Dh and I often talk about meals we had as children, how they were filling, but low cost meals, no fancy meals but basic foods that were in season. A shopping trip was for a meal already planned not to browse. New products were rare and impulse buying was limited because simply there wasn't much to be tempted by.
Meals were planned around seasonal availability not cravings, so the basic ingredients, were root vegetables, cabbage and onions, and these from my Grand dad's allotment. Meat was made to last several meals, rather than fresh every day!
There was no such thing as snacking, because there weren't any, no yogurts, packet chocolate biscuits or fruit drinks. In my day a snack was an apple! Biscuits were for visitors or an after dinner treat, not to be eaten throughout the day.
And of course there was no waste, as left overs were to be eaten not ignored. Where there was left overs they became the next meal or tomorrow's lunch.
Eating out was not part of my childhood, only if we had been asked to join with friends or relatives for a special occasion. Take Aways were unheard of, perhaps fish and chips on a Saturday, but that wasn't a regular thing.
None of this was considered healthy eating or being frugal, this was simply how we lived.
My grandmother's cawl ( soup) could last for days. I happily ate homemade jam with bread and butter for tea and I loved bread and dripping! I don't think I was hard done by, my gran made cake and that was a Sunday tea treat along with tinned peaches with Evaporated milk.
No wonder there were no over weight children, no high sugar food stuffs and we ran about all day long, even on rainy days. We were healthy by default and no one complained about not enough money for food.
It was a way of life, we were healthy and slim!
Too right we were healthy and slim. My father used to say I had hollow legs. We were on the go all day and rode our bikes to school rain, hail or shine. Porridge and sometimes kippers for breakfast and for a treat fried bread covered with tomato sauce. Delish!
ReplyDeleteMy mother would stretch Meals by adding macaroni or spaghetti. And of course she never bought anything in the way of an expensive cut of meat. Good old 19 cents a pound hamburger.
ReplyDeleteFood was rationed, too, for a long time after WW2 ended. Food was fuel not luxury.
ReplyDeleteI am now going to spend all day thinking about how much I enjoyed a slice of bread and dripping.
ReplyDeleteThere is a photo of my mother circa 1950 and I always thought, oh good, she really took care of herself, didn't get heavier after kids were born. Only in recent years have I realized it was just a few years after the end of WWII and food rationing had only recently stopped, not to mention they were likely financially strapped. Whole new persepctive.
ReplyDeleteNina
You are describing my childhood in Newfoundland as well. Such a different time!
ReplyDeleteSunday tea - tinned peaches and evap. Monday washable- sat on the back strep watching mum turn the mangle, whilst I ate a slice of bread-and-marg sprinkled with sugar...
ReplyDeleteSo true, Chris. I was surprised when my 30-year-old niece (while visiting us) ordered online tea for all of us at home when we could have easily prepared it ourselves!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. We didn't have as many temptations when we were kids. I grew up in a small town in the US and we had no fast food and only one restaurant, so we rarely ate out. We grew and canned or froze most of our food. My father was a hunter and we would kill a deer for our meat. I am happy for the conveniences we have today and I guess it's up to me to make wise choices with them.
ReplyDeleteI never could understand all this present day snacking. You described my childhood to a T. No eating between meals, you just had to wait! Charmaine
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a different part of the world and our diet was different, but, we did make most of the meals at home.
ReplyDelete... ooh yes, I recall enjoying bread and dripping :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Different world we live in now!!!! I didn't eat in between then and don't now either. I do like my one snack in the evening though. :)
ReplyDeleteI grew up in basically the same way our only evening snack was popcorn on rare occasions. Popcorn we made on the stove not out of a bag.
ReplyDeleteCathy
Nice look back to see how conveniences now are really spoiling us.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with much the same diet. Simple, plain food, deliciously prepared.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very like my growing up, here in the US, but my mother was English so that explains the similarity. My husband grew up in a Wsst Virginia coal camp, and his diet was not nearly as healthy as mine was as a child. Brown beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes were the staples of his diet. I never had beans and cornbread growing up and still dont care for it. Mom always made sure we had a protein, a starch, and a green vegetable on our plates. I raised my sons the same way and all have stayed slim and healthy, whereas me? Always fighting my weight even though i eat a healthy diet! So not fair.
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