How the hell did we survive up to 1975 before joining the EU
I was around then, so I can help.
We ate a lot of offal, like ox heart stuffed with suet and herbs, and root vegetables like swede and turnip. Salad was only available for a couple of months of the year and comprised beetroot, radishes, a slice or two of tomato (they were expensive), celery and floppy lettuce all served with salad cream and a tin of pink salmon shared between the four of us. We were a typical working class family (factory worker dad), so the middle classes may have eaten better. Pudding was semolina, tapioca or instant whip. I had never seen a green pepper, let alone a red one, until I discovered the 'continental store' in a neighbouring area that had a high population of Cypriots. I would not have known what to do with one in any case. Olive oil was sold in the chemist and was mostly intended to sort out earwax problems and the 'delicatessen' counter would be pretty much limited to ham (if you were rich enough), luncheon meat (a type of spam), corned beef, tongue or brawn.
Eating out was something people only did on a very special occasion (silver wedding, 21st birthday), where you were likely to have half a grapefruit for a starter, a gammon steak for main course and a scoop of ice cream for pudding. If the restaurant was very posh, they would put a pineapple ring on top of your gammon and half a glace cherry on top of your grapefruit.
Instead of loyalty card, some supermarkets gave Green Shield stamps - one for every 2.5p you spent - which you could save up until you had a whole book of them a year later. You could then swap them for a tea strainer or something of similar value.
Those were the days 