The Lazy Editor Diet Book

As if January isn't bad enough, it's also the month that a lot of people start and try to stick to diets. That means today we're checking out Everywoman's Diet Handbook (compiled and edited by Carol Tiffany, 1980). The first thing my significant other said upon spotting this book in the pile of "treasures" we'd picked up at our favorite antique mall was, "It looks like a can of Tab!"

That cover is definitely Tab pink. Good call!

The first thing I noticed as I paged through is that this book is a very lazy project-- mostly just a compilation of various calorie, weight, exercise, and vitamin charts from various sources, along with a few recipes from 1975's The Doubleday Cookbook. The editor was so lazy that the introduction repeatedly refers to this book by that title.

The book recommends the not-particularly-realistic-or-healthy calorie limit of 1200 per day, but it doesn't go into a lot more detail than that. At least trying to figure what to eat is just a math problem and not a math-plus-complicated-logistics problem, like the diets that ask the dieter to figure out how to fit liver into every fourth meal, eat at least one grapefruit per day, and use skim milk powder in unnatural ways. So what might a dinner look like on this diet? 

There's no need to skip a small pre-meal treat! Start with an appetizer like Clam Chickee!

There's nothing like chilled clam juice mixed with chicken broth to whet the appetite. If you're feeling extravagant, you can even "top each serving with a dollop of sour cream," but then it will exceed 20 calories per serving.

We all know dieters need protein, so the main course can be the appealingly-named Economy Meat Loaf.

Mmm mmm! Tastes cheap! I'm not entirely convinced this is significantly lower in calories than most other meat loaves, though I guess using oats instead of crackers as the filler may shave off a few calories per serving, as might using skim milk instead of whole or evaporated milk. 

To counteract the low-end meat loaf, I'll go high end on the vegetable and serve Broccoli in White Wine Sauce.

Again, I'm not really sure what makes this diet-- with both butter and white wine, this seems fairly indulgent, but at least this isn't a book that recommends eating mounds and mounds of plain steamed veggies.

There's even room for dessert. People love apple-y desserts, so we will end with one.

I know what makes this diet! People love apple with fatty carbs-- think apple crisp, pie, strudel, turnovers, etc. This is basically fancy applesauce. Add a little sour cream if you like, but it's not going to make up for the missing pastry...

I guess dieters who tried this regimen were somewhat lucky in that the book offers some small luxuries-- especially ones full of butterfat. The bad news is that the serving sizes have to be pretty small (and the butterfat is often optional and needs to be skipped if you want to stay within the calorie guidelines).

The best news is that none of us ever have to seriously consider downing a glass of Clam Chickee.