I’ve been uploading some quick video snippets (watch here) of what I’ve been typically eating throughout the last few weeks (started January 9th 2023) and months (last year dipping in and out of rationing) living on WW2 rations. There has of course been lots of bread, potato, porridge oats and vegetable based dishes (as there would have been during the war) and apart from porridge for breakfast, the most frequent dish I am eating is stew! My stews contain lots of lentils and other pulses and legumes, root vegetables and also lots of leeks, spring and savoy cabbage and spinach which I love!
Yesterday I made a HUGE Shepherds/Cottage Pie (neither really as didn’t use lamb or beef but rather soya mince) which fed myself and my youngest (25) who still lives with me AND I’ve set aside another large portion for them and I have 3 portions left over! I will freeze one portion today but the other two will feed me today and tomorrow with vegetables on the side!
I’m really loving the fact that I can produce 8 large portions (or 6 extra large portions!) for less than £2 plus the cost of whatever you serve it with. The protein amount per large portion is around 25g too!
Sometimes I think I must be putting weight on but my clothes are telling me different, they are not quite as tight so will look forward with interest to see what the scales tell me on February the 9th.
Was just browsing some “Ministry of Food” leaflets and came across these three simple recipes/ideas that I’m going to try this week. I’m not sure about mashed potato and cocoa powder but I’ll give most things a go once!
I have a 6.5 litre slow cooker that has been put through its paces this week. Consequently, my daily meals have mostly been bowlfuls of stew bursting with vegetables and plant based protein as I’ve used lots of dried pulses and legumes and soya mince. Thank goodness for the weekends where I can bake and make pastry, I’ve been craving pastry all week!
I can’t imagine a life without bread, potatoes and porridge oats right now. They definitely are a regular part of my daily diet as well as lots and lots of vegetables. I especially am loving cabbage and leeks right now and tonight I also enjoyed a bowl of lettuce in bed (after I ate my sliced apple).
How are my rations holding up at the end of week 2?
My rations are holding out rather well this week. I reduced my tea to two teaspoonfuls in a teapot which holds 1 litre AND later on I top it up with water and get another mug out of it. So I’m getting 4 or 5 mugfuls of tea from 2 teaspoons of loose leaf!
I’m still only halfway through week 1’s ration of sugar, I’m only using a teaspoon a day in my morning porridge and this week I’ve not made any bread and butter pudding so have used very little. I am absolutely sure in the 1940s household, some sugar would have been set aside every week for use in the summer to make preserves or set aside for celebrations! I have also read that at harvest time, the sugar ration was increased so people could makes their own jams.
My cheese, all 2 oz of it got used up pretty quick. Some tiny sprinkles went in a couple of sandwiches and on top of a stew or two, then that was it, all gone! I’m getting through my milk as I use nearly ½ pint a day in my tea and in my porridge.
All in all, it’s been a good week for rationing, I’ve not even thought about modern food. I haven’t even taken my sweet ration yet as I think it will be easier for me NOT to have sweets in my cupboard right now. There will be plenty of time for eating sweets during the year when I feel ready introducing them back in. I know if I was to do that now it would be a slippery slope!
What have I spent on food this week?
£12.95 in Asda! That’s it!! My food all week has cost so little but that is probably because I haven’t had to buy things like Marmite and milk yet! In the months and weeks leading up to rationing my food bill was around £45 plus per week but additionally I was getting into the habit of buying junk food via Deliveroo (the evils of big town living!) or ordering pizza so add another £25 to that!
How am I feeling?
This is where I get emotional. It’s been less than 2 weeks since I started living on WW2 rations 100% for a full year. No cheating, no sneaking an extra ounce of cheese or butter, 3 square meals a day and something to nibble on in bed. I’ve really gone back to basics but tried hard to incorporate nutritionally rich foods that are cost effective, lots of greens, pulses, legumes and also wholemeal bread, potatoes and porridge. Someone who was trying to fill a belly during the war wouldn’t have been worried about carbs, in fact the addition of potatoes every day was highly recommended. I never worried about my daily potatoes or porridge and toast for breakfast as a youngster, at those times I was a healthy weight, carefree and active. I’m hoping those days will return. I want the health noise we are bombarded with in the media to dissipate.
I’ve been monitoring my health data on my FitBit to see if any noticeable changes have taken place. My resting heart rate has dropped from around 70 beats per minute to 55 beats per minute, my night time oxygen sats levels have risen, my breaths per minute during the night have dropped, my pulse rate climbing the stairs has dropped from 130 beats per minute to 95 beats per minute and this week I managed to walk to work and back twice. And today as I write this, I managed to climb the steep hill (very slowly) to the post office and stand in the queue for 20 minutes (although it hurt standing). Yes I still have the crushing back pain BUT it is less severe than two weeks ago! I do believe I am losing weight, will soon find out at my monthly weigh in on February 9th!
Psychologically, I’m beginning to feel a bit brighter. The fog is beginning to lift and I hope over the coming weeks and months to get part of my old self back again.
I remembered to charge my camera and despite the awfully dirty windows, I was able to get some photos of the some of my garden birds feeding off my homemade fat blocks. According to my memory and to my “Collins Gem Mini Book of Garden Birds” that my daughter Jess got me for Christmas, I’m confident of three species, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Marsh Tit BUT in one photo there appears to be a couple of birds perched on top of the arms of the black feeding pole that I am unsure of. Could they be Long Tailed Tits? What do you think? C xxxx
I uploaded a video on some thoughts about going back to living on WW2 Rations for a full year last night. In addition to my day to day journal/diary I’m keeping a more in depth diary about the weight-loss side so thought I’d share this video and a page from my second diary.
I’m really interested to see how this whole year will also impact on my health. I’m having bloods/cholesterol levels done on February 10th and I also have some older blood tests from last year too and at the end of the year it will be very interesting to see what has changed, hopefully for the better.
I’m not counting calories, and if I do start trying to in my head and remind myself to stop it immediately! Ultimately I don’t want to live my life counting my calories. I want a carefree existence, free from obesity, where I enjoy all sorts of food and not feel guilty about it. It’s getting the balance right and during this year I hope to work towards that.
The only time I can remember truly feeling that way was when I was around 10 years old. Every generous meal that was served at the table was enjoyed greedily and without guilt. Three substantial meals and a light supper. No eating between meals. Scones and rock cakes, apple pie and custard were devoured on a Sunday along with a smashing roast dinner and occasionally Dad would take us along to the shop when he got his newspaper on a Saturday morning, and my brother and I would have a small bag of sweets from the penny tray! In those days I gambolled around in the countryside, enjoyed walking and getting up to no good and of course pony riding.
In those days I never thought about my body shape, never fretted about what I ate, never ate until I thought I was going to be sick. Food was something to look forward to but it wasn’t an obsession, it gave me energy to get back up and go and play outside, running around the garden, pretending I was “National Velvet“.
And here are the winners of the notebooks/journals! One copy of the journal will be sent to each winner so please drop a comment below and I’ll make contact with you, congratulations and thank you for entering everyone! C xxxx
I love Sunday mornings. I may live in a town but Sunday mornings seem quite peaceful. Christchurchbells are ringing and my garden backs on to the bushes surrounding the perimeter of Queens Park. Being a person who prefers rural life and solitude, not being boxed in by other houses at the bottom of my garden, really helps. I’m grateful.
I’m reflecting on the week past, my first week back to rationing. It wasn’t without it’s challenges.
I found that weekdays, while doing my full-time job, food wise I’ve mostly had to reply on quick and easy to prepare lunches and dinners, so lots of lentil and vegetable stews, sandwiches, fried veggies on toast, mashed potato etc.
I had an episode of severe vertigo, spent 1 day in bed and the next day working from home. The first day it was even difficult walking to the bathroom!
I had to use my car to drive to work as I’m struggling with back pain carrying the extra weight
The positives of this week were:
I enjoyed the stews and sandwiches and getting back to simple food and I’ve been baking this weekend too. I’m enjoying getting back to living on WW2 rations and spending less!
I had an appointment with the nurse at my GP’s surgery. She took my weight and blood pressure and measurements, we had a lovely chat and I’m returning on February 10th to have some blood tests such as cholesterol and we’ll redo these later on in the year again to measure the improvement. I’ll be popping in every month for support and assistance.
Other people are doing this rationing challenge too. I’m grateful for our Facebook group and for all the comments and support left on here and on my YouTube channel too! Most humans are decent, lovely people. Thank you xxxx
At the end of the first week I’m feeling brighter already. What a difference a week makes.
So what have I eaten this week?
Breakfasts: Mostly porridge but I did have toast on two mornings
Lunch: Oslo Mealsbut also fried veggies on toast, beans on toast and some salads
It’s probably easier for me to post my shopping list below. I haven’t had to buy anything else in addition so in answer to the question, I have spent considerably less! In fact, my weekly grocery bill before was 3 times as much!
This is such a quick, economical and tasty recipe. Even as a non meat eater I was able to create this using soya mince and it worked really well! I only used half the ingredients listed below and it made 6 slices so enough for dinner and enough for sandwiches tomorrow!
Ingredients
8 oz mince (any cooked meat)
4 oz mashed potato
4 oz stale breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
any fat for frying
Method
Mix well together the mince, mashed potato, breadcrumbs and seasoning.
Turn out on a floured board and roll out into an oblong 1/4 inch thick (mine was thicker)
Cut into slices and fry in a small quantity of hot fat from your ration until browned or grill for 5-7 minutes.
What a busy day! My house is so messy, must deal with it tomorrow now I have the weekend off. I cooked a vegetable & oatmeal goulash for dinner this evening and was craving something sweet but didn’t want to put the oven on and bake something so did a 2 slice bread and butter pudding in the microwave and it hit the spot!
With the cost of energy and the cost of living, modern appliances and quick ways of doing things, are going to be embraced this year!
It’s late afternoon and I’ve just got out of bed. I had a nasty attack of vertigo around 11pm last night, such a horrible and scary feeling, and it continued to persist into the afternoon but its slowly calming down and I’ve just got out of bed with a soft neck brace on to make a sandwich on rations! I was HUNGRY!
Last night, before everything went spinny and I couldn’t stand up, I edited a video from my birthday with some thoughts on starting WW2 rationing for a full year and thought you might be interested. I will be sharing some factual rationing information throughout the year too as well as recipes, am really looking forward to that. There are some fantastic recreated recipes in our Facebook group too, some fantastic cooks sharing their rationing dishes! Our group is here..
Apologies too, I am a little behind answering any lovely messages or comments plus the draw for the journals but hopefully I can catch up with these soon but not today as I’m heading back to bed as my head is still a bit spinny if I don’t keep it absolutely still! I’ll probably do a bit of journaling and reading if I feel OK.
Hugs, C xxx
PS: Please don’t be concerned. I do know it’s a positional type of vertigo as it has been checked out in A & E before! I tend to get it maybe a couple of times a year, mostly it is something I can go to sleep on and it is Ok in the morning but occasionally it can be more severe where it lasts a few days and I literally can only sit in bed or in a chair and not move my head at all!
The 1940's Experiment 