What Grandma Knew About Meal Planning Part 3

This is the last of a three-part series of menu planning the way Grandma would have. If you want to read the first two posts here is Part 1 and here is Part 2. I am getting my information from one of my favorite cookbooks Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, originally published in 1950 and republished in 1988.



In part 2 I began a list of what you want to check for in your menu planning and what real-life homemakers of the 1950's had to say about it. The first two points are Appropriateness and Appearance.

The next point is:

III. Satisfaction
Good cooking and seasoning
Right combinations of food
Follow tested recipes carefully

Something soft and something crisp

Should always go together,

And something hot with something cold

No matter what the weather;

Something bland needs the complement

Of something with tang and nip.

Follow these rules and all your meals

Will have taste appeal and zip.

"I use a variety of seasonings-sage, thyme, marjoram, flavored salts; and I keep pots of fresh parsley and chives."

"I always try to have a crips vegetable with a definite shape with one that's creamed or mashed."



IV. Nutrition
Serve a wide variety of foods.
Balance meals by including foods from the 7 basic groups.
Breakfast should give about 1/3 of the day's food supply.



"I have a list of menus for balanced meals which is a helpful guide in insuring good nutrition in my meals."

"I have a chart of how much vitamins, minerals, and proteins each member of my family needs according to age and activity."

"I've always tried to balance meals for the whole day. If some factor of the Basic 7 is left out of one meal, I get it into one of the other two."



V. Cost
A food budget will help you.
Buy the basic food needs for the family first.
Buy less of the more expensive foods and more of the less expensive foods.
Grow your own fruits and vegetables if possible.

"We buy the foods we must have for good nutrition first. Then if we feel we can spend more we buy the things that are not so important, but give our meals a lift."

"I find a semi-monthly budget economical, because bulk buying of staples is a worthwhile saving; and if funds are budgeted over longer periods I can take advantage of sales and special values."

"I've always had to consider the cost but have learned to manage by buying in season, taking advantage of sales, and by raising quantities of vegetables which we eat in abundance in summer and can for winter use."



I hope you have enjoyed these little peeks into the life of the 1950 housewife and the way she planned her meals. Besides the Basic 7 food groups (the basic food groups have changed several times since then), I think it is safe to say that I can follow the advice and guidance given even though it was a long time ago. What do you think?





Graphic courtesy of All Posters.