The imaginatively-named Food is a magazine-ish publication of the UDSA from 1979.
This booklet was "the first of a new series of USDA publications designed to give you up-to-date, reliable information about food and nutrition issues and suggestions on how to apply this information to your food decisions." The series doesn't seem to have gotten very far-- three issues, as far as I can tell.
As the cover suggests, this one focuses mainly on breakfasts and snacks, and the recipes are, to some degree, what I would expect. Healthy snacks? I would have bet money on this having a recipe for a cottage-cheese-based dip.
And I was right in betting on the type of recipe included, but I was mistaken in using the singular (dip). There are in fact TWO cottage-cheese-based dips.
And of course, there would be a healthy-ish popsicle.
I was impressed that this one is made with plain gelatin-- not strawberry!-- and plain yogurt, too... so even if the frozen strawberries had some added sugar, this would still have been a less sugary treat than a lot of midwestern-style Jell-O "salads."
The booklet also highlights economical meals, so you know it will have a meatless dinner option that's basically a brick of veggies, nuts, wheat germ, eggs, and dairy trying to masquerade as meatloaf.
This version is dressed up with a home-made onion sauce rather than cream-of-mushroom soup or ketchup.
There were a few surprises, though, like the "Open-Faced Submarine Sandwiches."
Sorry, USDA, but calling an English-muffin-half topped with a little salami, (broiled!) lettuce and other veggies, and American cheese a "submarine sandwich" is such a misuse of the term that I am physically incapable of writing it without scare quotes.
And then there are the French Toasted Tuna Sandwiches.
I tried to keep an open mind, even though, admittedly, I hate tuna salad and am not particularly fond of French toast either. I thought, "Well, if you like tuna salad and use a savory rather than sweet custard for the French toast, you'd probably think this was fine." And then I saw the vanilla in the recipe. Does anybody really want vanilla and tuna salad?
Apparently the USDA thought so. And the more I gaze upon these recipes, the more surprised I am that this series made it all the way up to three issues....
I was hoping that tuna salad came with french bread, toasted. Instead you manage to ruin both breakfast and lunch by serving them together.
ReplyDeleteI was also amused by adding 2 tbsp of milk to the cottage cheese dip. I'm sure it made a huge difference in texture.
Being from USDA I thought it was going to be recipes for the commodity foods that they gave out. Frozen strawberries and yogurt are pretty fancy. No powdered milk or grainy peanut butter anywhere.
Yes, I imagine if I actually liked tuna salad, serving it with toasted baguette would be preferable to with French toast.
DeleteThis would have been a good place for recipes with commodity foods. At least throw some of those cheese bricks in somewhere.