Flint tries to put the veggies back in sweet salads

As I read through Tested Tried and True (Junior League of Flint, Michigan, Incorporated, second printing, April 1976), I was not surprised to see the ubiquitous-for-the-'60s-and-'70s Jell-O based "salads" that tend toward dessert more than toward something most reasonable people would consider a salad. I was surprised, though, that the people of Flint often seemed to think that actual salad ingredients (You know, things other than miniature marshmallows, whipped topping, and Coke or 7-Up) belonged in salads. They were so convinced of this that they were willing to ruin perfectly good desserts by throwing in actual veggies and savory ingredients.

Some try to hide this agenda. The Apricot Nectar Molded Salad looks pretty dessert-y, for the most part...

...right up until you notice the black olives and cheddar cheese studding the Dream-Whip-and-apricot-nectar-based topping.

Some try to bury the veggies.

You probably won't notice that the cream cheese, lime gelatin, crushed pineapple, and whipping cream are hiding veggies until you take a bite. Then you have to figure out what to do with what you thought was a cheesecake-adjacent dessert now that you know it's also full of pimentos and celery.

The title Hint of Spring Apple Mold makes me think this salad is supposed to be celebratory. I'm always pumped for winter to be coming to an end!

That doesn't necessarily mean anyone considers bits of celery, carrots, green pepper, and pimento suspended in an apple-and-lemon Jell-O to be a springtime celebration, though. It's more of an "I just cleaned out the fridge" vibe, which I guess is kind of celebratory in its own way. Yay?

Sorry, Flint. I appreciate the sentiment that a salad maybe should have actual nutritional content in it (besides sugar and dairy fat), but the purely dessert "salads" sound a lot tastier.