The Ration Book Diet

[Dr Doran]

My mother was born in 1921 and cooks vegetables that come out of frozen bags -- they all taste vaguely like potatoes, especially the peas. Analogously she cooks pork until it is fit for a zapatero to make shoes from. She likes steaks, even good cuts, to be cooked "well done," a terrible shame for tender cuts of meat. She cannot understand medium rare. She thinks it is disgusting and subhuman to eat bloody dripping pink meat. I have tried to explain that the only reason to cook the $%*@ out of meat is if you are really afraid of parasites; otherwise, the less the better (as every single restaurant chef in the country, and perhaps the world, agrees). She don't get it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have tried to explain that the only reason to cook the $%*@ out of meat is if you are really afraid of parasites; otherwise, the less the better (as every single restaurant chef in the country, and perhaps the world, agrees). She don't get it.

Well, there's your answer, right there -- her generation was raised with an absolute fear of tainted meat, and for good reason. Trichinosis was extremely common during the first third of the century, because most hogs were raised on garbage rather than prepared sanitary feeds. Add to that the fact that most homes didn't have refrigeration of any kind -- iceboxes or electric -- until well into the thirties, and it was very very easy to come across tainted meat.

The slogan absolutely drilled into the heads of girls in home-ec classes was NEVER EAT PINK PORK, and this was still being taught until fairly recent times. I know when I was growing up I was told never to eat pink meat of any kind "because it'll give you worms!" As a wee lass, I was even wary of boloney because of this.

 

[RitaHayworth]

I'll be interested to hear how it works out for you (and for anyone else who tries it!). As for me, I've been holding around 143 this week, and had blood drawn for tests on Tuesday, so we'll soon see if it's made any difference on cholesterol and triglycerides.

I do *feel* a lot better, though, if that's any judge, even though this has been an exceedingly stressful week. Which is, I think, a very good sign.

Ive been on two weeks holiday from work, and frankly, sitting around home is too tempting!!

However, I know that when 330 in the afternoon hits and im stressing and tired, I wander up to the vending machine for a can of coke and a chocolate bar! Though, so I dont go mad, I will let this happen once a week only.

The thing that makes sense about this diet is that you couldnt overload on sugars and fats - the culprits.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

Well, there's your answer, right there -- her generation was raised with an absolute fear of tainted meat, and for good reason. Trichinosis was extremely common during the first third of the century, because most hogs were raised on garbage rather than prepared sanitary feeds. Add to that the fact that most homes didn't have refrigeration of any kind -- iceboxes or electric -- until well into the thirties, and it was very very easy to come across tainted meat.

The slogan absolutely drilled into the heads of girls in home-ec classes was NEVER EAT PINK PORK, and this was still being taught until fairly recent times. I know when I was growing up I was told never to eat pink meat of any kind "because it'll give you worms!" As a wee lass, I was even wary of boloney because of this.

Given the questionable and uncertain origins of meat today, it may be wise to cook it as our grandmothers did.

 

[Paisley]

Ive been on two weeks holiday from work, and frankly, sitting around home is too tempting!!

However, I know that when 330 in the afternoon hits and im stressing and tired, I wander up to the vending machine for a can of coke and a chocolate bar! Though, so I dont go mad, I will let this happen once a week only.

The thing that makes sense about this diet is that you couldnt overload on sugars and fats - the culprits.

Midafternoon is time for a snack. Try taking half a sandwich or a couple of low-fat string cheese sticks and an apple with you--it's better for you than a candy bar and Coke.

ETA: Having a candy bar and a Coke once a week certainly won't hurt you (assuming you're not diabetic).

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

ven the questionable and uncertain origins of meat today, it may be wise to cook it as our grandmothers did.

I know *I* prefer to give meat the third degree, cooking-wise. Poultry I'm less worried about, but red meat and pork certainly get cooked all the way through!

Midafternoon is time for a snack. Try taking half a sandwich or a couple of low-fat string cheese sticks and an apple with you--it's better for you than a candy bar and Coke.

Heartily agree! Yogurt cups, or cottage cheese mixed with a little fruit, are great too. You really need something in that time between lunch and dinner.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, my visit to the doctor today shows the Ration Book Diet to be very much a success, at least in the short term. My cholesterol was down from 235 to 190, and my triglycerides were down from over 450 to just over 200. And that's after just a month. Blood pressure was 122/80, but I'd just run up four flights of stairs to get to the doctor's office. Weight has seesawed a bit, but I'm still down from where I was when I started.

So, I plan to keep it up, at least for the time being, and see if the figures continue to improve.

 

[RitaHayworth]

Well, my visit to the doctor today shows the Ration Book Diet to be very much a success, at least in the short term. My cholesterol was down from 235 to 190, and my triglycerides were down from over 450 to just over 200. And that's after just a month. Blood pressure was 122/80, but I'd just run up four flights of stairs to get to the doctor's office. Weight has seesawed a bit, but I'm still down from where I was when I started.

So, I plan to keep it up, at least for the time being, and see if the figures continue to improve.

yay for you Lizzie!

Im on day 2 - day 1 was a disaster as I had a 4 hour meeting that was catered with slices and muffins!

Today was better. Porridge for breakfast, apple for morning tea, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch (out of "ration allocation") and just vegies for dinner (steamed - not mashed) with bread.

I am booked in to see my doctor Thursday - I see her monthly so I'll get her to weigh me - she keeps a secret so I dont get fixated on numbers, and after a month I'll go back and she'll tell me how much I have (hopefully) lost.
Its good not being able to weigh yourself - because this way you never actually know the numbers and even if you do fluctuate - you dont think "oh this too hard and not working and wreck it"!

 

[RitaHayworth]

I know *I* prefer to give meat the third degree, cooking-wise. Poultry I'm less worried about, but red meat and pork certainly get cooked all the way through!



Heartily agree! Yogurt cups, or cottage cheese mixed with a little fruit, are great too. You really need something in that time between lunch and dinner.

Im shocking for in - between - as I said I like my candy! Not fussed with yoghurt or cottage cheese though, so will persevere with fruit. I was so busy today though that I didnt even really notice I was hungry until I got into the car!

 

[LizzieMaine]

It would seem we're in the vanguard of a hot new trend with this idea --

http://calorielab.com/news/2008/09/10/ration-book-diet-lose-weight-save-money/

I'll take my royalties in either cash or red points, please.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

It would seem we're in the vanguard of a hot new trend with this idea --

http://calorielab.com/news/2008/09/10/ration-book-diet-lose-weight-save-money/

I'll take my royalties in either cash or red points, please.

At least the Credited us in point 2 of their suggestions!

So...Miss Sara White.....stand up and be counted....since this thread is in the members only areas......you have to be a member...

 

[Dr Doran]

Well, there's your answer, right there -- her generation was raised with an absolute fear of tainted meat, and for good reason. Trichinosis was extremely common during the first third of the century, because most hogs were raised on garbage rather than prepared sanitary feeds. Add to that the fact that most homes didn't have refrigeration of any kind -- iceboxes or electric -- until well into the thirties, and it was very very easy to come across tainted meat.

The slogan absolutely drilled into the heads of girls in home-ec classes was NEVER EAT PINK PORK, and this was still being taught until fairly recent times. I know when I was growing up I was told never to eat pink meat of any kind "because it'll give you worms!" As a wee lass, I was even wary of boloney because of this.

Yes, but this ain't then. No parasites now to speak of.

I trust that when the technology changes and becomes safer, I will no longer be afraid of whatever it is that now I am taking sensible precautions against.

 

[tuppence]

porcupine meatballs

A few recipes from my grandmother's war-era cookbooks. I've scaled the recipes down for one, but you can expand them to family size by multiplying the proportions by the number of people to serve.

"Tasty Supper"

4 oz finely chopped ham
1/2 cup tomatoes
3/4 tsp butter
1 egg
Salt to taste

Melt butter, add tomatoes, chopped ham, and beaten egg. Serve on toast.

"Porcupines"

1/2 lb hamburg steak
1/4 cup uncooked rice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix rice and meat, add seasonings, form into balls. Blend 1 can condensed tomato soup and 1/2 cup water. Heat. When soup is hot, add meat balls. Simmer 1 hour or until rice is soft.

"Bungalow Pie"

Crush 2 large crackers and roll fine, mix with 1/2 can flaked tuna fish. Add 1 tsp tapioca, 1/2 cup milk, salt and pepper to taste. Put in small pie greased pie tin (size of a small Table-Talk). Add 1/2 cup creamy mashed potatoes, 1/2 tsp butter, 1/2 tsp flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes.

Baked Spam (don't laugh, it's delicious! We actually had this for Thanksgiving one year.)

Score whole Spam, stud with cloves. Bake uncovered in hot oven, basting frequently with sauce made from 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp prepared mustard in 1 tsp water, 1/2 tsp vinegar. Serve with fresh vegetable of your choice. Serves 4 -- if cooking for one, save leftovers for sandwiches.

An important thing to note with all war-era recipes -- the portions are *much* smaller than modern gourmands may be accustomed to. But hey, doncha know there's a war on??

We had porcupine meatballs too(In Australia).

 

[Emer]

While browsing through the books on Amazon, I found one (with that fancy "Look Inside!" option) that had this to say:

“So scarce at times did meat and fats become that even small pieces of lard left on food wrappers could be steamed down and reused. When the rendered fats were no longer suitable for cooking or baking they would be placed in a tin can and taken back to the butcher so they could be used to make explosives and ammunition. Nothing ever went to waste!” –Anna’s Kitchen: A Compilation of W. W. II Ration Recipes That You Can Create in Your Kitchen Today by Gale Homes Martin

(By the way, I'm pretty sure that's the longest book title in history!)

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

The population of the UK was never fitter than when they had to endure rationing.

 

[justaktty]

Anyone doing this?

Is anyone still doing this? I'm curious about updated results, Lizzie Maine? Is this something you can continue indefinitely? Ok, I mean I know that it was continued in various forms throughout the War, which no doubt *seemed* indefinite back then, but...how IS it going?

Oh, and thank you MsLizzieMaine for figuring out the basic proportions of meats, etc, for this. How on earth did you figure it out? I've looked at the rationing information and was utterly puzzled about how to average out the various changes and adjustments to get to some basic rule.

Justaktty

 

[LizzieMaine]

Is anyone still doing this? I'm curious about updated results, Lizzie Maine? Is this something you can continue indefinitely? Ok, I mean I know that it was continued in various forms throughout the War, which no doubt *seemed* indefinite back then, but...how IS it going?

Oh, and thank you MsLizzieMaine for figuring out the basic proportions of meats, etc, for this. How on earth did you figure it out? I've looked at the rationing information and was utterly puzzled about how to average out the various changes and adjustments to get to some basic rule.

Justaktty

I'm still keeping at it -- weight holding steady. I have a physical coming up this week, so we'll see how everything else looks, but I feel fine. I do tend to gain a bit of weight in the winter since I can't ride my bike, but so far that doesn't seem to have happened.

The key to success on this diet, I think, is not being the kind of person who easily gets bored with the same food over and over again. I've always been able to eat that way, and I think that's half the battle -- if I find something I like, I don't have a problem with eating it for days at a time. If you're the kind of person who has to have something different every meal, it might be harder to keep up with a plan like this.

As far as quantities go, what I came up with was an average drawn from weekly announcements I found in our local paper -- every week the ration board would post changes in current rations, and I broke that down until I came up with basic quantities. Some weeks you'd get more of an item, some weeks less of that item, but the variation was never too severe on either side.

 

[justaktty]

Well, thank you again for doing the figuring. I had printed out the various government brochures, and was trying to mathmatically arrive at some "golden mean". Since I'm not a math person, I wasn't really getting anywhere, so you rescued me from sitting around with piles of stuff trying to figure it up.

I've never had a problem with eating something forever if I like it. I've eaten the same thing for breakfast for two years, unfailingly, and I don't see why I would stop, unless the rationing book diet I'm thinking of trying doesn't allow for it.

My reasons for wanting to try this are multiple: I think certainly it would be a healthier eating guideline than anything I use now. I'm getting "up there" in years, and need to start thinking about paring down a lot of the stuff I eat daily, like unrestricted fats. I'm also VERY against High Fructose Corn Syrup, and since it wasn't really used back then, it might be far easier to avoid HFCS this way. Would also fit nicely with my whole Victory Garden interest, I think.

Thanks again for doing the hard work.

Ktty

 

["Skeet" McD]

Italian in Haverhill...which? and Big-band music the way it was intended to be heard

a friend and I went to a nice Italian place in Haverhill, Mass., where I took one look at the menu and ordered the biggest plate of fettucini alfredo they could bring me.

As a near neighbor to Haverhill--it's our little vest-pocket city on the other side of the Merrimac--I'm wondering which restaurant you might have eaten at? There are a number of good places....should you make it to this part of the world again, you might be interested in a remarkable thing Haverhill has to offer folks like us:

Every Sunday of the world, from 6(30) to 10(30)PM, there is live jazz at a club called "The Chit-Chat Lounge." No cover charge (donations are accepted); a small, dark shotgun bar with a small stage at the back. The principal groups playing there are The Pocket Big Band and the Special Edition Big Band. Most of the charts they play are from the 40s and 50s. There is a small dance floor, and occasionally folks make use of it.

The good news: These groups are tight...ensemble playing is very good, and the soloing can be truly world class (you wonder why these folks aren't in NYC) and never less than competent. With a lot more of the former than the latter! (I'm a professional musician; while that's hardly a guarantee of my taste, at least it's somewhat informed taste!)

While you would expect this sort of thing in New Orleans and wouldn't be surprised to see it in NYC.....in Haverhill MA? And the chance to hear this music the way it was intended to be heard, intimately with a drink in hand, is priceless. The bad news: sometimes there are more people on stage than in the audience, although there are a handful of regulars. The musicians do it for the love of it, and the bar owner is a jazz fan who makes his money on the other live music the rest of the week. But, nothing lasts forever....if you find yourself near Haverhill on a Sunday night, check it out!

And if you drop a line here before coming, perhaps a number of us might meet there....

 

[rue]

*bump*

Are you still doing this two years later Lizzie?
I haven't followed the rationing diet, but more of a diet based on 40s and 50s recipes and foods that don't have many preservatives in them, for a year now and I've lost 35 lbs. doing it, but I'm on a plateau now. I'm curious how long you did this or if you still are, because I'm thinking I might want to try it myself.