Fifty, without question, is a milestone. Whether it’s five decades spent committed to the same partner, toiling away in the same profession, or simply living on earth, 50 warrants appreciation—and respect. Frankly, in a world of instant everything (texts, tweets, gratification), anyone or anything that stays relevant for 50 years has earned the right to celebrate.
We’ve embraced that celebratory spirit with Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Cookbook, a collection of favorite recipes that have been updated with two goals in mind: staying true to our past while reflecting how Americans are eating (and living) today. As we started compiling the recipes and information for this manuscript, the significance of this book representing one aspect of our golden anniversary became daunting, a task much more challenging than I had expected: How do you truly reflect (through food information and recipes) the role Weight Watchers has played in so many peoples’ lives?
I needed a little historical perspective, so I turned to the numerous cookbooks that have been released under the Weight Watchers name since the company was founded in 1963. I spent time paging through those early books; many of them outlined the updates to the recipes as well as the stories of individuals who found success on the latest plan. Those cookbooks truly captured the excitement that surrounded the organization in its earliest days. At the start I turned to them to be reminded of just how far we’ve come and how much things had changed, yet what I came away with was the opposite.
Consider this introduction, written by one of the company’s founders, Jean Nidetch, in the Weight Watchers Program Cookbook of 1972:
The Weight Watchers Program, introduced in 1963, was a boon to the overweight, helping hundreds of thousands of people lose millions of unhealthy, unsightly pounds. In 1972 a revised program was introduced, which incorporated the latest findings in nutritional information … We have branched out … in other ways too. In 1968 we introduced the Weight Watchers Magazine … Another innovation was the licensing of food companies to produce pre-portioned foods. Thus, you will find in your supermarket freezer fish luncheons and dinners galore, plus turkey, veal, chopped sirloin, and other foods … For me, personally, there have been many changes too … But above all, my life seems truly significant when I remember that through the Weight Watchers Program so many fat, unhappy people have been born again into thin, happy people. Maybe, this time, it will happen to you …
Ultimately, while everything has changed since the ’60s, so much has stayed the same. I recently spoke with a woman who began working at the company in the mid-1970s as a recipe developer, tester, and editor and stills works on various projects. She echoed Jean’s words, describing how being a part of Weight Watchers was (and still is) “magical.” That’s when the mission of this new cookbook became clear to me: provide delicious recipes that will become tools to help people now, and perhaps in the future, find success. The “magic” now and then is also the same: It’s about the people—Weight Watchers Members, Leaders, and Receptionists—all committed to helping others lose weight and reach their goals.
—Nancy Gagliardi VP,
Editorial Director