Vintage Cookbooks Online

Here’s a classic book I came across while condensing my out of control collection of vintage cookbooks the other day. Published by the American Heart Association, it contains hundreds of recipes and ideas for eating a healthy heart conscious diet. It’s the hard cover edition and is in great shape. Maybe not the most cool vintage retro type book that would go for lot’s of cash, but still and excellent book to own with it’s great and easy to prepare recipes, plus information on how food and changing your diet can help your overall vascular health. Studies are continually showing up in the media proclaiming that even the average American toddler starts to show signs of plaque in their arteries as early as four years old. Incredible! No wonder that we as adults are facing an uphill battle with arteriosclerosis at an alarming rate. Bypass, angioplasty and stenting are becoming common terms when discussing heart and vascular problems.

After being diagnosed myself with the dreaded Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), my right main coronary artery was 98% blocked, I began searching for diet and vegetarian cookbooks and anything that said ‘low-fat’ on it. These books became as important as the Bible to me and were essential if I wanted to stop the downhill spiral. I’ll admit I didn’t go nuts with it but did make an effort to change up my diet to include less meat and more veggies and fruit. Along with exercise I can say things are improving thanks to two interventions with stents (5 total in my rt. coronary) and angioplasty on my right leg.

So, my advice to you is have fun with all the great cookbooks and recipes that are now at our fingertips thanks to the internet. Hey it’s pretty tough to look at some of the stuff that Paula Deen and the Neely’s are doing on the Food Network and not start salivating. I still enjoy some baby back ribs just not as often. But that’s OK because when I do indulge, I REALLY enjoy them and savor every bite. All this talk about food and ribs is making me hungry! I guess that’s to be expected for writing on an empty stomach.

Shoot me a comment about a favorite cookbook you’ve held on to for ages and we can chat about it. With all the damn books I have here I probably have a copy.

Money Saving Grocery Shopping Tips

Everything is getting more expensive today. From gas to groceries, our hard-earned dollars are challenged to stretch further. Now, we may be able to ride a bicycle around town if we can’t put gas in our cars. But, we have to eat. There’s no getting around that. So, we have to find ways to spend less on groceries while still getting the things that we need to feed ourselves and our families. Here are six money saving tips to try the next time you go grocery shopping.

1. Clip coupons. They put those in the newspaper for a reason. If there are new items you want to try, use a coupon to get it at a discount. If you like it, you have saved some money. On the other hand, if you don’t take a liking to it, you didn’t pay full price. For me, coupons save an average of ten or more dollars per visit. That’s money in my pocket that I can put towards gas for the car.
2. Buy more staples than prepared foods. It is easier to buy a box of macaroni and cheese, but is it more economical? A large box of macaroni and a block of cheese will make more servings for your family than one box of prepared macaroni and cheese. The next time you go shopping and pick up a box or bag of an already prepared item, ask yourself if you can make that at home for less. If you can, then put that item back in favor of less expensive staples.
3. Buy in bulk. Consider the food items that you use most often. Cereals, meats, vegetables, condiments, juices, and paper products can be bought in bulk usually at a lower price at food warehouses like Costco, BJ’s, and Wal-Mart. If you have a coupon, you’ll save even more money.
4. Don’t shop when you are hungry. This is a definite no-no. Shopping on an empty stomach means that you will pick up more things than you need. You are more likely to pick up that bag of chocolate chip cookies or that box of donuts when the growling gets underway.
5. Take a grocery list with you. This is another protection against picking up things that are too costly. Check your cabinets and the fridge to see what you need and write them down. Remember, the goal is to stick to the list as much as possible.
6. Shop at the same stores. This is more of a frustration reliever. In a new store, you spend most of your time looking for things and walking up and down every aisle, which oftentimes leads to forgetting an item or two. Going to the same store each time makes you more familiar with the prices so you can estimate your bill as you write your grocery list.

Rising prices don’t have to mean a lean dinner table. There are ways to make your food dollar go further and if you take the time to implement the ideas listed above as well as others of your own, you’ll see savings each and every time you shop.

Need help deciding what to have  for dinner? As you can guess it all starts with a plan.  In other words a “menu plan”. It’s a lot easier if you sit down with your mate and kick some ideas around as to what you both might like to eat the next few days or for the week. Sometimes planning that far ahead is difficult, but you can always be flexible as the week progresses and make changes as necessary.

I have found a great website that helps you to plan an entire weeks menu including dessert and makes it look easy. If this sounds good to you, check out Menu Planning Central . You’ll be glad you did!

Enjoy!

Gertrude’s Garret specializes in vintage cookbooks, advertising ephemera and antique French and English transferware pottery. When looking for info and prices on vintage cookbooks, there are many sites out there but few are as well organized and easy to navigate as Gertrude’s Garret. There’s also a store on Ebay where you can also find many popular old cookbooks and recipe pamphlets and also many obscure ones as well. Make sure you check them both out the next time you need a price on that rare cookbook you just found. You’ll be glad you did. Make sure to leave a comment also to let them know how you found them. Enjoy!

Gertrude’s Garret - http://www.vintage-cookbook.com/

Came across this cool recipe booklet from the Carnation Company that is not only loaded with some really great vintage looking pictures but also has some excellent recipes too. The quote from the inside cover is also timeless – “From the time you turn the key in your very first apartment, until you are ‘chairman of chaos’ in a roomful of hungry youngsters, you’ll discover Carnation cooking makes a suprising difference, so use it often!” I can relate to the chairman of chaos title. Whenever I look at my stacks of vintage cookbooks the word chaos does sort of apply!

The booklet was originally printed in 1979 but the pictures look like they may be a little earlier than that. The list of recipes is enormous covering everything from weekend barbques to Saturday night specials with sections on lunches and deserts also. The dishes are all timeless and delicious and include Carnation products throughout, especially evaporated milk. Back then evaporated milk was used quite a bit because it was less expensive than regular milk and easier to store. In other words thrifty. Maybe in these difficult economic times we’ll see a rise in the use of canned milk again. The way I see it most people probably think of milk in a can being part of a ’survival kit’ of some kind.

All in all, it’s a great book and I even found some jewels I want to try. I’m always looking for cheap recipes that are easy to prepare. If you like to collect cookbooks follow my blog here on Vintage Cookbooks Online and take a look at my books for sale at Nostalgic Heirlooms on ETSY.com

Now your cookin’!