Save like Nana did. Food economy.

We are all facing food prices that are going up in leaps and bounds.    It's a good time to take a look at how Nan managed her modest grocery budget and how she put wholesome meals on the table everyday! 

Nana's meals were nutritious and delicious.  Never once did I hear Nana ask anyone "what did they FEEL like for dinner?"   No,  she had it worked out around what she had that needed using up, what she had from the garden and specials from the store.   So if a little bit of rice was left over we were probably having a baked rice custard for desert.  If there were veggies to use up we were probably having soup.     It never once occurred to me to be unhappy with that.   I don't think I ever asked my girls what they felt like either... except for on birthdays where sometimes they got a special request.   

Nan did not plan what to make then buy the ingredients,  rather she bought ingredients and the best deals then decided what to make.   Some planning would have been there ie to have a roast on Sunday but the roast would be determined by the best buy.   I remember Nan and Pa studying the catalogues and taking them with them and visiting multiple stores to get the best deals.   The meat in meals would go a really long way due to the number of veggies Nan would serve.  There were always lot of delicious roasted vegetables and bakes.   I didn't realise it back then but now I see she was feeding a lot of people and made that roast feed us all! 

Nana never had purchased snacks.  I am not sure they were even a thing then.   She almost always had a tin of biscuits (cookies)  or a cake made.   So did my Mum and on Sundays Mum made a stack of pancakes or pikelets for my brother and me and if there were any left over they were buttered and went into our lunchboxes the next day.    On special occasions Nana made sponge cakes, cream kisses, sponge rolls and all kinds of dreamy things!  

Most weekends involved a roast at either my Nana's house or at home.   The cold meat that was left over went into our sandwiches.  Buying deli meat was not a thing either.   Roast meat is so much nicer anyway.  (If you look at the price per kilo/pound deli meats are incredibly expensive. )  Once all the meat was used up the bone became the base for the next pot of soup.   I still remember Nans lamb and vegetable soup.... she told me how to make it but it does not turn out like hers!   I know that we had very good nutrition as kids and I only remember food being yummy.   

Whenever we went away on holidays my Nan would make up giant jars of biscuits for us to take with us.  They were pretty shapes and glued together with pale pink icing.   I absolutely loved them.    Mum would make a boiled fruit cake.  These would also be kept in a tin and come with us on picnics.   

Nan and Pa's house had a big old orchard.  It was just beautiful with a creek down below it.  Pa grew quite a few vegetables as well.   There was a huge prolific lemon tree and if there were lemons or any other fruit then they were used up and worked into the menu and added to the shelves. 

Jars were saved for fruit season.   Mum was often making jam or relish/chutney.   If you had a sweet craving jam on toast did the trick!

Nana's shopping list was for ingredients.  Milk, butter, eggs, meat, vegetables,  flour, tea, sugar...   things that gave her a huge amount of possibilities.   If visitors arrived she was usually ready with something in the cake tin but otherwise she could make up some scones very quickly.  

Packed lunches for school were a foregone conclusion.   I allowed my girls to have a purchased lunch order at school if they were really keen and this was about three times a year.   

Baby food was pureed pear, apples or pumpkins then later a meat marrow bone would be cooked up with veggies then blended.   As the baby got bigger and grew teeth the blending became less and less until baby was eating what everyone else was.    When Harper was little I began making baby food for her.  I figured out how much my slow cooker contained and what it equalled in terms of how many baby food jars I could fill.  At that time it worked out to be a savings of $60 over supermarket baby food.   $60 each time!   And I knew what was in it.  

We still don't buy food or snacks in packets.   The individual sized yoghurts and fruits etc are all a lot more expensive than buying one bigger container.   It is not so hard to serve it out!  There are lots of ways to save by going back to a simpler way.    It is ok to go back to a simpler way too.   Less packaging and less artificial ingredients as well!    

I have tried to absorb lessons from Nan and from Mum and not waste food,  plan around what I have,  keep the fridge organised so things are not forgotten about and grow legs... haha    Just now I have two big zucchinis,  loads of tomatoes,  plenty of basil and today we picked apples and pears.   I also have five dozen eggs and more to collect tomorrow!   This all means I don't need too much from the store and  I can add to my food storage too.   This will help the food economy (and security) down the line. 

Old cook books are absolutely beautiful as they are full of simple ingredients.   They are like a trip down memory lane and full of goodness.   

Finally now I am beginning to understand why Nana folded and re used her alfoil,  hung plastic bags up to dry and always had something cooking.   She did it with such a happy spirit.   I want to be like that. xxx