1950’s Meal Plan

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.

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

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.

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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.