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Wartime Meal Planning was no easy feat! (Photo from The Modern Family Cook Book by Meta Given, 1942) |
I hope you enjoyed episode 14 all about Menu Planning in Wartime! There wasn't really any propaganda about menu planning, but cookbooks from that time provide a lot of interesting information. Following are the 3 case studies I used in the episode and all the other awesome stuff I talked about!
In the episode, I mention a math equation to translate 1940s food dollars into today's money. Here is my blog post all about it: Things Were So Cheap Back Then!... Or were they?
I also mention the Wartime Menu Challenge I completed in 2018. Click the link to check it out and to download the free pdf copies of the menus I used!
Case Study 1: The Modern Family Cook Book by Meta Given, 1942. This cookbook provided menus for the entire year for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All the recipes are included in the second half of the book.
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Menu example |
Case Study 3: Thrifty Cooking for Wartime by Alice B. Winn-Smith, 1942. This cookbook doesn't have a set menu plan, but instead provides basic recipes with a variety of "thrifty changes" to utilize what the cook had on hand or what could be found at the store despite shortages. It's a very unique perspective, especially considering that most wartime resources provide menu plans.
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Cheese Rice Loaf |
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Cheese Rice Loaf with Tomato Sauce |
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Peanut Honey Apple Crisp |
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Peanut Honey Apple Crisp. Delicious! |
Books/Magazines:
Health-For-Victory Club Meal Planning Guide.
Westinghouse, August 1943.
Ladies Home Journal. November 1944.
A Guide to Wartime Cooking. Meredith Moulton
Redhead & Edith Elliott Swank. H. J. Heinz Company; Pittsburg, PA; 1943.
Health-for-Victory Meal Planning Guide.
Westinghouse Corp. Year ‘Round Edition, 1944.
The Modern Family Cook Book. Meta Givens, 1942.
Thrifty Cooking for Wartime. Alice B. Winn-Smith,
1942.
The Alice Bradley Menu-Cook-Book. Alice Bradley,
1944.
U.S. Needs Us Strong - Eat the Basic 7 Every Day (pdf of
entire pamphlet), 1944.
(Accessed 11-28-20)
Planning Meals for Industrial War Workers, 1943
(Accessed 11-28-20)
Nutrition Newsletter - Menus Under Rationing contest,
1943
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nutrition_news_letter_(IA_CAT11097195008).pdf
(Accessed 11-28-20)
‘The Ladies’ Home Journal ‘How America Lives’ and the
Limits of Cultural Diversity. By Nancy Walker, 18 Aug 2010. (An
interesting analysis about the How America Lives series in the lens of cultural
diversity.)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13688800020008583?journalCode=cmeh20
(Accessed 11-28-20)
What is Kedegree?
https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-kedgeree-435430