Here's a fun blog to read. A woman's experiment: to lose weight using 1940's cheap wartime recipes.

[pengillian101]

Recipes look good too.

http://1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/100-wartime-recipes/

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Mock Duck? Prune Flan?

then again, I can remember my mom pondering whether to make the Mock Apple Pie on the back of the Ritz Cracker box (thankfully, she didn't go there!)

[Warpy]

3. My mother went there a lot

She hated to cook and it showed. She swore I was growing up eating nothing but peanut butter, bread, and Campbell's chicken soup. It wasn't far from the truth, but I'd eat a wide variety of stuff when we went out to eat.

The root vegetable soup looks really good. I'll try that one along with the Anzac biccies, made gluten free.

[littlewolf]

4. my mom made the mock apple pie. I didn't know it till afterward

I liked it. shows what my palate is

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. my mom was an awful cook! my favorite foods for many years were things like

spaghetti-os, rice a roni, boxed mac and cheese etc....I became a good cook to combat the memories of a culinarily failed childhood!

[sigmasix]

2. growing up poor in the 60s and 70s

I grew up in a large family below poverty level in a medium sized community with little grocery access. My mother was a wizard with a few basic ingredients- I remember picking crab apples for pie and mulberries for jelly. She would always keep the fat drippings from bacon- I asked her once why she did that- she said it was the secret to her pie crust. Best damn mock-apple pie- I remember liking it almost as much as apple pie. I still can't make a pie crust that isn't leathery though
.

[Little Star]

5. I love blogs like this. Thanks! Here is another one with some good recipes....

Depression Era Recipes!
http://coveredbaptists.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=recipes&action=print&thread=1426

Here's a sample recipe. I guess if I get poor or hungry enough I'd certainly give it a try. Curiosity killed the cat. Maybe I'll try it anyway.

Poor Man's Bread Recipe

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Water


Stir in enough water to make a batter and pour into greased skillet. Use a cast iron skillet. Fry until brown on each side like a pancake. Taste great with homemade butter and jam.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Cool web site!

Thanks for posting it. I have been making some of those recipes all along, particularly the lentil and split pea soups. Looking forward to trying some of the others.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. That's so neat! I have many recipe books from the 40's from my grandmothers and mother.

I would never had thought to diet using the WWII ration allotments! I also have some ration books from WWII.

[Phentex]

9. I could spend a lot of time there!

I have skimmed many of the comments but will definitely be back to look around later.

Cool!

[Sentath]

10. I wonder if this is where she got the idea

http://justhungry.com/the-supersizers-go-bbc-two-a-fun-look-back-food-history

Update, no, but she mentions them http://1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/1940s-videos/the-supersizers-go-wartime/