Recipe cards from the 1970s

It all started with Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.

I was trading war stories with someone (hey, Deri!) about some of the worst recipe titles we'd run across in our careers, and I mentioned a recipe called Crusty Prune Delight. She countered with Fluffy Mackerel Pudding (which won the contest fins down) and pointed me to a website where the aforementioned fish pudding was displayed along with a collection of other hilarious Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974.

The scary photos of the food are enough reason to check out candyboots.com, but the commentary from Wendy McClure, the site's author, really makes the click worthwhile. Wendy has also compiled the cards into a book called The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan. If you laughed at the cards on her website, then you'll find more of the same in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon. The photo above is from the book, and Wendy's comment on the dish is this:

Sometimes, all the photo stylist can do is use a prop so ugly it can only make the food look better in comparison. Thus, for the Pears That Look Like They've Gotten Sick on Themselves, only the Sludge-Drooling Blowfish will do.