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Get more out of your food budget with tips from the 1940s on how to stretch your groceries. During World War II, people thought of all kinds of new recipe ideas when certain ingredients were scarce and money was tight. Some of those vintage recipes and methods to save money on groceries still hold up today.
I’ve been searching for ways to be more frugal now that the future is a little more hazy because of the coronavirus pandemic. Saving money on food has become a priority, much as it was in the 1940s, so I thought it might be helpful to go back in time a bit to see how people dealt with the issue then.
Food rationing during WWII
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to grocery stores struggling to keep certain items on shelves (I’ve never had such a hard time finding flour or toilet paper). The food and supply shortages and economic strain we’ve endured are not unlike what the world faced during WWII.
People used stamps in war ration books to purchase groceries
During WWII, the federal government created a rationing program to conserve supplies for troops overseas while meeting consumer demand. The rationing program set purchasing limits on items that were in high demand to prevent shortages. People were issued a number of points and used the points, along with money, to purchase these items. An example given by The National WWII Museum is that in 1943, a pound of bacon cost about 30 cents plus seven ration points. The points were distributed as stamps in a ration book.
Guapo and I actually found a 1940s war ration book at an estate sale and looking through it lately has reminded me that though we’re living a little less comfortably now, I’m so grateful for what we have.
All kinds of food items were rationed
Food rationing began in May 1942. Sugar was the first item to be rationed followed by coffee in November. I can understand why sugar was the first, since I’ve had plenty of trouble finding it at grocery stores while everyone has been baking more at home. I haven’t run into a problem finding coffee but it would be a sad, sad day if that were to happen.
After coffee, more perishable food items like meat and cheese plus fats, canned fish and canned milk were rationed. According to The National WWII Museum, macaroni and cheese was a hit during this time because it was filling, affordable and cost few ration points.
Food rationing changed the way people ate
Even with the rationing program and set price limits that aimed to prevent hoarding, there were still food shortages. Propaganda posters encouraged Americans to only make enough food that would be eaten for the meal and to eat more meatless meals. They were even asked to grow their own “victory gardens” and use every part of an ingredient to prevent waste. People had to get creative with recipes, which brought us wartime recipes like no yeast, eggless Peanut Butter Bread.
Thinking of the similarities in struggles when it comes to grocery shopping and cooking, I was inspired by the resourceful generations of the past to find ways to stretch my groceries and make the most of what I have. I even recreated this WWII propaganda poster of a woman holding her groceries and a war ration book.
How to stretch your groceries – wartime food shortage cooking tips
Fittingly, cookbooks in the 1940s provided advice on how to stretch your groceries, how to use leftovers and food alternate suggestions for when certain ingredients weren’t available. There were also tips for grocery shopping on a rationing program, since people had to plan meals staying within the weekly point allotment. One piece of advice was to use as many fruits and vegetables from the market and gardens as possible so points could be used for stocking the pantry with canned goods.
It’s common for recipes in 1940s cookbooks to call for processed cheese, canned meat and other affordable items that would last a long time. One cookbook suggested replacing sugar with corn syrup in recipes if sugar was scarce. Thankfully, there are many healthier options today for packaged and frozen foods to stock up on if big grocery shopping trips aren’t safe or in the budget.
Besides some questionable recipes, many vintage tips on how to stretch your groceries still hold up today. Here are ways to save money on groceries and use up what you have.
Save money on groceries by only buying what you need
The first thing you should do to start saving money on groceries is to keep an inventory of what you have in your fridge and pantry. Keep a pen and pad in the kitchen (or use notes or an app on your phone) to write down when you’ve run out of a staple ingredient. This way, you’ll only buy what you need when you order a grocery delivery or go grocery shopping.
Use every part of the vegetable
Use up those food scraps! Cooks in the 1940s tried not to let anything go to waste. Try one of these no-waste vegetable recipe ideas:
- Use celery leaves as soup toppings, to season sauces or mix them with salad greens.
- Cut the stalks from cauliflower and broccoli and boil until tender; toss with salt, pepper and butter.
- Serve beets with their green tops that have been cooked.
- Chop green onions finely and use as a garnish instead of chives.
- Save the boiling water used to steam vegetables and use in soups, sauces or gravy.
How to stretch butter
If you’re running low on butter, there are a few nifty ways to make what you have last longer.
- For making sandwiches, mix butter with mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, mustard or honey to make it go farther.
- For seasoning vegetables, add the butter to your vegetables after they’re on your plate or in the serving dish so none gets left in the saucepan.
- When cooking, save bacon, ham or sausage drippings to saute and season with instead of using butter.
How to stretch beef
When you buy beef, make it go farther by combining it with other ingredients. Here’s how to get more out of your beef purchase:
- Use cubed meat in vegetable dishes, macaroni, noodles, potatoes, casseroles, chili or stew to make it go farther.
- Round out the meal by serving beef with dumplings or with a biscuit or pastry topping (as in a pot pie).
- Use ground beef as a filling for baked tomatoes or stuffed bell peppers.
- For heartier burgers, roll patties thin, top with chili sauce or pickle relish, cover with a second thin patty, then brown in a skillet.
- Use leftover ground beef for sandwich fillings, croquettes, hashes or omelet fillings.
Eat more egg recipes
If you’re concerned about missing protein in your diet but meat isn’t in your budget, eggs are an affordable and versatile option. Here are a few easy egg dishes worth trying for dinner:
- Eggs Benedict (a toasted English muffin half topped with a slice of fried ham, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce).
- Scrambled eggs with shredded Cheddar cheese and sauteed onion served on toast.
- Fried eggs with bacon or ham.
- Omelet with bacon, cheese, ham, herbs, sauteed mushrooms or whatever else you have!
- Poached eggs served with corned beef hash.
- Cooked white rice topped with hard- or soft-boiled eggs and Cheddar cheese sauce.
- If you have leftover egg yolks from a baking project, cook them in simmering salted water for 15 minutes, then chill. Mince the cooked yolks and use as a sandwich filling or as a garnish for soups, salads and vegetable dishes.
Bulk up recipes with cheese
You can use cheese to bulk up dishes (plus it’s delicious). Wartime cookbooks even suggested cheese as a meat alternative, recommending adding cheese to dried beans and peas, lentils, bread, macaroni and more. Here are a few ways to use cheese in your recipes during quarantine:
- Make a cheese strata with day-old bread and slices of Cheddar cheese.
- Use grated cheese as a topping for soup or mix into coleslaw.
- For a snack, fill canned peach halves with cream cheese.
- Make a simple fruit salad with diced orange segments and cottage cheese.
Easy dessert alternatives
I’ve had a lot of trouble finding sugar at the grocery store during the COVID-19 pandemic. When you can’t gather ingredients to bake, serve one of these 1940s dessert alternatives instead:
- Cheese and crackers with jelly or jam.
- Fresh, dried and/or canned fruit with fresh or canned fruit juice.
- Waffles, pancakes or French toast with syrup, honey, jelly or jam.
- Packaged pudding, ice cream, cookies or other store-bought items.
Make simple baking swaps
Since so many people have turned to baking during self isolation, grocery stores are frequently out of basic baking ingredients. Here are a few vintage baking swaps to work around this problem:
- Shortening and butter can be used interchangeably, though the flavor will differ.
- If you’re out of baking chocolate, try substituting 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon shortening for each 1-oz square of baking chocolate.
I hope you’re safe and healthy and able to get what you need. These are challenging times but I think we can make it a little better by doing our best to make the most of what we have. If you’ve come up with any creative recipe ideas while staying at home, I’d love for you to share them on Instagram and tag me @thedapperdahlia!
Source: The Good Housekeeping Cook Book (1944)
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Trouble finding baking ingredients at the grocery store? Try this no yeast, no egg Peanut Butter Bread recipe from 1927. I’ve included an almond flour bread version and the original recipe.
