Shedding Food Habits

I’m not doing much about this one just yet, but I am trying the dry January thing for no reason except that I like silly challenges.

I am also working to clean out my refrigerator, freezer and pantry by using up things I have in the house. This challenge could be both hampered and helped by my fondness for old cookbooks and recipes. One of the things that fascinates me is how portion sizes appear to have grown over the decades. As an example, my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe from the 1964 edition of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook makes five dozen cookies. Those cookies are incredibly tiny compared to what we consider normal today - 1/3 or even 1/4 the size of one cookie sold at my local coffee shop.

Here’s another example. I’m tempted to try this mid 20th century recipe this weekend, because I have all the ingredients in the house. It looks pretty awful in the photo, but if made with frozen peas that are mixed in (or even placed in the centre of a ring mould for a more retro look), an maybe with a bit of chicken broth, it would actually be rather nice. Key though, is the serving size. It has three cups of rice, two pounds of peas (though probably a bit less if you use frozen instead of canned), and a single can of tuna. It serves 4-6 people, so only 1/2 cup of rice per person. That’s actually a pretty reasonable amount. I know it’s a quantity that makes me sad when I am trying to watch my carb intake.


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