Budget food shopping-1970’s

I like older cookbooks, they are fun to look at and read. 1970 was not that long ago, yet I am surprised at home much our foods we eat have changed. I often wonder  if so many people’s issues with food allergies and other issues which seem to be much more rare just 20-30 years ago, would go away if we went back to  no fast food, simple food without as many preservatives etc.

Anyhow, in this Family Circle Illustrated Library of cooking Volume 3, is a section on how to save money! Many of the tips are great still for now, but some I found interesting in how far we have come.

“Give all dairy foods good care at home. This means keeping milk, butter or margarine and cheese tightly covered or wrapped and chilled. Another reminder:To enjoy these products at peak flavor, buy often and only what you can use within a few days.”

“If you shop only once a week, avoid waste by using up fresh produce and other perishables first. Rely on canned and frozen foods to carry you through the latter part of the week”

Buy according to your storage space. Family size bags  of frozen foods, are economical, but do not hold well in a ice cube compartment of a refrigerator”

Considerable savings are possible on fresh  fruits and vegetables. Asparagus on special may be .23 cent per pound, while in comparable supermarkets the price is .59 cents per pound!”

I bought this cookbook awhile ago, it was weird the memory that surged through me when I read a recipe I wrote in the front of the cookbook, isn’t it weird how certain sights trigger a feeling. We were staying in a basement apt. with my MIL and FIL and it was very hard. I was very pregnant with my second son and had a busy, very busy 2 year old. My MIL likes things almost silent. If you scraped a chair noisily or clanked your dish, she would say “Shhh, the lady upstairs will hear you!” She was convinced the lady upstairs was very mean and would be upset if there was the tiniest noise as she had newspaper on her windows. I managed to survive though, and escaped before my baby was born as I had nightmares of what would happen if I happened to go into labor there.