I got a kick out of this post....my grandmother used to do a lot of the things I've seen here, she also used to say if you need to feed a crowd, serve tough meat. Supposedly if people had to chew and chew and chew before they could swallow, they wouldn't eat as much and the food would go farther. lol
Once she scolded me because there was a penny on the floor and I swept it into the dustpan. I got a lecture about if I went shopping and was a penny short I wouldn't get my stuff.
Mostly we all just laughed, rolled our eyes, and figured it was because she lived thru the great depression. But she did die very wealthy, so I guess she got the last laugh!