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1950’s Meal Plan

April 22, 2019 By Lisa Sharp 6 Comments

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Want to eat like people in the 1950s? They this 1950’s meal plan from a 1952 homemaking magazine. It’s an interesting look at a 1950s diet.

1950s housewives cooking dinner

Meal planning has been important for generations but what each generation has eaten has changed a lot over the years. It can be very interesting to take a look at what past generations ate.

I was looking through a Good Housekeeping magazine from January 1952 and they had a very interesting article with a dinner menu for a couple of weeks.

They said it was good for those wanting thrifty meals that were easy-to-prepare. Clearly, homemakers were looking for similar things for meal planning to what we look for now.

I thought I’d share a week’s worth of the meals shared to give us a look at what they would have been eating in the early 1950s. I have also provided links for the couple of recipes that I could find.

1950’s Meal Plan

retro housewife chopping veggies with clock

Monday

  • Skillet Sparerib Dinner
  • Pickled Beets
  • Enriched Bread
  • Winter Fruit Medley (diced apples, grapefruit, oranges, and bananas)
  • Crisp Cookies
  • Tea or Coffee

Tuesday

  • Quick-Fried Liver and Franks
  • Creamed Potatoes
  • Popovers
  • Lettuce with French Dressing
  • Orange Gelatin with Diced Oranges and Chopped Walnuts
  • Tea
  • Milk

Wednesday

  • Casserole of Shoulder Pork Chops and Butter Beans
  • Rye Bread
  • Cabbage Salad
  • Warm Gingerbread
  • Milk

Thursday

  • Chicken-Fried Round Steak
  • Fluffy Rice Parsley Carrots
  • Sliced Onions in Vinegar
  • Apple-Strudel Pudding
  • Coffee (Instant)
  • Milk

Friday

  • Broiled Fish Fillets or Slices with Golden Rice Cakes
  • Broccoli with Mustard Sauce
  • Hard Rolls (heated)
  • Canned Plums
  • Coffee or Tea
  • Milk

Saturday

  • Beef Stew with Tomatoes
  • Enriched Toast
  • Pickles
  • Coconut Layer Cake
  • Coffee or Tea
  • Milk

Sunday

  • Baked Ham Slice
  • Iowa Succotash
  • Baked Squash Squares
  • Enriched Rolls
  • Canned Cranberry Sauce in Lettuce Cups
  • Coconut Layer Cake Alamode
  • Coffee

It’s interesting how many elements there were to the meals. Portion sizes were smaller those days but they did eat more items with each meal.

It seems like now we want one-pot meals or at least only a couple of items for each meal. I tend to make a main dish, side, and veggies but from what I have seen from friends this is even more than a lot of people now. Dessert was included in each meal but most are fruit based which I feel like is something we can learn from. 

There are a few of these dishes that I hope to try and recreate. I will be sure to share them here if I do. The fish with golden rice cakes is one that sounds very interesting to me.

Trying recipes from past decades is so much fun and I can’t wait to try some of these. If you have some I need to try share in the comments below.

Be sure to subscribe below to learn when I share new posts and get my free meal planning ebook. And follow on Facebook for even more 1950s fun.

Want to see another 1950’s meal plan? My mom created one as well and tried it out. Read it here- Menu Monday 1950s Style and check out my 1950’s Summer Meal Plan for ideas for those hot summer nights.

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Filed Under: 1950s Housewife Tips, Cooking, Tips & Tricks

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Meredith

    June 7, 2019 at 4:34 am

    Looking through those retro magazines is so much fun. I love that they have fruit , tea /coffee with each one. I have an old 1930 Good Housekeeping recipe book that my grandma left behind when she passed.

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp

      June 9, 2019 at 9:49 am

      I bet that is a lot of fun to look through!

      Reply
  2. Kathi

    March 4, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    I was born in San Francisco. My dad was Army so we lived on base at the Presido. One main dish I learned to cook and bring to the table where I now live in Arkansas is fried spareribs. I cut them apart, salt and coat them with cornmeal. Fry them like you would chicken. They are delish! I have served them to a lot of friends and the love them. May I add I was born in 1950. Great year! Slower, kinder times! Try the spare ribs. Don’t buy baby back ribs. They won’t work. Pork by the way.

    Reply
  3. Mandy

    June 1, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    I also like that some of the items can be made earlier in the day or are part of leftovers. For example, the bread or items could be started after breakfast and finished in the late afternoon or early evening. If it’s toast, it could be leftover from the previous day’s loaf. Some of the fruit components could also be put together from previous meals (the winter salad for example), or made earlier in the day (jellos and cakes), and the salads, dressings, or raw veggies could be prepped after lunch and stored. This would make actual meal prep go smoother with less pieces to juggle.

    Reply
  4. yvonne vicars

    November 23, 2020 at 5:34 am

    i just want to say that i think it is funny that all that you have on your page is how i have lived my hole life. i did not know that you could get a cake in a box. or cornbread in a box. every meal we made at home we made it. we did all kind of crafts from thing we found at the beach or in the woods. we made our home made wreath out of what the tree lot would cut off and throw away. we would get old clothes and make pot holders and home made quilts rag dolls and such. we made our gifts for each other i love the way i was raised i love the food the taste is so much better. any way i just wanted to thank you for show other a better way to live.

    Reply
  5. Jean Lobo

    February 7, 2021 at 7:26 am

    Hi! I was a kid in the fifties, and the menus sound like what my mom used to prepare. We lived on a farm in Iowa, so a lot of our food my mom raised in her huge garden and canned or frozen. We also walked the countryside picking mushrooms, wild blackberries, gooseberries, and such. It was a wonderful diet, and mom was a great cook. Dad had our beef and pork butchered and frozen at a local business. He sent animals he’d raised on the farm. Thanks for reminding us all of that blessed time and place. Jean

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog! My name is Lisa and I'm the Retro Housewife trying to live a greener life. I share my love of all things vintage, homemaking and green living here on the blog. To read more, click here.

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