Food, Tea Time, Meals in the 1950s (2024)

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What was a typical meal in the 1950s? ›

1950s Dinners

There was no such thing as the keto diet in the 1950s—meat and potatoes reigned supreme. You'd find hearty main dishes like Salisbury steak, beef stroganoff and meat loaf on a '50s dinner menu, plus scrumptious sides. Casseroles were also popular, particularly those featuring seafood or ham.

Breakfast was viewed as the meal to set you up for the day so was, at the very least, porridge, followed by bacon, eggs and fried bread, then toast and home-made marmalade, and lots of milky tea. As children it was also when we had our vitamin tablets - Haliborange and Adexolin capsules.

Finger foods were a big co*cktail party fad during the '50s. At their most basic, they included Chex Mix, celery stuffed with pimiento cheese or peanut butter, cheese and crackers, and salted sweet-and-spicy nuts.

The ration diet wasn't about starvation; men were allowed 3,000 calories a day – slightly higher than the 2,500 recommended today. “There were biscuits, cakes and sugar,” says Gray. “The difference is that today we eat sugar in more insidious ways.” For the workers, there was no sandwich al desko.

Often tinned hams, salads, breads and dessert would be served in a field. However, for an easier alternative make sandwiches and wrap them in greaseproof paper. Don't forget the hard boiled eggs as no picnic would be a picnic without one! Tea and lemonade.

Popular packaged foods included Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Special K cereals, General Mills' Trix and Cocoa Puffs cereals, Star-Kist Tuna, Minute Rice, Eggo Waffles, Pepperidge Farm Cookies, Ruffles potato chips, Rice-A-Roni, Ramen Noodles, and Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream.

The average woman in the 50s had a 27.5-inch waist and her bra size was 34B; in 2017, women's waists are 34 inches and they wear a 36DD bra. Other differences: Women in 2017 are almost 20 pounds heavier (154 vs. 136 pounds) and wear larger-size clothing (size 14 today vs. size 10 in 1957).

Why were Jell-O dishes so popular back in the day? Johnson says it was all about ease. "In the 1950s, there were a lot of people cooking who didn't really like cooking," she said. "The convenience of gelatin salads definitely had something to do with it.

Casseroles provided affordable sustenance during the Depressions of the 1890s and 1930s and the shortage of food items during both World Wars. In the 1950s, the widespread use of oven-proof cookware and canned foods made casseroles a simple, quick and inexpensive way to feed the whole family.

Hot Tamales

This retro candy was the "hot" new candy of the 50's. Hot Tamales were on the lips of every boy and girl and promised an intense taste of spicy cinnamon.

What was the fad diet in 1950? ›

Although these only rose in popularity as time went on, we get a few good examples from the 1950's. One standout diet was the “cabbage diet” which involved consuming nothing but soup for seven days. The original recipe called for cabbage, vegetables, water and dry onion soup mix. And that's all you ate.

Although the popularity of eating out increased as the 1950s became the 1960s, it was sometimes hindered by another innovation in American life, television.

Breakfast: She would warm a cup of milk on the hot plate in her room, then crack two raw eggs into it and whip the whole thing up with a fork Lunch: None Dinner: Marilyn would stop at the market near her hotel on the way home to pick up steak, lamb or liver, which she would broil and eat with 4 or 5 raw carrots Evening ...

Dinner: American palates became more sophisticated thanks to Julia Child, but many 60's meals were still dominated by convenience foods like this terrifying olive,celery and cheese jello salad. Buffet dinners of beef stroganoff, green beans amandine and flaming cherries jubilee were popular.

The Popular Mixed Drinks of the 50s & 60s

Although the Manhattan and the Cuba Libre were common drinks for both men and women, sweet dessert-like co*cktails, such as the sloe gin fizz and the festively green grasshopper, were ladylike beverages suitable for the novice drinker.