Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
Something we all like to do, including every species, is eat. I call myself a foodie cause I love to cook and eat.
Every place we go and do, such as the fairs, restaurants, churches, schools and almost every event, there is food.
We can eat snacks, cakes, pies, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, meat and so much more. However, after recuperating from a bad case of ulcers, I found out that my own diet changed a lot.
I used to be able to sit down and eat lots of big chocolate bars, sour worms and cookies i loved big juicy cheeseburgers and fries. I ate peanut butter and bananas, broth, mashed potatoes and oatmeal. Quite a change! But I was just happy to get to eat.
Has food and methods of cooking changed through the years? Yes of course. From wood burning cook stoves to microwaves, what leaps and bounds have been made in preparing food.
Grandma used to put lard in an iron skillet, add some popcorn, put a lid on it and when the corn started popping, she would shake the pan. Before we ate those hot kernels she would add salt.
When I was younger, I went to a small school named Hoagland Jackson. Each year we would have an event called The Farmers Institute. One day there was a demonstration of a microwave oven. What fascinated me was that a guy put a potato in the microwave, turned it on for 8-10 minutes and that potato was done. As a kid I thought “I’ll never get one of those and I doubted if it was even real. No one could cook a baked potato in such a short time
How happy I was, when years later, microwaves became a household appliance. And yes, later, we got one. No more shaking a hot pan for popcorn or baking a potato for an hour.
When I got married in 1962, the price of food was so much cheaper, in fact, I recall buying a weekly supply of groceries for $10.
Thinking back, I pulled up a partial grocery ad from 1962.
20 lbs of potatoes were only 89 cents; T bone steak was 89 cents a pound apples were 12 cents a pound. and a chuck roast was 39 cents a pound.
A couple weeks ago I went into a store and looked at the chuck roasts. I could not believe it; the price of a small chuck was over $13.
Growing up we did not eat like we do today. I think food is a blessing and I feel rich if I have food in my pantry.
There is a lot of hunger all around. the world, and it’s heart breaking to know that hunger exists all over. Yes, I love to cook and eat, but I thank God for the good HE puts on my table.
Do you like to eat or go to socials, teas, out to eat or just eat at home? Do you like to cook and bake? How much were groceries when you were younger? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
