The Ration Book Diet

[olive bleu]

lizziemaine, when you say "corned beef" do you mean the canned stuff? or the other ?

 

[Miss Sis]

Definitely, Paisley. I completely agree. I can't actually eat much potato or very starchy vegetables (or carbohydrates) in one go but I can eat lots of greens etc and I feel so much better for it.

I guess everyone is different but I can't understand how people who don't really eat fruit and veg manage. I feel just awful - lethargic, sick and often headachy if I'm not getting all the good stuff!

 

[LizzieMaine]

lizziemaine, when you say "corned beef" do you mean the canned stuff? or the other ?

Deli counter stuff -- cured, sliced thin, very very good. I get a lot of sandwiches out of a pound and a half ration.

 

[olive bleu]

thanks, yes i am familiar w/ it, but also ate a lot of the canned growing up.I love both.I don't think we get it at the deli up here though, but i know hubby who is a connecticut boy grew up on it..will have to investigate

 

[Paisley]

Definitely, Paisley. I completely agree. I can't actually eat much potato or very starchy vegetables (or carbohydrates) in one go but I can eat lots of greens etc and I feel so much better for it.

I guess everyone is different but I can't understand how people who don't really eat fruit and veg manage. I feel just awful - lethargic, sick and often headachy if I'm not getting all the good stuff!

No fruit or vegetables--sounds like the Atkins Diet. Fitness expert Bill Phillips--whose Body for Life plan I follow--says he's tried that approach and felt cranky while he was on it, and has seen others look and feel depressed when they follow Atkins. I too find that what I eat has a huge effect on how I feel. Apparently, you and I aren't alone.

 

[Josephine]

I guess everyone is different but I can't understand how people who don't really eat fruit and veg manage. I feel just awful - lethargic, sick and often headachy if I'm not getting all the good stuff!

When I was in college I took a Pomology course, and for our lab we had tons of apples to classify and examine and eat! It wouldn't fail that that evening/next mornign I had rumblies in my tummy... my college diet eating body wasn't used to all that fresh stuff! lol

 

[olive bleu]

i have another question..would powdered milk have been commonly used? or fresh milk?

 

[Miss Sis]

According to Mauguerite Pattern's book 'We'll Eat Again', on average throughout the war British people were allowed 3 pints of fresh milk a week, sometimes dropping to 2 pints and a packet (tin?) of dried milk approximately every 4 weeks.

Lots of recipes call for using dried milk, but not usually very much of it.

 

[olive bleu]

I wondered.We drank powdered milk for much of my early years. but that was because We lived in an extremely remote area and sometimes it would be weeks before we could get fresh food again.But i have never thought to ask my mother what her family used.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I wondered.We drank powdered milk for much of my early years. but that was because We lived in an extremely remote area and sometimes it would be weeks before we could get fresh food again.But i have never thought to ask my mother what her family used.

Regular milk was never rationed in the US -- another example of how the UK had it much, much rougher during the war era than Americans ever did. Powdered milk was around, but it was never especially popular for drinking. When I was growing up there were times when we had to drink fresh milk cut 50-50 with powdered milk to save money, and I absolutely loathed it.

Manufacturers of powdered milk tried to promote it as a convenient item for cooking, but most housewives were suspicious of it, and with fresh milk readily and cheaply available, they didn't see any need to bother with it. It ended up mostly used as an industrial product, as an ingredient in various processed foods.

 

[olive bleu]

We drank it exclusively for years and i actually prfer it, and have some mixed up in my fridge now.weird, huh? Considering i grew up in newfoundland which was actually still a part of britain til 1949, that might have some bearing, but again, i will have to drill my mother

 

[Viola]

I drank powdered milk sometimes as a kid, to save money (in the '80s and early '90s) but I think my mom found we'd rather not have any milk than drink that stuff.

It was pretty awful, and we weren't very picky eaters.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

On the boiled vs. raw vegetables front, I'm sure too many canned & boiled veggies can ruin your appetite for them. Perhaps you could try julienning a bunch of fresh vegetables and lightly sauteing them in a healthy oil, with soy or curry sauce for flavor (if so desired). Incidentally, bean sprouts are good in sautes.

Since I was a child, I've always had the luxury of fresh produce, so I guess I have more of an appetite for greenery. I still find it hard to eat a salad without a good helping of Italian dressing, but when I neglect to eat my fruits & veggies, I can definitely feel it.

 

[Paisley]

Cheap Greens

My parents ate lamb's quarters during the Depression; I guess a lot of people did. They're actually pretty good.

You can also eat dandelion greens and nasturtiums.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My parents ate lamb's quarters during the Depression; I guess a lot of people did. They're actually pretty good.

You can also eat dandelion greens and nasturtiums.

Dandelion greens -- oh my, terrible bitter stuff. We used to have those occasionally, and my grandmother would tell stories about how she had to eat them all the time during the Depression, so shut up and eat yer supper!

Fiddleheads -- the shoots of immature ferns -- are another wild Maine vegetable treat, unaccountably fashionable among tourists. I always thought they tasted like a soggy sink sponge, but there's no accounting for taste.

 

[Viola]

Dandelion greens and clover greens convinced me why spinach became the go-to cooked green of choice - it looks REAL good in that competition.

 

[Paisley]

Pasty goop from a can...potatoes by the ton...bitter stories of bitter herbs...sponge-like tendrils...how could you help hating vegatables?

May a chef's salad, steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce, sweet potato fries and fresh pumpkin pie help you put your dreadful childhood memories behind you.

 

[Paisley]

Dandelion greens and clover greens convinced me why spinach became the go-to cooked green of choice - it looks REAL good in that competition.

Sauteed fresh spinach with nuts and currants is great. Canned spinach is an abomination.

 

[olive bleu]

Fiddleheads -- the shoots of immature ferns -- are another wild Maine vegetable treat, unaccountably fashionable among tourists. I always thought they tasted like a soggy sink sponge, but there's no accounting for taste.

yes. Fiddleheads.They are on the menus of all the "fashionable" restaurants here in Nova Scotia when they are in season. I've never actually tasted them because my husband loathes them,and everytime i bring it up he goes on a rant. But, I hear they are nothing to write home about and your description sounds about rightlol

 

[Real Swell Gal]

When I was growing up there were times when we had to drink fresh milk cut 50-50 with powdered milk to save money, and I absolutely loathed it.

You and me both!! I love milk but as a child I had digestion problems so the only time I could have was with my cereal and the cut stuff was nasty!
Ruined my Grapenuts.