Pre-sun "fun" with some slimline recipes for May

If you believe Cooking by the Calendar (edited by Marilyn Hansen, 1978), May is the month "to trim calories to get in shape for summer sunning." I'm glad the body positivity movement is getting us past the bad old days when people thought they needed to get a beach body. Now the only question is "Got a body?" If so, then you've got a beach body. (Well, unless you're entirely composed of French fries or something. Then seagulls would probably try to eat you, so it would be best to stay inside for practical reasons.)

That means May has a section on "Slim Line Salads" with such gems as Crisp and Crunchy Tuna Salad. I figured it would be tuna salad with extra celery and maybe yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Nope!

This is a gelatin salad! Jiggly beef bouillon binds the onion, tuna, and tomato-- plus shredded iceberg lettuce for the crunch. And to make it special, the mixture is served in green pepper halves. It sounds like it would pretty sad as an entrée (The menu at the beginning of the chapter suggests serving this with tomato juice and a slice of whole wheat bread as lunch.), but it might feel special just because it looks fancy and takes more effort to make than just a regular tuna salad.

The next section suggests "Slim Line Main Dishes," including a Curried Chicken Soufflé. (Hansen must have REALLY loved egg dishes. They make a lot of appearances.)

I like that this recipe calls for both "frozen cholesterol-free egg substitute, thawed" AND egg whites. Considering that the cholesterol-free egg substitute is usually mostly egg whites anyway, it might make more sense (and have been cheaper back in those days) just to use a bunch of egg whites, divided. I also have my doubts about how much curry flavor will come through when there's only a half-teaspoon of curry powder for the entire six-serving soufflé, but at least there is some kind of seasoning beyond salt and pepper.

Continuing with the low-calorie theme, the vegetable of the month is celery-- that supposedly negative-calorie food that makes it seem like you're chewing a wad of wet string, which has the added "advantage" of making eating less appealing. At least the cooking method should soften up the Braised Fruited Celery.

I'm not the kind of person who would pair onion and celery with apples and raisins, but this seems like the kind of thing some people would serve with pork. Or maybe, if we take the diet theme just a little too far, you could mix it with grapefruit segments and eat it with a thin slice of dry toast for breakfast.

I personally think May is the month for finishing off those Reese's peanut butter eggs I got on after-Easter clearance. I'm glad I don't think about being in shape for summer sunning. (I'm only up for shade anyway, as I don't want to spend summer looking like a boiled lobster.)