Depression Era Mindset #1

"Use it up, Make do or Do without!"

Ok, I've been doing a bit of research and came up with one of my new favorite books! It's actually a government publication and recipe book combined! It's from waaay back in the day when the government tried to help folks be more self sufficient. It also contains some way of speaking that is no longer considered "politically correct", however, since this is merely an excessive in how to wrap our minds around ways to save money in our household, this should still come in handy.
The book is called "Foods that will win the war" and you can find it here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15464/15464-h/15464-h.htm

other great books on depression era living, including this one, can be found at:
http://www.vintagerecipes.net/books/foods_that_will_win_the_war/toc-foreword.php
Let me start by writing the foreword, and you can see quickly that though you will have to tweak things a bit, the savings can add up!
Food will win the war, and the nation whose food resources are best conserved will be the victor. This is the truth that our government is trying to drive home to every man, woman and child in America. We have always been happy in the fact that ours was the richest nation in the world, possessing unlimited supplies of food, fuel, energy and ability; but rich as these resources are they will not meet the present food shortage unless every family and every individual enthusiastically co-operates in the national saving campaign as outlined by the United States Food Administration.
The regulations prescribed for this saving campaign are simple and easy of application. Our government does not ask us to give up three square meals a day--nor even one. All it asks is that we substitute as far as possible corn and other cereals for wheat, reduce a little our meat consumption and save sugar and fats by careful utilization of these products.
There are few housekeepers who are not eager to help in this saving campaign, and there are few indeed who do not feel the need of conserving family resources. But just how is sometimes a difficult task.
This book is planned to solve the housekeeper's problem. It shows how to substitute cereals and other grains for wheat, how to cut down the meat bill by the use of meat extension and meat substitute dishes which supply equivalent nutrition at much less cost; it shows the use of syrup and other products that save sugar, and it explains how to utilize all kinds of fats. It contains 47 recipes for the making of war breads; 64 recipes on low-cost meat dishes and meat substitutes; 54 recipes for sugarless desserts; menus for meatless and wheat less days, methods of purchasing—in all some two hundred ways of meeting present food conditions at minimum cost and without the sacrifice of nutrition.
Not only have its authors planned to help the woman in the home, conserve the family income, but to encourage those saving habits which must be acquired by this nation if we are to secure a permanent peace that will insure the world against another onslaught by the Prussian military powers.
A little bit of saving in food means a tremendous aggregate total, when 100,000,000 people are doing the saving. One wheat less meal a day would not mean hardship; there are always corn and other products to be used. Yet one wheat less meal a day in every family would mean a saving of 90,000,000 bushels of wheat, which totals 5,400,000,000 lbs. Two meatless days a week would mean a saving of 2,200,000 lbs. of meat per annum. One teaspoonful of sugar per person saved each day would insure a supply ample to take care of our soldiers and our Allies. These quantities mean but a small individual sacrifice, but when multiplied by our vast population they will immeasurably aid and encourage the men who are giving their lives to the noble cause of humanity on which our nation has embarked.
The Authors.
All the recipes in this book have been prepared and used in The School of Modern Cookery conducted by The Forecast Magazine and have been endorsed by the U.S. Food Administration. They have been worked out under the direction of Grace E. Frysinger, graduate in Domestic Science of Drexel Institute, of Philadelphia, and the University of Chicago. Miss Frysinger, who has had nine years' experience as a teacher of Domestic Science, has earnestly used her skill to make these recipes practical for home use, and at the same time accurate and scientific.

I believe this book has reached it cope infringement date and has been put on the Guttenburg site. As such, I believe it is available for copying. I try to follow the rules, so I hope no one is offended.

As you can see by the forward, it is not your usual cookbook. I found the details of each subject to be worthy reading, as I learned a lot, particularly about grains. One thing that became apparent to me, is that the number one way to save money in the modern day is to cook from scratch! This is something that is hard for many of us to take the time to do. I hated cooking when I was a young mom, but necessity forced me to learn! One book that helped me a lot build both "home made from scratch" in with convenience is a cook book called "Make-A-Mix" Cookbook. It's still in print and can be found here, at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Mix-Karine-Eliason/dp/0762426020

We are modern and savvy and have the Internet at our fingers! I'll be continuing with this "series" until I run out of ideas and comments from my reader. It's worth investigating how we can change our lives in order to survive the crumbling economy and I believe, we can do it without giving up all of our modern ways. I sometimes equate the "old ways" with too much drudgery for my peace of mind. If the worst were to happen and we had to live with less or no electricity, that's one thing, but for now, I'll ease my way into a Derpession Era mind set using the gifts of modern life.