My yiayia (grandma) never threw anything out. She repurposed plastic bottles and sewed up the runs in cheap, drugstore pantyhose.
When she made chicken, the leftover bones got thrown into soups.
Raising her family in Greece during World War II, she had to stretch the drachma as far as it could go. Now, with the economic crisis in Greece, Greeks are having to return to the thrifty ways of their yiayias.
The Associated Press takes a look at Eleni Nikolaidou’s book “Starvation Recipes,” a collection of recipes and “survival tips” based in Nazi-occupied Greece, and chef F. T. Bletsas’ budget-minded cooking tips in his Greek tv show “Mama’s Cooking” and English-language website www.cookingeconomy.com.
One tip from the article: You’ll feel like you’re eating more if you chew your food veeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyy sssssllllloooowwwwlllllyyyyy.
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 