Author Dawn Lerman Cooks Up — and Shares — Memories for Father’s Day

For author Dawn Lerman, food memories of her father are an everyday occurrence.

[additional-authors]

Debra L. Eckerling

June 12, 2025

Dawn & Al Lerman

For author Dawn Lerman, food memories of her father are an everyday occurrence.

Lerman’s book, “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family with Recipes,” is a celebration of her “rock star” ad man dad. Al Lerman was responsible for iconic slogans such as “Soup is Good Food,” “Coke is it“ and “Leggo my Eggo.“ It’s no wonder food was central to her upbringing, and food memories abound.

“My dad felt that to create a good slogan, you needed to believe in the products you were selling,” Dawn Lerman, a board-certified nutrition expert, told The Journal. Her father was obese when she was growing up; 450 pounds at his heaviest. “He was always the best customer for the food and drinks he advertised, testing them excessively — especially when they were super sugary or super salty.”

Al Lerman’s weight would go up and down like an elevator, depending on what fad diet he was on or what ad campaign he was working on. By the age of 8, Lerman made it her business to learn the rules of every new diet fad, so she could cook up any of his favorites and transform them with a healthy twist. “My dad nicknamed me the kitchen magician,” she said. “We were the dynamic duo of slogans and nutrition; it was our super power.”

Even though Al passed away a few years ago, Dawn still hears his witty banter whenever she is in the kitchen. “Dawn, you know what would make the world a better place?” he would say. She knew the answer, “A world without calories.”

His mantra still inspires her recipes.

Some of their favorites, paired with Al’s slogans, are below. Follow @DawnLerman on Instagram – and check out her Taste Buds with Deb episode – for more.

Note: All recipes and photos are from Dawn Lerman’s daughter, Sofia Vaccaro. The kitchen bond continues to the next generation.

“Soup is Good Food”

While my dad was a superstar in the boardroom, his weight was a little more daunting, often becoming problematic for his Madison Avenue ad image. It was highly suggested that to move up in the ranks and to work on high-profile accounts, like Kentucky Fried Chicken, my dad would need to lose an extreme amount of weight. Terrified of losing his job, he believed that if he did not eat and only drank, he would lose weight, no matter what he was sipping.

My dad lost a great deal of weight within the first couple of weeks of his liquid diet, even though he often dumped scoops of ice cream and chocolate powder into many of the shakes. When I told my grandmother Beauty, who was my lifeline when my family moved to NYC from Chicago when I was nine, she suggested blending a bowl of vegetables with V-8. Juice to make a fiber-filled soup. Beauty’s easy gazpacho became the staples in the 28-day plan helping my dad trim down and feel good in a bathing suit.

Dad’s Favorite Low Calorie Blender Gazpacho Soup

Yield: 2 servings

16 ounces V-8 vegetable juice

3/4 cup peeled and chopped cucumber

1/8 cup green pepper

1/8 cup chopped onion

1/2 tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 Tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: hot sauce/cayenne pepper, which helps give a kick of flavor while boosting your metabolism

Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Cover and chill for at least one hour.

“Leggo My Eggo”

My dad was never a morning person. No matter how many alarm clocks he set, nothing could ever wake him. My dad said that when he slept, his best ideas came to him, including some of the award-winning slogans for the campaigns he created, like Taster’s Choice Coffee. But as much as he enjoyed sleeping, he loved eating.

Every Sunday, my sister and I would make him a scrumptious breakfast in bed and straighten his wall of shirts that were stacked in every corner of our brownstone, representing each new weight. Figuring out what to prepare depended on the diet du jour and the number on the big chalkboard above the scale in our bathroom that showed his current weight. My dad weighed himself every morning and every night, carefully displaying every victory and every setback in white chalk. But on Father’s Day, I always wanted to make something special, something that conjured fond memories from his past so we could create lasting memories together.

This waffle will create all the sweetness without all the calories.

High Protein, Low-Calorie Waffles

Yield: 2 servings

1 mashed banana

1 Tbsp milk or skim milk

2 scoops of protein powder of choice

1/2 cup egg whites, beaten until stiff

Cooking spray for the waffle iron

Fresh berries for garnish

Mash the bananas and add the milk. Then stir in the protein powder and egg whites. Make sure you beat the egg whites separately until stiff, then fold them in. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and pour the batter onto the heated iron. Cook according to the waffle iron’s instructions until golden brown. Serve with fresh fruit.

“Chocolate is the Closest Thing to Cupid’s Arrow.”

These brownies are more like fudge than cake. My father called them magic brownies, because they use zero flour, only garbanzo beans. They are so good for you, they can double as a healthy snack or breakfast.

Magic Brownies