ACTUAL Pie!


Stiff Peaks, Yo!



As the sun set over the horizon - My husband and I sat down on the couch, and I
cut us each a huge slice. We sat there awkwardly and ate our pie together like
it was our first date or something. My husband finally looked at me and said,
“This is so weird. It’s strange how we’re just sitting here eating this weird
pie.”


It was very sweet and creamy. The chocolate layer was delicious. The Nesselrode
layer, on the other hand, was sketchy. To be honest, we both felt a tad
nauseated after we ate it. Maybe it was the rum soaked fruit? Maybe it was the 3
cups of heavy cream and 6 egg yolks? Maybe it was just the fact that we had
skipped dinner, and then slammed down a giant gut-bomb of sugar and fat in the
form of a pie. Who knows? It was weird.



I'M OFF THE WAGON,  BABY!!!!



I want to thank Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen for challenging me to make this
recipe and for pushing me out of my culinary comfort zone.  I only hate you a
little bit, Kelli. (just kidding). I also want to thank Yinzerella over at
Dinner Is Served 1972 for organizing this whole shindig.  Bloggers sent their
retro pie recipe submissions to Yinzerella, she randomly assigned them to the
gang and the Pieathalon was born!


If you have the time and you want to get all up in some Retro Pie Business – go
check out the other Bloggers and their recipe challenges. Grab a slice of the
Pieathalon!


Brian of Caker Cooking – Chess Pie
Ruth of Mid Century Menu – Avocado Lime Pie
Erica of Retro Recipe Attempts – Curried Egg Pie
Jenny of Silver Screen Suppers --Mile-High Lemon Chiffon Pie
S.S. of A Book of Cookrye -- Upside Down Chicken Pie
Sarah of Directionally Challenged Cooking --Simone's Pet Strawberry Pie
Kelli of Kelli's Kitchen --Butterscotch Pie
Ashley of A Pinch of Vintage --Schoolteacher Pie
Poppy of Granny Pantries --Black Bottom Pie
Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl --Chocolate "Pie"
Emily of Dinner is Served 1972 --Seafoam Cantaloupe Pie



Posted by Mimi at 4:54 AM 18 comments:
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014


ANOTHER SAD PIE


When you think of Pie, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

I would imagine for the average person it would be stuff like: Boston Creme, Key
Lime, Lemon Meringue or Custard. Maybe a great big Apple Pie a la Mode. Or even
Pizza Pie or Chicken Pot Pie if you're feeling hungry. Am I right?

But if you hear the word "Pie", and instantly think: Salmon! Canned Peas! Button
Mushrooms!

Well then, you might be a Retro Weight Watcher...







You might think the "Salmon Pie" will be filled with delicious fresh Salmon. But
alas! The Salmon Pie has a CRUST made of Salmon. Canned Salmon. Mixed with bread
crumbs and canned mushroom liquid.



And the filling is made from a can of peas and a can of mushrooms.



Oh, the humanity!


But the entire Pie is one serving! Come on. When does that ever happen?

What are we waiting for? Grab a fork and dig in!

Posted by Mimi at 6:06 PM 4 comments:
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TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014


LIFE OF PIE


As I mentioned in my last post, there will be a HUGE Retro-Blogging Challenge at
the end of June called "Pieathalon". This involves a bunch of Retro Food
Bloggers each choosing a Vintage Pie Recipe which will then be randomly assigned
to another blogger, and each blogger must then bake it and write a post about
his/her assigned pie recipe.

Initially, I was really excited about this challenge.

Then I got my assignment, and realized: I have no clue how to bake a real pie.

No clue.

You see, I am a Retro Weight Watchers gal - and here is an example of the type
of pies we make on the Retro Weight Watchers plan:




They don't have a crust. They don't have fillings or toppings. They really don't
resemble a pie at all.

But they typically involve my two favorite ingredients in the world:




And they often contain instructions like:


"Top with dry milk sprinkled evenly", or


"Soften gelatin with beverage in pie pan", or


"Bake for 30 minutes. Pie will be browned but runny."

Seriously. What in the actual Hell?



Pie of Despair


So you will make this brown, runny pie. You will slice it up. It will be sad and
very upsetting. You will tell yourself, "It's not that bad I guess". You will
eat a few bites, and life will seem a little bit better.

You will then realize when you hold it up, it kind of resembles plastic vomit.



Be Honest. Would You EVER Eat This?


You will throw the rest of it in the trash, and just eat an apple.


This is how we do pie in the Retro Weight Watchers world.

I have no idea how to make a real pie. I don't even know where to begin. But
something tells me it is going to be an emotional experience for us all.

Oh, and a special note to the blogger who was assigned my Retro WW "Pie"
submission: I am so very sorry.

Posted by Mimi at 1:35 PM 1 comment:
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MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2014


PIE MONTH


"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back IN!"  - The Godfather Part III

I haven't posted anything on this blog since March. (Has anyone even noticed?)
At the time, I kinda made a half-assed "grand-finale" post and then disappeared
into obscurity for a while. To be honest, I basically just lost my blogging
mojo.

But a few weeks ago, my friend Yinzerella sent out an email to my little circle
of retro blogging pals (AKA The Jello Mafia) asking if anyone wanted to
participate in a NEW Retro Blogging Challenge. This would be similar to the
Knoxapocalypse or the Church Lady Cooking Challenge or the Vincent Price
Cookalong. But this one would have a new theme: PIES. And it would be called
PIEATHALON.



Hellz. Yeah.


So here I am. And not only will I be participating in the Cross-Blog Retro
Pie-Baking Challenge on June 30th, but I have decided to devote the entire month
of June to RETRO WW PIES!

So....Here's a quick walk down memory lane at some of the Retro WW Pies I have
made over the years. (Click on the title above photo to visit the posts):


CARROT PIE

Totally Not Worth the Effort



FRANKFURTER PIE

A Day at the Ballpark



 ALMOST A PIE

Almost but Not Quite



 "FRANKENPIE"

Quite Possibly the Worst Pie EVER Made


 But there are oh-so-many-other Pies to be had. And I shall begin my Pie
Extravaganza later this week.

In the meantime--please do tell, what is YOUR favorite pie?

Posted by Mimi at 11:11 AM 5 comments:
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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014


IN WHICH I FINISH WHAT I STARTED


Here's the deal.

It has taken me over a month to conjure up the desire to finish writing about
the "Retro WW Rules".

And with only one lousy rule left, you'd think I could just suck it up, slap
together some scary recipe and get it over with. But Oh. My. GAWD. I don't
wanna. Like I really don't wanna. AT ALL.


RULE #9: MILK - You must use your daily allotment of milk. Women and men 16
ounces. Skim milk or buttermilk may be used interchangeably and at any time.




So I was going to make this thing called "Milk Ice" where you take a packet of
Knox Gelatin and put it in the blender with some dehydrated milk, vanilla
extract, water and fruit. No doubt it would have been awful. And smelly. And
ridiculous. AND OHMIGOD I JUST CANNOT DO IT.

So instead, I am just gonna sit here and drink some reconstituted dehydrated
non-fat milk powder straight from a Pyrex measuring container. As a punishment.
Cause that's all I got left in me to give, folks.

After 4 years of blogging about Retro Weight Watchers food, I think I have
finally hit the proverbial wall.


What does this mean?

I have no idea. But stay tuned, because this thing has to end somewhere.
Somehow.




And you are all in this with me. Whether you like it or not.

Posted by Mimi at 5:28 AM 11 comments:
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HAVE YOU MET JEAN?


She's the grand lady who started it all. All credit for every recipe included in
this blog goes to Jean Nidetch, founder of WW and Author of The Revised WW
Program Cookbook, 1972.



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN "CATSUP"


Click photo to reveal the essential recipe that every good Retro Weight Watcher
needs to know.



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HEY YOU! READ THIS!

The information and comments contained in this blog are intended for
entertainment purposes only. I am not a nutritionist or medical professional and
do not offer weight loss advice. I am just a wacky chick who is obsessed with
retro cookbooks, healthy living, and fun food. Always consult with a physician
before beginning any exercise or weight loss program - retro or otherwise. OK?

NOTE: Weight Watchers is a registered trademark of Weight Watchers
International, Inc.
This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers International in any way, dude.

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