This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (2024)

Posted on 28 Oct 2014

Molded asparagus salad, anyone? Via Candyboots, where you can see these recipe cards with their original captions by Wendy McClure.

by Hilary MitchellBuzzFeed Contributor

When writer Wendy McClure, of the site Candyboots, stumbled upon a set of 1970s diet cards, she couldn't stop laughing.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (5)

Instead of cooking the recipes (and why would she? Why would anyone?), she made them into a book.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (6)

1. Molded Asparagus Salad.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (7)

2. Chilled Celery Log.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (8)

3. Frankfurter Spectacular.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (9)

4. Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (10)

5. Crown Roast of Frankfurters.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (11)

6. Broiled Appleburgers.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (12)

7. Peach Melba.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (13)

8. Stuffed Lettuce Wedges.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (14)

9. Spinach And Egg Mold.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (15)

10. Jellied Tomato Refresher.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (16)

11. Inspiration Soup.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (17)

12. Cucumber 'Cream' Salad.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (18)

13. Perfect Pizza Lunch.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (19)

14. Frozen Cheese Salad.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (20)

15. Liver Pâté En Masque.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (21)

16. Fish With "Butter" Sauce.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (22)

17. Snacks On A Stick.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (23)

18. Fruit And Cheese Mold.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (24)

19. Lettuce Potage.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (25)

20. Fish "Tacos".

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (26)

21. Madrilène-Cheese Salad.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (27)

After a while, Wendy's fans started to recreate some of the recipes at home. Here's the Chilled Celery Log:

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (28)

Molded Asparagus Salad:

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (29)

Fluffy Mackerel Pudding:

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (30)

Crown Roast of Frankfurters.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (31)

Via Candyboots.

This Is What Diet Recipes Were Like In The 1970s (2024)

FAQs

What was the diet in the 1970s? ›

1970s. The 1970s marked the start of a reduction in our intake of vegetables. The average person ate a pound of red meat each week, compared to just over half of that today. Fruit juice arrived in the shops but only one in ten people consumed it regularly.

Tell Me More ›

What did people eat in 1977? ›

What Food People Were Obsessed With the Year You Were Born

1971: Eggs Benedict. Getty. ...
1972: Tequila Sunrise. Getty. ...
1973: Fondue. Getty. ...
1974: Granola. Getty. ...
1975: Pasta Primavera. Getty. ...
1976: General Tso's Chicken. Getty. ...
1977: Buffalo Wings. Getty. ...
1978: Croissants. Getty.

More items...

Jul 5, 2016

How big was the dinner plate in 1970? ›

In the 1970s, an average dinner plate measured 22cm (8½in) in diameter – now it's more like 28cm (11in).

View Details ›

What was the protein diet in the 70s? ›

Stillman and Samm Sinclair Baker co-authored the book The Doctor's Quick Weight Loss Diet that first advertised the Stillman Diet in 1967. The animal based high-protein diet includes lean beef, veal, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs and non-fat cottage cheese. Spices, tabasco sauce, herbs, salt, and pepper are also allowed.

What was the average calorie intake in the 1970s? ›

In 1970, Americans took in an average of 2,160 calories per day. Today, it has skyrocketed to 2,673 daily calories per person. As shown in the graph below, we are now eating 20-25 percent more calories than we did in 1970!

Learn More Now ›

Did people eat less in the 1970s? ›

Broadly speaking, we eat a lot more than we used to: The average American consumed 2,481 calories a day in 2010, about 23% more than in 1970. That's more than most adults need to maintain their current weight, according to the Mayo Clinic's calorie calculator.

View Details ›

What was the calorie intake in 1970? ›

Adding up the 2008 numbers shows a total intake of 2678 calories per person per day up from 2169 in 1970.

Know More ›

What was the low carb diet in the 1970s? ›

The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins in the 1970s, marketed with claims that carbohydrate restriction is crucial to weight loss and that the diet offered "a high calorie way to stay thin forever".

Get More Info ›