Crush Those Holiday Cravings!

What do dieters dream about? A thick slice of homemade bread fresh from the oven and slathered in butter? Twice baked potatoes loaded up with cheese? A slab of chocolate cheesecake with a gooey caramel and pecan topping? Or maybe in December, the cravings shift to a big glass of sweet, creamy eggnog spiked with rum and Cognac? A bowl of cornbread stuffing flavored with sausage? A couple big scoops of peppermint ice cream dripping with hot fudge?

Nope! According to Secrets of Salt-Free Cooking (Jeanne Jones, 1979). Dieters don't want to get left out of when it comes to that other Christmas classic....

Yeah, they crave fruitcake. And since a lot of the calories are in the cake part, it gets replaced by a low-fat milk gelatin. Candied fruits are caloric too, so those get replaced with applesauce, crushed pineapple, and a few raisins. I didn't think fruitcake could get more disappointing than it already was, but Jeanne Jones has clearly proven me wrong. Happy holidays, dieters! Enjoy this sad, sad applesauce-and-milk gel.