re: Tell me you were poor without telling me you were poor

When I was a kid, a majority of our grocery shopping was done on the generic isle.

Didn’t really have soda growing up. I remember having some in a white can with merely cola written in black letters. Very basic but as a kid it was good and definitely a treat.

Not poor, but definitely a blue collar, lower-middle to middle class family with 4 kids and a stay at home mom. Looking back, I'm really amazed at what a great home economist my mom was. She could really stretch a dollar and make the most of our food budget (double and triple couponing all over town).

One of my nostalgic cheaper meals from back them was an open faced sandwich with spam on a hambuger bun half with a slice of onion and cheese on top and heated in the oven until hot and the cheese melted. That was just good eatin'.

My dad used to eat jam sandwiches.

He'd just jam 2 pieces of bread together.

quote:

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At my grandmother's house, the idea of "soda" would be this mixed into a somewhat sweetened pitcher of tap water.

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And at my grandma's house she'd do the same, but would add the juice of 1 fresh squeezed orange to it to give it a little more kick.

My parents were born during the Great Depression. They were so tight that they re used their coffee grounds.

Eventually the grounds would literally turn white, and they would pass them off on us kids as grits.

Peanut butter and syrup mixed together with white bread to sop it up. That was a treat.

The Real Superstore in Baton Rouge had their "store brand" generic beer. The cans were all yellow with BEER in bold white letters. Don't recall if it was any good, but it was cheap.

Gravy over sandwich bread was a staple side dish at our evening meals.