Low on the Hog
Being a spendthrift and flinging your money around is called living high on the hog. So during the inflationary times of the mid 1970s, when Peg Bracken was looking for a title for an article on frugality, she called it 'Low on the Hog.' Now Peg Bracken was the author of the 'I Hate to Cook'cookbooks for reluctant cooks. She wanted some easy ideas for frugal changes she thought somebody like her could sustain.
I came across this article in a 1975 magazine (my thrift shop sells mags for a quarter, and I look for older ones that I think will have good recipes or homemaking ideas in them). Here are some of the money-saving ideas Peg shared:
1. Like the 30 days of nothing, only more suited to the homemaker with the short attention span, Peg suggested one week of living entirely on the food you already have on hand. She said this would not only produce some bizarre menus, it would save some immediatefunds, use some impuse buys before their shelf-life expired, and show the family you really mean business.
2. Look over your family's spending habits and see if each family member can substitute just one cheaper habit for a more expensive one, oats or toast for cold cereal, water for juice, coffee at home instead of a convenience store or Starbucks.
3. Throwing food out is expensive. Set aside one shelf of the fridge where you always put all the leftovers so that you don't 'forget' something until it comes back to remind you.
4. Eat leftovers for breakfast.
5. An electric skillet or roaster or toaster oven may use less power than the full sized oven or stove top. If you have a microwave and a smaller family, it can be more efficient to use the microwave as well. One potato takes a little over five minutes in the microwave, 45 minutes in the oven. But ten potatoes (enough for my family) takes the same in the oven as it does the microwave.
6. put at least some meals in the freezer so you aren't caught flatfooted by the desire for convenience food. Brown a bunch of ground beef and freeze it in portions suited to a meal. Put chicken thighs in ziplock bags with some sort of sauce and freeze for 'dump chicken' recipes.
7. Collect frugal recipes. Here's one:
Johnny Margetty (10 servings)
finely chop one large onion
saute it, then add and
brown two pounds of ground beef, drain.
16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked just to aldente (firm to the teeth)- add grease from ground beef to cooking water for added flavor, or save the grease and use it for the oil in other recipes. When cooked, drain, combine with meat and:
1 small can mushrooms
24 ounces of tomato sauce
cheese, 3/4 pound, you decide flavor.
Mustard, 1 tablespoon- mustard enhances the cheese flavor- so add a dab of mustard to other cheese dishes to stretch the flavor.
salt and pepper to taste.
Put into baking dishes- ramekins or pie pans. Top with a bit more grated cheese. Cover tightly and freeze. To serve bake 1 hour at 375 with the lid on. Take lid off and bake another five to ten minutes.
Or serve the same day by baking for 1/2 an hour.
8. Watch people at the grocery store. If you see an inexpensive vegetable or fruit but you don't know what to do with it- watch and see if anybody else picks some up- then ask how he or shee cooks it.
9. Grow something- a pot of herbs, an onion with long green stems, bean sprouts
10. Cut meat portions by 1/4. In our family, I generally consider meat the seasoning, not the main dish. Or, if it is the main dish, it's a main dish accompanied by generous, and frugal, side dishes so people don't feel the need for more than one piece of chicken or a pork chop.
11.
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6 Responses to “Low on the Hog”
September 26th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I was pondering #1 today, as my food budget runs out. My only thought was that we really need milk — but even there, we’ve got a large box of powdered milk at the ready!
September 26th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
7. Collect frugal recipes. Here’s one:
Johnny Margetty (10 servings)
It’s funny to see what was “frugal” in the past and how it contrasts so much with what the costs of things are these days. For me, this recipe wouldn’t fit the frugal qualifications in our era and economy. Even using the sale prices in our area (and erring on the side of getting it cheap) and assuming pantry items are on hand, this ’70s recipe is a bit pricey in ’00. . .
finely chop one large onion – n/a
two pounds of ground beef – on sale? at minimum $5
16 ounces elbow macaroni – $1
1 small can mushrooms – $.75
24 ounces of tomato sauce – $2
cheese, 3/4 pound – $3
Mustard, 1 tablespoon – n/a
salt and pepper to taste -n/a
So. . . about $12. Sure, it says 10 servings, but in my family that would be one meal, plus maybe a leftover lunch for someone.
In contrast, some of the convenience foods of today do provide economical and healthy options. Like tonight, we had a variation on lo-mein. I had a bag of frozen chicken breasts, and since I knew the kids had a protein-rich lunch, I just used one breast to make it “chicken lo-mein” instead of plain ol’ stir fry veggies. Then used two packs pre-packaged, pre-cut, fresh stir fry veggies. Mixed together a little leftover juice, cornstarch and seasonings that I had on hand for a sauce, and added in two packs of ramen noodles. Estimating at the high end, that meal was $5 and had lots of fresh veggies and took less than 15 minutes to make.
I wonder whether veggies were more expensive in the ’70s in relation to meats and dairy products, compared to now?
September 27th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Tulip Girl,
Maybe groceries are high in your area. I shop at WalMart and Costco. Here’s what my cost would be at regular prices:
finely chop one large onion – n/a
2# ground beef – 10# tube for $15 = $3
16 ounces elbow macaroni – $.66
1 small can mushrooms – $.59
24 ounces of tomato sauce – 4 small cans @ $.20 = $.80
cheese, 3/4 pound – 5# @ Costco for $12 = $1.80
Mustard, 1 tablespoon – n/a
salt and pepper to taste -n/a
Total: $6.85
September 27th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
@TulipGirl, I often use the less-meat strategy, like with your lo mein. That would help with the macaroni dish, too — you could easily halve the meat, or use beans instead of meat. But yes, I think things were different in the 70′s — meat was a must for most people, and now it really isn’t so much.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
*L* Likely it is the area. . . even at stores like Costco and Walmart, I haven’t seen meat or cheese at those prices in YEARS.
Interesting, I do think that local area and era impact our cooking a lot. While now I do a lot of low-meat cooking (which I personally prefer), when we lived overseas we ate a LOT more meat. It was easier to get and much more affordable. And some of my less-expensive staples in the states were very pricey in Ukraine (beans, pasta, etc.)
September 27th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I agree, area and locale have a lot to do with what is frugal and what isn’t. 26 years ago we lived in California, and it was cheaper to go all vegetarian. We moved to Illinois, and it was cheaper to return to the meat and potatoes, greens on the side routine.
In Washington state, we were able to afford plenty of fresh fish and berries.
That’s just one of many reasons I think flexibility and creativity are the most important tools in the frugal toolbox.
thanks to all of you who shared your area prices!
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