Given the state of the economy and the frequent references to “the worst economic decline since the Great Depression,” I must admit to a new fascination with learning as much as I can about what the Great Depression was really like and whether what we’re going through now even approaches the hardships endured by Americans then.

What’s one difference between now and then? The food we eat at home.

Researchers analyzed 18 recipes that appeared in all seven editions of the enormously popular The Joy of Cooking, a cookbook that’s been around for 73 years. According to the New York Times, all but one of the recipes has increased in calories per serving, by an average of 39%. Researchers attributed 62% of the caloric increase to the use of different ingredients today and 38% to bigger serving sizes. Greater affluence today, the study said, permits families to use more fat, sugar and meat to replace potatoes, as well as more sauces.

So maybe when the government talks about sacrifices and making cutbacks, we should just replace the sour cream and the butter with leaner alternatives.