Sample Comparison Shopping Lists, Reflective Essay, and Recipes
Sample Shopping Lists
Great Depression Era
Food Item
Present-Day
Serving
# of
#
Price
Size
Servings
Bought
Total
Food
Item
Serving
# of
#
Total
Size
Servings
Bought
Cost
Cost
Bananas
(per
bunch)
½
banana
6
1 bunch
$0.07
20 Pound
Turkey
1 Pound
20
1
Turkey
$7.39
Apples
(per 3
pound
bag)
1 apple
8
1
$0.10
Ground
Beef (Per
Pound)
¼ pound
8
2
Pounds
$3.98
Olio (per
pound)
3 pound
bag
Used for
cooking
and as a
condiment
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
1 pound
$0.10
1 Bulb of
Garlic
1 clove
6
1
$0.35
½ cup
60
1
$0.10
1 Green
Pepper
1 Green
Pepper
1
1
$0.50
$0.12
Margarine
(4 sticks in
one box)
1 tbsp.
32
1 box
$0.69
$0.15
1 Bunch
of Parsley
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
1 Bunch
$0.69
Oatmeal
(per 3 ½
pounds)
3½
pound
bag
¼ cup
70
Beans
(per 5
pounds)
5 pound
bag
¼ cup
Rice (per
5 pounds)
1
48
1
5 pound
bag
1 Potato
37
15
pounds of
potatoes
1
$0.15
1 Bunch
of Celery
1 Stalk
8
1 Bunch
$0.84
15
pound
bag
1 Slice
60
3 Loaves
$0.15
1 Pound
of Carrots
1 Carrot
8
1 Pound
$0.99
1
Weiner
8
2
pounds
of
Wieners
$0.16
1 Bunch
of
Bananas
½
banana
6
1 Bunch
$0.99
1 Onion
10
3
$0.17
10
Pounds of
Potatoes
1 Potato
25
1
$0.99
Salt (3oz
can)
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
3 Pound
Bag of
Onions
1 Onion
1 Bag of
Egg
2oz
Loaf of
Bread
Wieners
(per
pound)
Onions
(per
pound)
Condensed
Tomato
Soup (10oz
can)
1 pound
bags
Used for
cooking
and as a
condiment
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
4 cans
1 Carrot
40
1
Carrots
(per 5
pound
bag)
$0.25
$0.25
5 pound
bag
2oz
16
2
$0.26
10
pound
bag
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
10
1
$1.00
3oz can
1
$1.69
3 pound
bag
6
1 Bag
$1.69
Bacon
(per
pound)
1 pound
slabs
Noodles
(12oz
bag)
4oz
36
9
pounds
$0.27
Eggs (per
dozen)
1 Egg
24
2 Dozen
$0.30
Milk (per
quart)
½ cup
Cabbage(
per
pound)
32
4 Quarts
$0.40
5 Pound
Bag of
Flour
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
Used for
cooking and
as a
condiment
1 Bag
$1.69
8
2 Boxes
$1.78
Raspberry
½ cup
Jell-O Mix
(after
prepared
)
Peanut
Butter
(15.5oz
Jar)
1 tbsp.
28
1 Jar
$1.99
Crushed
¼ cup
13
1 Can
$1.99
Loaf of
Bread
1 slice
30
3
Loaves
$2.07
Box of
Oat Meal
½ Cup
30
1 Box
$2.29
Eggs (per
dozen)
1 Egg
24
2 Dozen
$2.58
Gallon of
Milk
1 Cup
32
2
gallons
$3.38
Tomatoes
(29oz can)
G. D. Total
$3.00
Add
Present-
$40.0
Add
Spent
Limit
Total
Day
Limit
Total
Spent
Total
Spent
Here
Spent
Here
Sample Comparison Shopping Reflection Essay
Doing this project helped me to learn many things about feeding a family. I realized how hard it is to
feed a family of four on a small budget, in the Great Depression, and in the current time period. Since food has
gotten more and more expensive throughout the years, I didn’t have a wide variety of foods to purchase from.
Even though this project wasn’t the easiest to complete, it was a great learning experience.
While completing my shopping list and menus for the current time period, I had to do a great amount
of research to find out what stores I could find the best prices at. Looking through online ads, and ads in the
newspaper helped me to do so. I also traveled to multiple grocery stores to see what items had marked down
prices. I learned that after holidays, stores like Jewel-Osco mark down prices of poultry. Since Thanksgiving
had just passed, I was able to get a twenty-pound turkey marked down for $7.39. This turkey was a great
thing to buy since it was cheap, and would last for multiple meals. If turkeys were brought into the store at
any other time of the year, it would have been a lot more expensive.
I decided that instead of using the turkey every night, I would also purchase another kind of meat. I
bought ground beef, since I knew many things could be made with it. I also used the turkey to prepare
different dishes like Turkey Pot Pie, or Turkey Soup. I used the ground beef to make hamburgers, and a family
dish called “Gloop Glop.” Since the recipe for “Gloop Glop” makes more than one dinner, I had leftovers for
another day.
Items like milk, bread, and eggs were a bit more expensive, but I managed to find bread for $0.69 per
loaf. I was able to buy three loafs for a cheap price. The bread would help me to get through most of my meals.
With the eggs, I could make breakfast. I cooked the eggs different ways so that I wouldn’t serve the same thing
every morning. Another helpful item I bought was Oatmeal. I found a huge container, which would feed a
family of four for an entire week.
When I finally had to put my menu together for current prices, it took me a while to figure out how I
could serve the food without feeding the family too little. I found that eating light for breakfast and lunch
worked, because I would serve a big dinner. Using family recipes also helped since most of the recipes made
more than one night of dinner.
When I started organizing my menu and shopping list for the Great Depression Era, I had a harder
time figuring out which foods would feed a family of four for one week. I had to search for foods that came in
large quantities, and were fairly cheap. I found that Cabbage was a food that was very cheap, and could be
used for multiple meals. I noticed that the prices of fruit were very high compared to vegetables, so I didn’t
buy much fruit. I also knew that it would be easier to cook with the vegetables.
Since I had to search the Internet for prices, it wasn’t as easy as going to the store and writing down
an item. One of the items that I was looking for called Powdered Milk could not be found. My grandma told me
that Powdered Milk was very popular in the 1930’s, and it came in big boxes for cheap prices. Unfortunately I
was unable to find a price on this item therefore I could not use it.
Another problem I ran into was that the number of servings, and the serving sizes for certain goods
could not be found, so I had to come up with them myself. I thought this was the hardest part of the project
because I’m not used to measuring serving sizes at home. Since we use a lot of old family recipes they are
pretty much memorized by my mother and grandmother, so the ingredients are eyeballed. Also, we make
more food than we think we will need for one dinner, so that there are leftovers for another day.
I learned how hard it really was to feed a family of four during the Great Depression by doing this
part of the project. A three-dollar budget was a very small amount of money, even though the prices seemed
low. I think this was a good experience for us to see how hard it was for people to feed their family during the
hard times.
After completing this project, I realized that when shopping to feed a family, it is a great idea to keep
track of the prices, and servings on the items you buy. It could help to save money, and not waste food that
sits in the refrigerator for weeks without being used. This project prepared us for the adult world, and
showed how feeding a family isn’t easy. Altogether, this project was a great learning experience.
Sample Comparison Shopping Recipes
Pie Crust
Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water
Recipe:
1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add margarine and pulse 6 to 8 times. Add
ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the
crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and
pulse again. Too much water will make the crust tough.
2. Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape the dough mixture into
two disks. Work the dough just enough to form the disks, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little
bits of margarine in the dough. Sprinkle a little flour around the disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and
refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
3. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to
soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a
12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the
surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking.
Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides
of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.
4. Add filling to the pie.
5. Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and
bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang.
Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing
together.
Turkey Pot Pie
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons margarine
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 cups turkey stock
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups shredded turkey
1 prepared pie crust
1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt margarine in saucepan and cook chopped onion until tender. Stir in celery and carrots and cook for 2
minutes. Add turkey stock and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes and simmer until tender. Stir in turkey. Pour
mixture into casserole. Top with pie crust and brush with egg. Bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden.
Gloop Glop
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Beef
1 Green Pepper chopped
1 Onion chopped
3 cloves Garlic minced
1 can of whole tomatoes in puree
½ bag of egg noodles cooked according to package
Directions:
1. Brown Ground Beef
2. Remove Ground Beef from pan
3. Drain fat from pan
4. Keep 2 tablespoons of fat in pan
5. Cook Green Pepper, Onion, and Garlic until soft
6. Add ground Beef and Tomatoes, and one can of water
7. Add Salt to taste
8. Simmer for 45 minutes
9. Serve over the cooked Egg Noodles
Creamed Turkey over Noodles
Ingredients:
2 pounds of turkey
2 celery stalks
1 onion
2 cups of milk
½ bag of egg noodles
Flour
Margarine
Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions, and set aside.
2. In a skillet, sauté onion, celery, and a tablespoon of Margarine until soft
3. Remove from pan and set aside
4. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of Margarine in pan
5. Slowly add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir it until it makes a paste
6. Slowly add 2 cups of milk, and stir constantly until thick
7. Add sautéed vegetables and turkey to pan
When heated through, pour over noodles
Roast Turkey
Ingredients:
20 pound Turkey
Half stick of melted Margarine
Salt (to taste)
Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Remove wings, legs, and neck from Turkey, and save for soup (later in week)
Salt bird generously inside and outside the body cavity
Melt half stick of Margarine in pan
Brush outside of breast with melted Margarine
Place Turkey in roasting pan
Roast in a 375 degree oven for about 2 and ½ hours or until temperature of bird is 170 degrees
White Rice and Beans
Ingredients:
1 cup of Rice
2 cups of Water
1 cup of beans (soak in cold water overnight to soften)
1 chopped Onion
2oz of Bacon chopped and fried crisp
Directions: (Cook 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water before preparing beans, bacon, and onion)
1. Cook beans in 3 cups of water until soft (in separate pot)
2. Chop bacon into small pieces and fry in pan until crispy
3. Add chopped onion, and cook until soft
4. Drain beans, and add to pan with bacon and onion
5. Stir until combined, and serve over white rice
Bean Soup
*Makes 8 servings*
Ingredients:
2 cups of Navy Beans (soak in water to soften)
2 onions chopped
3 carrots sliced
4 potatoes cubed
1 can of tomato soup
2 wieners sliced
3 quarts of water
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in pot and simmer for 90 minutes
Cabbage Soup
*makes 8 servings*
Ingredients:
1 pound of Cabbage quartered
2 onions chopped
3 carrots sliced
3 potatoes sliced
1 can of tomato soup
3 quarts of water
4oz of crumbled bacon (cooked)
Directions:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients and simmer for 1 hour
2. Fry Bacon until crisp. Drain, and served crumbled on top of individual servings of soup
NOTE: Reserve bacon grease for rendering
Homemade Turkey Soup
Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) turkey parts
4 carrots, halved
4 stalks celery, halved
1 large onion, halved
Water to cover
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.
Put the turkey, carrots, celery and onion in a large soup pot and cover with cold water. Heat and
simmer, uncovered, until the turkey meat falls off of the bones (skim off foam every so often).
2.
Take everything out of the pot. Strain the broth. Pick the meat off of the bones and chop the carrots,
celery and onion. Season the broth with salt, and pepper to taste, if desired. Return the turkey, carrots, celery
and onion to the pot, stir together, and serve.