Old fashioned cooking

Rosyrain

Rosyrain

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A couple of years ago a family member gave me a cookbook that was put together by members of her church. It was really cool in the fact that most if the recipes were old fashioned ones from many years ago. As I looked through it, I noticed that many of the dishes were simple and the ingredients inexpensive. I have started making some of the dishes and they are very good, and have saved me some money in the process.
 
And you will probably have noticed that a lot of them are significantly healthier as well. I have my grandmother's old recipe books dating back from WWII and just after and so many of them are easier, simpler and healthier.
 
Rosyrain said:
A couple of years ago a family member gave me a cookbook that was put together by members of her church. It was really cool in the fact that most if the recipes were old fashioned ones from many years ago. As I looked through it, I noticed that many of the dishes were simple and the ingredients inexpensive. I have started making some of the dishes and they are very good, and have saved me some money in the process.
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I am convinced that the good old fashion recipes were the best for us. Healthier, cheaper and the list goes on. I wish I had some of my mom's recipes that I could consult from time to time. Usually, I have to call and get some tips whenever I need to go back in time.

Interestingly enough she calls me for my modern recipes when she wants to add something new and exciting when she has guest. It's great fun when old school meets new school.
 
Most of the old ww2 recipes are healthier as they contain less fat and sugar. However I'm not too sure about all the old recipes. Many were designed for a time when we did much more physical work than today and the extra calories they contained were burned off.
 
I never really gave it much thought, but they are more healthy for you. Most call for natural ingredients and very little salt.
 
sidevalve said:
Most of the old ww2 recipes are healthier as they contain less fat and sugar. However I'm not too sure about all the old recipes. Many were designed for a time when we did much more physical work than today and the extra calories they contained were burned off.
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You are probably quite right. Not all of the recipes were healthier but somehow the people of that era seemed much healthier. My mom for example who is in her late eighties sometimes seem much healthier than me in my late forties. She worked the land in her young days and always seemed so full of energy and youthfulness .

I am supposedly eating healthier but I have more health related complaints than I care to mention.
 
I think people back in those days were much more active than we are now and that is part of the reason why they seemed healthier. Food was more pure and natural back then. People also spent the majority of their day working and so they burned more calories. Farmers, builders, and all of those great people that make the world what it is today.
 
It would be a shame if old fashioned recipes were to be lost. They were hearty family meals. Many traditional were high in fats, but it would be possible to replace animal fats and cream with healthier options.

The sad thing is that some young people today have never eaten anything other than ready-meals and fast food, or they have only every used preprepared ingredients. We used to shell our own peas and scrape the mud off our potatoes. The only people who do that now are those who grow their own.
 
I love reading old cookery books. The recipes seem to be far healthier and much more frugal too. I especially enjoy wartime recipes, they had to be so inventive as food was rationed here in the UK. Yes, the fat content is usually higher than we would prefer today, but back then, people didn't eat as much, they were more active and ate hardly anything processed.
 
I have several of the books church members put together sharing old and favored recipes. Another one put together by the people at the John Deere warehouse my husband used to work at. And, my personal favorite, one that was put together by my first husband's mother in conjunction with all of her sisters and cousins--one thing I treasure from my first marriage.:)
Those ladies could cook!
 
It is interesting that the old recipes seemed to be healthier, i wonder at what time it all changed, i realise that processed food wasn't really around but i would have thought that people were not so educated about nutrition back then, resulting in less healthy meals. I suppose it was just that the ingredients available were more natural and not as a result of nutritional knowledge.

It seems to me that people ate healthily until around the 1960's and then things began to deteriorate, we had the explosion of fast food restaurants in the 70's and in those days people didn't seem to take things like high cholesterol and diabetes very seriously. Today things are very different we are all educated about the need for a healthy diet and we know the risks of eating a poor diet. We do however have an obesity epidemic, fast food outlets are as popular as ever and diseases caused by unhealthy eating are on the increase. Maybe we could learn a lot from the old fashioned recipes.
 
Years ago people ate more regularly, less processed foods, but illnesses were less likely to be diagnosed, foods were eaten more seasonal so more nutritionally benefits, but we're recipes more healthy? , cream , milk and butter were used in their raw state
If today we are educated about food is there a obesity problem ,
It's down to attitude , if you want to live healthy and try and live longer or not
 
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