All-Bran All The Time

The Kellogg's recipe pamphlet referred to in my post on Saturday was called The Plus Food for Minus Meals (not dated, 16 pages), a small publication that promoted their All-Bran breakfast cereal.

Kellogg's introduced their ready-to-eat breakfast cereal, Toasted Corn Flakes, in 1906. By the time this publication came out they had a line of seven different cereals, all of which are shown on the rear cover.


The dates following the name of the cereals below indicate when they were introduced to the public.

Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes - 1906
Kellogg's Krumbles - 1914
Kellogg's Whole Wheat Biscuit -1920
Kellogg's All-Bran - 1916
Kellogg's PEP - 1922
Kellogg's Rice Krispies - 1927
Kellogg's Wheat Krispies - 1934

The inclusion of Kellogg's Wheat Krispies in the illustration helps date the pamphlet, which was published a bit later than I initially thought. It must have been between 1934 (when they brought out Wheat Krispies) and 1937 (before they sold Kaffee Hag) and not the late 1920s.

Sometimes dating these old booklets is a bit like working a Logic Puzzle. It's fun figuring out all the details. I would have probably enjoyed investigative accounting had I only known of its existence way back when.

The cryptic title of the pamphlet has to do with the nutritional and gastrological benefits to be derived from eating and cooking with All-Bran.

Serve More Complete Meals with Kellogg's All-Bran

Perhaps the meals you serve are "bulk-minus" meals. Kellogg's All-Bran is the "bulk-plus" food so necessary in the well-balanced diet. Serve as a cereal, combined with other cereals, or use it as an ingredient in many tempting and economical dishes. All the recipes in this helpful folder have been triple tested in our Cottage Kitchen so that you may get the fullest enjoyment from the use of All-Bran in your home. Laboratory tests show (1) that All-Bran is a safe and gentle food that relieves constipation due to insufficient "bulk"; (2) that it does not lose its effectiveness with continued use; (3) that is a good source of iron and Vitamin B. Kellogg's All-Bran is accepted by the American Medical Association Committee on Foods as a natural laxative for normal people.

This text is found inside the front cover, followed by the signature of Barbara B. Brooks, of the Kellogg Company Home Economics Department in Battle Creek, Michigan.

The Kellogg's Home Economics Department was created and headed up by Mary Barber, a dietician hired by Kellogg's in 1923. While Mary Barber was an actual person, Barbara B. Brooks was not. Like Betty Crocker at General Mills, Martha Logan at Swift & Co. and Mary Blake at Carnation, Barbara was another one of the fictional Home Economics personas created by the food companies.

Of the seven recipes found in the pamphlet, I thought one was a bit unusual. Perhaps this is because gingersnaps are not something I would normally associate with increasing one's dietary fiber intake.

ALL-BRAN REFRIGERATOR GINGER SNAPS

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup Kellogg's ALL-BRAN
2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoon ginger
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses and ALL-BRAN. Beat thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients and combine with creamed mixture. Shape into a roll about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and store in refrigerator until firm. Slice very thin and bake on ungreased cookie sheets about 10 minutes in a moderate oven (375° F.)

Yield: 50 cookies


Has anyone besides myself ever noticed that these older recipes seem to call for a little more baking soda than their modern counterparts? Why is that?

The other six recipes are some that are still fairly popular today: All-Bran Muffins, Banana All-Bran Nut Bread, All-Bran Date Bars, All-Bran Brown Bread, All-Bran Waffles Supreme and All-Bran Refrigerator Rolls.

Smaller illustrations decorate each of the recipe pages. I noticed that they all showed people involved in some type of physical activity.


One illustration shows a dapper gentlemen with his walking cane, another is of a smartly dressed woman taking a brisk walk, there's a woman swinging a golf club, a man and woman on a hill with a hiking stick and a young boy on a bicycle.


Are these subtle reminders that a healthy diet equals an active lifestyle?

The following illustration reminds me of my grandmother. For as long as I remember, she ate either All-Bran or Raisin Bran (introduced by Kellogg's in 1942) for breakfast every morning.