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My History Fix

the Fun Side of History!

DIETING WITH MAZOLA

August 19, 2016

Yep.  You read that right.  Lose weight with Mazola!

Mazola Diet Plan, cover

Food manufacturers—and we are talking “manufacturing” in the truest sense of the word in this case—often put out cookbooks to help consumers work their product into their kitchen protocol.  But they’re really marketing tools, designed to help consumers part with their money.  They are usually straight-up cookbooks that promise delicious meals, not diet plans promising weight loss and good health—only if you follow the plan to the letter.

Mazola Diet Plan tip

In 2016 this particular diet plan, based on processed corn oil and margarine, seems a bit of a joke.  I’m sure in 1964 this seemed quite reasonable.  Mazola is a product of Science after all, so it must be good and true!  Let’s check it out…

THE MAZOLA DIET PLAN

The Foreword promises the plan includes foods that “all Americans like.”  Great!  It’s calorie-based, as most diets were.  They suggest starting at 1500 calories/day, and adjusting up to 1800 or down to 1200 as needed.

Mazola Diet Plan, The Plan

They also insist on eating six times a day: three meals with “pickups” in between each.  A chart is provided to help us plan meals.  Of course every meal is prepared with Mazola oil or margarine, or both.

Mazola Diet Plan tip

I also find it interesting that they mostly add more Mazola to go from 1500 to 1800 calories.  Yes, fat is satiating, as they make the point to emphasize, but won’t we feel more satisfied by adding actual food with fat content, like meat?  Seems like common sense to me.

THE FOOD LIST

The Mazola nutritionists don’t really disallow much, other than dessert.  It’s mostly about portions—and cooking with Mazola.  As I perused the menus I wondered what the hell “Flavor Seal Peas” and “Flavor Seal Carrots” were, only to find they are simply veggies cooked in Mazola.   Here are some of my favorite inclusions and rules:

  • Luncheon meats! Yes, packaged lunchmeat makes the cut!  You can choose from: bologna, frankfurters, head cheese, liverwurst and salami…all made from ground-up leftovers from the slaughterhouse. Now that’s nutrition if you ask me!
  • Corn, potatoes, dried beans and peas, and green lima beans can be eaten, but do not count as veggies…they count as bread. Sort of modern day thinking, no?
  • Skippy peanut butter makes the cut. Only Skippy? Of course, they were both owned by the Best Foods conglomerate at the time.
  • While sugar is allowed in small amounts as “seasoning” in meals, we are warned not to add it to our coffee or tea, and to only drink “carbonated beverages prepared with non-caloric sweeteners,”…and best of all…
  • “Keep in mind that too much liquid may interfere with weight loss.” WHAT?  Liquid?  Like water?  That stuff that fills my belly and flushes my system?

Ok Mazola, whatever you say…

Mazola Diet Plan, corn, potato, beans

THE MAZOLA MENUS

Yeah…the menus.  Personally, I didn’t find them very appetizing.  Dinner is definitely the best meal of the day, and those “pickup” snack/meals…ugh!  Cheese and milk.  Liverwurst and milk.  Chicken and milk.  Gross!  One breakfast includes wheat flakes, strawberries, skim milk and…pan fried chicken livers!  ACK!  See what you think:

Mazola Diet Plan menus

Mazola gives us notes and substitution tips with each menu, which is great, but there is so much keeping track!  Adding, subtracting, it makes my head spin…all to eat little bits of nasty food.

In a nutshell, the Mazola Diet Plan is about cooking with Mazola, eating small portions and staying away from dessert and sugar, which was mostly the classic wisdom of the time.  It’s always something, right?

Low-carb, fat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free…

Personally, I think it boils down to portions (stop eating when you’re full), eating “clean” and listening to our bodies.  Easier said than done, of course, but it’s still much simpler than counting calories and making substitutions.

The other thing is the concept of “dieting.”  If we eat a certain way to lose weight, and then go back to our old habits…well, we all know what happens!  Been there, done that!

Mazola Diet Plan tip

Thanks Mazola!

Have you tried any fad diets?  What’s your food philosophy?  Share in the comments below, and check out Facebook in a few days for other Mazola Diet nuggets!

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