Here’s what a hundred-year-old cookbook said about the value of eating economically:
E C O N O M Y ! !
I’ve asked the printer man to please let that word stand out just like that – boldly, defiantly, all by its little lone self!
Economy! If over-eating is a national trait, over-spending is certainly another. . . Extravagance with food is not clever, it is simply silly. Meal planning or preparing is no job to be slouched and hurried over as quickly and as extravagantly as possible. You do not need to use fussy, difficult recipes, either. It is no harder to cook a flank steak than a porter-house. It only take a little more skill.
Look on your marketing and cooking as a game. Take pleasure in seeing how cheaply you can set a healthful, delicious, and plentiful table.
The Calorie Cook Book (1923) by Mary Dickerson Donahey
A Hundred Years Ago 
ExACTly
Some things haven’t changed across the years.
We could say that today with high grocery prices.
Agree – With the current high prices, I find that I think much more carefully about my food purchases, and about how to prepare nutritious and tasty dishes economically.
I don’t know, I like to make fussy dishes, and the world is not the world without lobster!
What I don’t believe in is wasting food, and that is where true economy comes in.
“Fussy dishes” are fun to make. I find that I like to make both fussy ones and simple ones. When I have time or for a special occasion, I’ll make a fussy dish. For a routine day, simple dishes are nice.
We can love both ways!
I can’t help but wonder what the author would think of an era that has a “Food Channel” for entertainment.
🙂 Some things have changed across the years.
About 60 years ago, I cooked for 3 adults on $10 a week. Meals were well balanced, healthy, and always had desserts at the end!
There sure has been a lot of inflation in our lifetimes.
I grew up with that mind set and will die with it.
I think that I have similar perspectives. 🙂
Good advice that is still applicable today. With our expanded grocery stores it is easier than ever to fix whatever we want to and we tend to just load up the cart without thinking about cost, what is in season (and cheaper), and what is nutritionally better for us.
I often think that I enjoy foods more when I only eat them in season. For example, strawberries in June used to be something I really looked forward to. Now we have strawberries yearround (though not very good ones), and I don’t seem to look forward to strawberry season like I once did.
Also, most people don’t understand grocery store pricing methods and the psychology they use to get you to buy items.
I don’t understand it, but I know that there’s a “science” to food marketing.