Great Depression Cooking with Clara - VIDEO - Pasta with Peas

Have you seen Great Depression Cooking with Clara? What a lady! She's a 91-year-old woman who shares how her family cooked inexpensive meals to get through the Depression. Well, "inexpensive" is a generous word. She explains that her family had nothing! While they couldn't afford much, and meals were lean, Clara stresses that her mother made sure it was at least nourishing.

I figure if she's made it to 91 years old - and with such spryness - then I can definitely learn a thing or two from her!

The reason I wanted to include this in my blog is twofold:

First, I know that we're in hard economic times. Costs have skyrocketed while jobs have become a hot commodity. People are doing whatever they can to make a dollar stretch. And I wanted to show that while you might be counting pennies for your grocery bill, there are ways to cook nourishing meals for your family AND keep costs in check at the same time. Keep in mind, you can spend a few extra pennies for things that weren't available during the Depression to up the nutritional value of your meal. Whole-wheat pasta wasn't available - now it is. You can buy frozen veggies instead of canned. You get the idea.

Second, I wanted to show that providing healthy alternatives for your family doesn't have to be extravagant. Granted, Clara uses canned peas and jarred spaghetti sauce. There's stringent health advocates out there who would be appalled that she didn't use fresh peas and homemade sauce. My point is that you do what you're able as far as providing a healthy meal. The meal didn't consist of junk food or fast-food restaurant fare! Every effort to provide "real" food is commendable!