The Workhouse diet - the details
In our latest video, we lived on a workhouse diet for two weeks. Week one was based on the Model Dietaries from 1835. Go and check out the video for the full story and recipes. Here’s the breakdown of week one with the exact quantities.
Week One(1835)
| Day | Breakfast | Dinner (Lunch) | Supper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 850ml soup | 170g bread, 56g cheese |
| Tuesday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 150g cooked meat, 250g potatoes | 170g bread, 850ml broth |
| Wednesday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 850ml soup | 170g bread, 56g cheese |
| Thursday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 150g cooked meat, 250g potatoes | 170g bread, 850ml broth |
| Friday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 400g suet or rice pudding | 170g bread, 56g cheese |
| Saturday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 850ml soup | 170g bread, 56g cheese |
| Sunday | 170g bread, 850ml gruel | 150g cooked meat, 250g potatoes | 170g bread, 850ml broth |
Our bread this week was a homemade bread of 350g of wholemeal flour and 250g of wholemeal rye flour.
In week two the portions were much larger. We did not finish our allocation on any of the meals below.
Week Two (1901)
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Supper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 230g bread, 850ml porridge | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 680g mashed potatoes, 56g bread, 56g cheese | 230g bread, 500ml vegetable broth, 56g cheese |
| Tuesday | 850ml porridge, 500ml skimmed milk | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 500ml vegetable broth, 115g bread, 56g cheese, 230g dumpling | 115g bread, 850ml porridge |
| Wednesday | 56g bread, 850ml porridge, 40g treacle | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 85g boiled bacon, 115g bread, 340g boiled potatoes | 850ml porridge, 500ml skimmed milk |
| Thursday | 850ml porridge, 500ml skimmed milk | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 500ml coffee, 230g bread, 85g cheese | 226g bread, 500ml vegetable broth, 56g cheese |
| Friday | 56g bread, 850ml porridge, 40g treacle | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 85g boiled bacon, 115g bread, 340g boiled potatoes | 170g bread, 850ml gruel with treacle & allspice |
| Saturday | 115g bread, 850ml porridge | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 500ml vegetable broth, 115g bread, 56g cheese, 230g suet pudding | 230g bread, 500ml skimmed milk |
| Sunday | 226g bread, 14g margarine, 500ml tea | 120g bread, 40g cheese | 85g boiled bacon, 340g peas pudding | 226g bread, 14g margarine, 500ml cocoa milk |
Yes, lunch is always a dry sandwich…