Let's hear it for persistence... I nailed that vintage lunchbox menu today. (It's about time!) And just because I want to make sure these vintage menus are really and truly better for me, I'm going to compare the basic nutritional stats to one of my typical pre-mission lunches. I used to love having one of those table-ready cans of Campbell's Creamy Tomato Parmesan Bisque with probably two or three servings' worth of Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits and Trader Joe's Chunky Olive Hummus. Yummalicious! And yet:
Typical pre-mission lunch
Calories: 640
Fat: 36.5g
Sodium: 1,480mg *gasp*
Carbohydrates: 82g
Protein: 16g
Vintage lunch, adapted
Calories: 360
Fat: 23.5g
Sodium: 370mg
Carbohydrates: 27g
Protein: 17g
Yikes. My vintage lunch menu today was a no-holds-barred improvement on a typical pre-mission lunch. So far, these 1945 lunches - with a little tweaking - are undeniably a change for the better. Here's the adapted menu for tomorrow:
Organic Creamy Tomato Soup
Open-faced Cheese Sandwich with Mustard and Lettuce on Whole-grain Bread
Celery
Olives
Fresh Pear
All this fuss over lunches here at the Jitterbug household has made me think about just how important forethought was to the 1940s housewife. You might have the latest washing machine, a state-of-the-art vacuum, and an amazing storage closet, but you couldn't run an efficient home without the ability to think ahead. To anticipate the needs of tomorrow and the day after that. To plan, to remember, to always have a foot in the next meal while cleaning up after the last one. The kitchen - the basic, never-ending demands of the battle to put nutritious, affordable meals on the table three times a day --- the kitchen probably requires more forethought than any other facet of housekeeping. And when it came to rationing - a family couldn't have survived without the forethought an experienced mother and wife had ready to apply to the challenge.
My own vintage meals are several days in the making. Before doing my twice-weekly marketing, I sit down to plan my menus for the week ahead. Buying produce especially can be a trick. If I buy it too far in advance, it'll spoil before it hits the table. Produce that keeps or that needs time to ripen can be purchased a little farther in advance. How many eggs have I got on hand? How many days 'til my milk expires? Can I get a better deal on spices at the supermarket or at the natural foods store? All these questions must be weighed as I make my way through the store. I'll bet most successful housewives constantly carry about in their heads a running inventory of their pantry!
In the evenings, I must look ahead to the morning. Have I got enough space in the dishwasher for tomorrow's breakfast dishes? Is there anything which needs to be taken out of the freezer to thaw? Anything to soak overnight? My latest question: What can I prepare in advance for tomorrow's lunch? If a vintage dinner is in the works: Are there any dishes I can make up before I've finished cleaning up after lunch?
I don't think this kind of forethought has to come naturally... If it did, I'd be in serious trouble. It's a learned skill, I think. Something you just become better at with lots and lots of practice. I haven't picked it up completely myself. There are plenty of moments where I wish I'd thought of something hours ago - or days ago. But those kinds of moments come fewer and farther between these days. See? There is hope for all you last-minute types like me!
9 comments:
Super post! As a young woman, this skill was rather natural because I was raised working along side of my grandmothers and mother. The planning has gotten more difficult as I've gotten older. I never know from one minute to the next where I'll be and what I'll be doing.
A lot of the problem is our lifestyle. Women are so busy now - with everything except house keeping. Not all of it is the woman's fault. It is our society in general.
I love this post too. And I agree with Packrat as well.
I keep trying to plan menus for dinners for the week, and we've gotten my husband packing lunches for at least 3 or 4 days a week. I have been lucky to come home for lunch at the moment. It's super hard to be that organized.
It's amazing how many calories are cut and how much food that you are getting!
lpm
Jitterbug, what cookbook are you using? I just realized we're both veggies, so I should really look into what you're reading! Outside of PB&J, or vegetarian turkey sandwiches, my lunch making skills are a bit sad.
...nevermind. Just realized you have it in your sidebar! :)
Wonderful post! I am a huge advocate for planning and your post highlighted why it is so important! Even for natural born planners and home managers, it's quite easy to forget things now and then. practice, and making lists, makes perfect!
I love this blog - it's a fascinating read and I so admire all your hard work!
I started meal planning and writing shopping lists about 12 months ago when I was appalled at the amount of food I simply threw away because we never got around to eating it. Now I only buy what I need for the weeks meals ahead and a mere handful of 'goodies'. As a happy result I've shed a few pounds, mostly because I'm now making healthy shopping choices, not shopping on a whim.
Also - I adore all your fab b&w illustrations!
:-)
I just love your blog.
my husband teases me that i'm always thinking 3 meals ahead (implying that I like eating which i do)... but if you don't plan you end up with nothing to eat as it won't be defrosted, or cooked or whatever.
Packrat, I'm glad you liked the post! I've found that even when the unexpected comes up and a meal that's been planned needs to be skipped or adjusted in some way, the plans I've made help me in coming up with a speedy substitute. It helps enormously just to always have a well-stocked pantry. And I can always push a menu forward to the next day, if necessary.
lpm, it does take a lot of focus to keep it up at first, but some of this has gotten so much easier on me. The breakfast menu planning comes practically naturally to me after several months. Lunches are really hard right now - just yesterday I realized that I'd gone and left all my plastic containers in the dish drainer at work again! --- but I suspect they'll come easier in time, too. Good luck!
Amber, yep - that's the one! WWII-era cookbooks turn out to be pretty vegetarian-friendly because they were looking for ways to make menus meatless.
Mrs.S, I couldn't survive without my grocery list!!!
JeanieB, you're so sweet! The photo in this post is from the LIFE archive on Google. I know what you mean about food wastage. I still have nightmares about the amount of produce I used to buy and let spoil before putting it on the table. There's much, much less going into the garbage here these days.
Thank you, Liberty Belle! I'm glad you stopped by...
weenie, the mark of a successful housewife! Three meals ahead sounds just about right.
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