University of Texas Bulletin No. 2123: April 20, 1921 WHAT TO FEED THE FAMILY BY JET CORINE WINTERS Adjunct Professor of Home Economics Department of Home Economics and Home Economics Division of the Bareao of Extension PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN Publications of the University of Texas Publications Committee: Frederic Duncalf C. T. Gray KiLLis Campbell E. J. Mathews D. B. Casteel C. E. Rowe F. W. Graff A. E. Trombly The University publishes bulletins six times a month, so numbered that the first two digits of the number show the year of issue, the last two the position in the yearly series. (For example, No. 1701 is the first bulletin of the year 1917.) These comprise the official publications of the University, publications on humanistic and scientific sub- jects, bulletins prepared by the Bureau of Extension, by the Bureau of Government Research, and by the Bureau of Eco- nomic Geology and Technology, and other bulletins of gen- eral educational interest. With the exception of special num- bers, Any bulletin will be sent to a citizen of Texas free on request. All communications about University publications should be addressed to University Publications, University of Texas, Austin. lT30-8119-7-18-21-20'}0 University of Texas Bulletin No. 2123: April 20, 1921 WHAT TO FEED THE FAMILY BY JET CORINE WINTERS Adjunct Professor of Home Economics Department of Home Economics and Home Economics Division of the Bureau of Extension PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY SIX TIMES A MONTH. AND ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE POSTOFFIGE AT AUSTIN. TEXAS. UNDER THE ACT OF ALIGUST 24. 1912 \M1 The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free govern- ment. Sam Houston Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy. ... It is the only dictator that freemen acknowl- edge and the only security that free- men desire. Mirabeau B. Lamar LIBRARY OF CONGRESS T*':'vso SEP 281921 DOCUivJIZNTS DiVialON WHAT TO FEED THE FAMILY CONTENTS Page Introduction 3 The Needs of the Body 4 Food for the Different Body Needs 7 Comparison of Food Value of Foods 12 The Digestive System 19 Constipation .-.22 Bacteria in the Digestive Tract 23 Infant Feeding 24 Diet of Older Children 27 Menu Making 30 The Meal Plan 32 Suggestions for the Menu 37 Suiting the Menu to the Children. ...42 Page Food Prejudices 43 Relation of Weight to Height 44 Other Signs of Bad Nutrition 48 Reducing and Fattening Diets 51 Nutrition Classes 56 Comparision of Cost of Energy- Giving Foods 58 Comparision of Cost of Protein- Giving Foods 60 Comparision of Cost of Mineral- Giving Goods 61 The Food Budget 63 WHY THIS BULLETIN? A great many women, vitally interested in supplying their families with the proper kind of food, complain of the dearth of concise, practical, and accurate information in this particular field. They do not have time for reading entire volumes and puzzling out the meaning of the scien- tific terms, and, from the woman's pages in the various magazines, they can only gather together a mass of un- related, unorganized, and perhaps inaccurate material, which they find of little practical use. The literature re- lating to this subject is growing more and more puzzling with its constant references to those "mysterious some- things" that food must contain in order to promote proper growth and health. How is it possible to know that the rapidly growing bodies of the children are being supplied with everything necessary for their best physical develop- ment, and that the food for the grown-ups is compatible with their digestive powers and sufficient for energy and repair demands? The following material has been compiled with the busy housewife in mind and with the conviction that it is pos- sible to present the practical aspects of the science of nu- trition in such a way that they can be understood and ap- plied by even the busiest of these housewives. 4 University^ of Texas Bulletin THE QUESTIONS OF FOOD There are certain questions which present themselves for consideration when we begin to inquire into the problem of proper food. These seem to succeed each other in logical manner, somewhat as follows : 1. What are the needs of the body which must be met by food? 2. To what extent do the various food materials meet these needs, and how may we compare food materials as to their actual food value? 3. What part does the digestive system play? 4. Why and how should the food for a child differ from the food for a grown-up? 5. What kind of menus will combine food materials in such a way as to provide the best nutrition for both children and grown-ups? 6. How are we to judge of the nutritive condition of the different members of the family, and what means can be taken to remedy former dietetic errors? 7. What are the most economical food-combinations that will provide proper nutrition? Let us discuss each of these separately. WHAT MUST WE GET FROM OUR FOOD? Building Material. The human body is made from the food that is furnished it, and whether it is properly made or not depends to a great extent on the kind of material provided. There are two, perhaps we may say three, kinds of material needed. One kind is needed to build the bony frame-work of the body and the teeth, hair, and nails; another is needed to build the body tissue itself — muscles, nerves, internal organs and glands; and, of course, some- where we must get material for the fat that is scattered through the body, helping support the internal organs, rounding out the curves of muscles, or acting as a pad for warmth, or to prevent shocks from blows. Besides these, there must be material for the blood and lymph and the What to Feed the Family 5 various digestive juices. When we think of the different kinds of tissue in the body, we need not be surprised at the various kinds of building material needed. Of course there is a great difference in the need for building material in the adult and the child. The body of the adult is, for better or for worse, a finished product. The growth impulse has ceased, and the only changes that can be made are the put- ting on or taking off of fat or the enlargement of muscles through exercise. Except in the case of this enlargement of muscle, or in the building up process after a wasting disease, or in pregnancy, there is no actual production of tissue. So the adult body needs building material only for repair, while that of the child must have material for con- struction of tissues. The kind and amount of building ma- terial is thus more important in childhood than in adult life. Energy. Besides depending on our food for building ma- terial, we depend on it for energy. The energy for every movement that we make, and for the beating of the heart, the expansion and contraction of the lungs, the pushing of the food through the digestive tract, and the tension of muscles is supplied by the food. Food, taken into the di- gestive system, is converted by the action of the different digestive juices into simpler and simpler substances, and these are absorbed, in the small intestine, into the tiny blood vessels lining the walls of the intestines, or into the lymph, and carried to the various tissues where they are oxidized or burned, thus producing heat energy which can be changed into muscular energy in much the same way that heat energy from coal is changed into the energy for running an engine. If not enough food is taken into the system to supply all energy needs, the body will burn its own tissue, using the fat first, to meet the emergency. If more than enough food is supplied, the body changes the surplus fuel into fat and stores it in the body as a reserve food supply. We can measure exactly the amount of energy that is used by an individual during any given length of time by means of an instrument called the respiration calorimeter. The result is expressed in terms of calories, the calorie being used as a unit of measurement for heat energy, in the same 6 University^ of Texas Bulletin way that an inch is used for measuring length, or a pound for measuring weight. The calories used must be replaced by an amount of food that will give the same number of calories when burned in the body. Since we are able also to calculate the number of calories in any given amount of food, by burning it in a bomb calorimeter, it is a fairly easy matter to estimate the average number of calories an individual needs per day and the amount of food that will provide this. But few housewives have time for such calculations, nor are they necessary. As will be explained later on, there is a much simpler method of judging whether an individual has been getting too few or too many calories, which simply means too little or too much food. But we shall come back to calories again, when we discuss the dif- ferences in the fuel or energy value of different kinds of food material. There are three factors which determine, in the main, the energy requirement of an individual; in other words^ three factors which determine the amount of food that a person should eat. The most important of these is mus- cular activity. The day laborer, doing heavy muscular work, will require two or even three times as much food in a day as a man who does most of his work sitting at a desk. Size is also an important factor, and the energy re- quirement increases with the body weight. The third fac- tor is age. The voracious appetite of the rapidly growing boy or girl has often been remarked. The seemingly huge amount of food consumed is really necessary for the rap- idly growing body. The energy requirement of the four- teen-year old boy is usually greater than that of his father. Body Regulating Substances. The third need of the body, for which we must look to food, is the need of what is often termed ''body regulating substances." This is a bit more difficult to explain than the need for building ma- terial or energy. If we think of the body as a complicated machine, these body regulators might be compared to the balance wheels. The neutrality of the blood, the acidity or alkalinity of the digestive juices, the regular beating of What to Feed the Family 7 the heart, the response of nerve and muscle to every im- pulse, all depend upon the presence of certain mineral ele- ments in suitable amounts in the fluids and tissues of the body. These elements must be supplied by the food. Vitamines. And lastly the vitamines ! We are ignorant of the chemical nature and method of action of these sub- stances, but we know they exert a profound influence not only on growth and development but on the nutritive con- dition as a whole. Three of these substances are, at pres- ent, recognized. They have been named Water-Soluble B, Fat-Soluble A, and Water-Soluble C, or vitamines A, B, and C. Certain diseases, called deficiency diseases, are known to be caused by a lack of one or the other of these substances in the diet. Thus a lack of water-soluble B causes beriberi, a lack of fat-soluble A results in an eye disease known as xeropthalmia, and a lack of water-soluble C gives rise to scurvy. All of the vitamines seem to be vitally related to growth, and a diet low in any one of them will result in stunted growth, when fed to a young animal. They are also known to be affected by heat, Water-Soluble C being, in most cases, completely destroyed by exposure to high temperature. Alkali, also, helps to destroy them. Summing up the answer to our question, we may say that the needs of the body which must be met by food are four ; the need for building material ; for energy, for regu- lating substances, and for vitamines. These needs must be kept in mind in attempting to estimate the real food value of the various food materials. HOW SHALL WE MEASURE THE VALUE OF FOOD MATERIALS? In considering the value of a food material, we should keep the needs of the body in mind and the extent to which the particular food meets these needs. For the most part, our ordinary food materials can be counted on to meet more than one need of the body, but we can classify them roughly as follows : To meet energy needs — starchy foods, sweet foods, and University of Texas Bulletin Oatmeal Toast BREAKFAST Orange Cream Milk Butter Sugar LUNCH Macaroni and Cheese Fruit Salad Whole Wheat Bread Cocoa Butter Baked Potatoes Bread DINNER Hamburg Steak Apple Snow- Spinach Butter Three simple easily prepared meals which furnish everything necessary to the body. (See page 37.) What to Feed the Family 9 fats. Starchy foods include the starchy vegetables (Irish and sweet potatoes), cereals, especially those with the outer husks removed, and food materials made from cereals such as macaroni, bread, cakes, crackers, etc. Sweet foods in- clude sugars, sirups, candies, dried fruit, and sweet des- serts. The starchy foods and sweet foods are both classed as carbohydrate foods. Fats include butter, cream, salad oils, cooking oil, meat fat, and food products containing a great deal of fat, such as pastry. We think of carbohy- drates and fats chiefly as energy givers. To Meet the Need for Building and Repairing Body Tis- sue — meat, eggs, milk, cheese, most nuts and legumes (beans and peas) . These contain a large per cent of protein, which is the material necessary for building tissue, and are called protein foods. Protein foods are also energy givers, since -all of them, except lean meat, contain certain amounts of carbohydrate or fat or both, and since protein itself can be oxidized in the body to produce energy. Only a very small proportion of the protein molecule is used in body building and the rest is burned. So we might consider protein foods as energy-givers plus body builders. But the body-building function is most important, because only protein contains nitrogen, which is the important element for tissue building. To Meet the Need for Building and Repairing Bones, Teeth, Nails, etc., and for Regulating Body Processes — milk, egg-yolk, fresh fruits and vegetables, and the outer coats of cereal grains. These two needs are put together because they are met by the same kind of food, i. e., foods that contain minerals. Fresh fruits and vegetables are good sources of minerals, and they are to be valued chiefly for this, since they contain such large amounts of water that they cannot be compared favorably with other foods as sources of energy or of tissue-building material, even though they contain certain amounts of carbohydrate and protein. Minerals are found also in the outer coats of grain, so that cereals from which these coats have not been removed are valuable sources. Other foods, such as egg-yolk and milk are rich in certain of the minerals. 10 University' of Texas Bulletin Although as many as eleven different minerals are found in the body and these must all be supplied by food, we have found that a great many of them are necessary in only small amounts and that there are only three that are likely to be found in insufficient amounts in a diet of ordinary variety. These three are calcium, phosphorous, and iron. Our best source of calcium is milk. Two and one-half cups of milk per day would furnish all the calcium needed by the body, even though no other calcium-containing food were taken. Milk also contains large amounts of phosphorus, as do lean meat, fish, eggs, whole wheat, and string beans. Egg yolk and the green vegetables, especially spinach, are to be de- pended on for iron, the mineral which plays an important part in the production of red blood corpuscles. To Meet the Need for Vitamines. "Water-soluble B." This is the most widely distributed of the vitamines and is present in almost all foods except white flour, white rice, new process corn-meal, starch, fats, and sugars. Because of its solubility much of it may be lost if the water in which veg- etables are cooked is thrown away. 'Tat-soluble A" is found in animal fats, such as milk fat, eggs, beef fat, and codliver oil, but not to any appreciable ex- tent in vegetable oils. It is in glandular organs of animals, such as brain, liver, and sweet-breads, but not in the mus- cular tissue which we more often eat. The leaves, or young, sprouting parts of plants, such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, kale, lettuce, spinach, etc., are rich in the fat-soluble vitamine, but most seeds are poorly sup- plied. "Water-soluble C." Fresh fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamine C. It is also soluble in water and even more likely to be lost or destroyed in cooking than vitamine A. Since the majority of our food materials are a mixture of protein, fat, carbohydrate, water, and minerals, it would be difficult to work out mathematically a food value for each. We can, of course, compare them as to their caloric value, but this is manifestly unfair to those foods whose chief value What to Feed the Family 11 1. Cod Liver Oil 2. Butter FOODS RICH IN FAT— SOLUBLE A. 3. Lettuce 5. Yellow Corn 7. Liver 4. Tomato 6. Egg Yolk 8. Milk 9HN 1. Orange 2. Whole Wheat Bread FOODS RICH IN WATER— SOLUBLE B. 3. Spinach 5. Potatoes 7. Dried Beans 4. Cabbage 6. Yeast 8. Liver ■»f ^-j;^ ^^JKOL. % '^f*^.^' ^ii^- ^^"^ MP cup Cup of cocoa Bread — 2 slices Butter — 1 Tb. Lunch Apple jelly — 1 Tb. Corn chowder — 3/5 c. Creamy rice pudding- — 1/2 cup Fruit salad — % c Thick cream — 1 T. Rolls— 2 Cocoa — 1 c. Butter— 1 Tb. • Chocolate blanc mange with whipped cream 52 University of Texas Bulletin Dinner Potato soup — 1 c. Crackers — 2 Baked chicken — large serving Seamed rice — V2 c. Gravy — 2 Tb. Creamed spinach — V2 c. Bread — 2 slices Butter — 1 Tb. Lemon pie — medium slice Milk — 1 glass III. Fuel Value — 3,500 calories Breakfast Grape juice — 1 c. Farina with 4 dates — Scrambled eggs — V2 c Toast — 1 slice Butter— 1/2 T. Thin cream — 7/8 c. Sugar — 2 T. Coffee — 1 c. % c. 4:00 p. m. Glass of milk Dinner Broiled steak — medium serving Scalloped potatoes — 1 c. Buttered beets — 1/3 c. Lettuce and tomato salad — 1 serving Boiled custard — V2 c. Salted almond — 12 Macaroons — 2 Dinner Cream of corn soup — Ic Roast beef — large serving Baked potato — 1 medium Buttered lime beans — 3/8 c. Whole wheat bread — 2 slices Butter — 2 T. Baked apple- — 1 large Thin cream — V2 c. Sugar— 1 T Lunch Creamed chicken — V2 c. on Toast — 1 slice Lettuce salad — 1 serving Saltines — 3 Hot chocolate — 1 c. REDUCING DIETARIES I. Fuel Value — 1100 calories II. Fuel Value — 1,350 Calories Breakfast Apple — 1 medium Eggs — 1 Toast — 1 slice Coffee — 1 cup Skim milk— 11/2 Tb. Breakfast Grape fruit — V2 Sugar — 1 tsp. Bacon — 3 slices Toast — 1 slice Coffee (black) — 1 c What to Feed the Family 53 (^unch Bouillon — V2 cup Crackers — 1 Roast beef — medium serving Lettuce and cottage cheese salad Lettuce — as much as one wants Cheese— 2 1/2 Tb. Fr. dressing — V2 Tb. Tea with lemon Dinner Baked fish — large serving I Boiled potato — % medium Cauliflower (plain) — large serv. Butter — 1 T. Cold Slaw — 1 cup Bread — 1 thin slice Orange — 1 Hot skim milk — Vz cup Lunch Clear soup — 1 c Crackers — 4 Steamed fish — large serving Spinach — 1 c Bread — 1 slice Apple and celery salad Lettuce — as much as desired Apple — 1/2 Celery — 1 stalk Fr. dressing — V2 Tb. Broiled steak (lean) med. serv. Baked potato — V2 med. Butter — 1/2 Tb. Fruit salad — V2 c. Bread — 1 slice Hot skim milk — V^ c. IIL Fupl Value — 1,500 Breakfast Orange — 1 Dinner Poached agg — 1 Lean roast beef — medium serv. Bacon — 2 slices Mashed potato — V2. cup Toast — 1/2 slice Asparagus with butter Coffee— 1 c Ten stalks asparagus Skim milk— 3 Tb. 1/2 Tb. butter Sugar — 1 tsp. Bread — 1 slice Grape fruit — V2 Lunch Sugar — 1 tsp. Clear tomato soup — 'V2 c Hot skim milk — V2 cup. Crackers — 2 Codfish balls — 2 Tomato and lettuce salad Lettuce — as much as ( wants Tomatoes — 1 medium French dressing — % Tb. Graham bread — 2 thin slices Baked apple — 1 Will m^i^ lUrs, links /i/f^mr c^^Jpii/mp, * /\aau^ fats a.nJ cO'f/u> confaini/u/ /^/ c^'/'^/^-v?/,/'/,'/ butUr 3/iJ cre^sm a/mu^ con^L^i/tf^'ni Cat anlc/ small guanliii^^ ^'^ d^^.iJ ^jn^/f^- (jrccn uepc'/uMc^s j^^all (''/>u^> pre pa re J w/^out l>a//er rrcfh fra//- shouU he suhsiihJeJ K-'r pmi^'''u;< edke<- .2rk/ pie> Lean mea/s s/mp/i/ cvM^ed niju t>e une^f literal/u. /^ plenh/ p^^ ,<^~reen ec^'elatlc^ Ire fnehiA\/. Coffee iSnel tea untkoui' milk or su^ar- ^leal lfr<^f-h [fat skimmed off I with uege tables, lean meal or fi^fi^ OL/^ter^, lean, cheese. Suck eco(^lat'/es as .^ra^tu^e, cclerc/. letlu^^. ^p/'naeti, caull flow/^r-, ■loma/i->e^ ane^ n2/^/s/747F, Qeuif frufl as apples, feae/ze^, strawberries, raspl>err/^^, 60 ur cherries, ^ape/i^uif: an// oranges. fggs sklmm^{l mM (SnJ l^ull^mili:, ' Liffle Man/ was mas/' eJ(ee^n ^on ifiif u/o/j/' boii/ h0: for skfw/Iq /mv/b'^ lb fdlloivl'he follomg fcifhm^ ^c/i0ne< fAT- 'V7. ' ^/mp/e. foods iu/j/di dona/' i^pscf' Jii/ct^f/a ' ' fofF or cereaf w/f'h p/^nfi/ i^f*cn:cym jticfsi'^ar 'Ot/aast f-wo slices of . breaJ 1^^7/11/ spn'^d ' u^/lh i^i/ller cfl well mOi^L ^0m/^'frf^r/7//?^ Ii//?cIj of milk cind cyvckers onJ i:f abss of /fflli i^e/ore bcdl/frjc, ^o^hl/jc/ i.'l/(^ lf^^uf^/i/7pk' III? CrCi^f^ Sai/c'C, or c7S soW Of 11/7 mai/o/^wlse, rro/JCl? or ava/n Jros^/n^j. ' m^l //7 /vo^lan7l/o/i^ hl^l l^lasw^lloska/i. Select Tood ^ROf^ rouDwitiG Lists Protein:- fgqs.ali/cJb/j^lysAb^fmllkxIJm^. CARBOHY[>nATE^>dolmia)rmMrm/mcormL zmixjcfj, poldloes, sif^/or /jo^et/. dr/odpeos. ff^^slj lri//rs. che^i/ls, cjrcjpo-ji//^^. . . • Fat-- B^co/7; creaw, bi/HoKmllt olm mJ piicint/t 07/. , 56 University' of Texas Bulletin Nutrition Classes. The problem of the malnourished child has come to be recognized as the biggest problem in nutrition today. This was forcibly called to our attention by the alarming amount of unfitness in the men examined for the army. The Nutrition Class, which has already been mentioned, was instituted to help solve this problem, and a description of some of the methods used will not be amiss here. Although these classes have been introduced in play- ground centers and in other places where groups of chil- dren come together, they belong in the school, as it is there they can be of greatest value. When put into a school, the following procedure is followed : 1. All the children in the school are weighed and measured, and are given tags to take home, telling what they should weigh and what they do weigh. 2. Those who are more than ten per cent underweight, or who show other signs of undernourishment, are put into a special class, which meets once a week. 3. Each child is given a careful examination for physical defects by a physician. The mothers are advised of the re- sults and are urged to have these defects remedied. 4. At the weekly meeting, each child is weighed and re- tagged, and a short talk is given on some good food or health habit. Weight charts are kept for each child. On each is a line indicating the normal growth curve for children. This is explained to the child, and a line below it, represent- ing his weight, is started. As the weight is recorded each week, the child is interested in seeing his own weight line ap- proach the normal line. Rivalry, as to who can gain the most, is also encouraged, and various colored stars are given for the child making the greatest gain ; for observing certain food rules for the week, etc. Fairy stories, plays, games, and songs are introduced to get the material across to the child, the material and methods used depending on the age of the child. Excellent results have been obtained through these Nutri- tion Classes but what is really needed is health instruction for every child in school. It should be made as vital a part What to Feed the Family 57 of the school program as grammar or arithmetic. Is it not as important? Because a child shows no signs of malnutri- tion does not necessarily mean that he is properly fed. He may have enough vitality to withstand the effects of im- proper food, for some time, but, in the end, he is almost sure to suffer, and this could be prevented if proper food habits were early taught and impressed upon him. THE ECONOMIC ASPECT OF FOOD The making of proper menus is not a difficult job if we are not limited in the amount of money that can be spent, but when it is necessary that we be as economical as pos- sible, food must be carefully chosen, in order to get the best NUTRITION CLASS IN ONE OF THE AUSTIN SCHOOLS value for our money. A comparison of foods according to the cost of the 100-calorie portion is valuable from the stand- point of the amount of energy value you are getting in re- turn for your expenditure, but it is apt to be misleading, since energy need is only one of the body needs, and we should consider a food from the standpoint of energy, pro- tein, minerals, and vitamines. Since it is impossible to ex- press the result of such a consideration in any concrete way. 58 University^ of Texas Bulletin it seems best to consider energy-giving foods from the stand- point of cost of energy, protein-giving foods from the stand- point of cost of protein, and mineral giving foods from the standpoint of cost of minerals, remembering that energy-giv- ing foods contain certain amount of protein and minerals, and that the protein-giving and mineral foods have varying amounts of energy-value. We do not knov^ enough about the vitamines to make a comparison from this standpoint pos- sible. Comparison of Energy-Givers. Table 12 gives the cost of the 100-calorie portion of the foods that we think of chiefly as energy-givers. TABLE XII Comparison of Energy-Giving Foods Food Calories Cost Cost of 100 per lb. per lb. calories Starchy Vegetables Irish potatoes 304 .04 .013 Sweet potatoes 447 .06 .013 Cereals Cornflakes 1631 .30 .018 Grape-nuts 1683 .25 .015 Macaroni 1624 .29 .018 Puffed corn 1600 .48 .030 Puffed rice 1600 .58 .036 Puffed wheat 1600 .48 .030 Shredded wheat 1657 .22 .013 Cornmeal 1613 .04 .003 Cream of wheat 1641 .17 .010 Hominy grits 1608 .09 .006 Oatmeal 1803 .12 .007 Rice 1591 .07 .004 Breadstuffs White bread 1177 .08 .007 Graham bread 1140 .08 .007 Cornmeal muffins 1332 .12 .009 Baking powder biscuit 1232 .10 .008 Graham crackers 1904 .27 .014 Soda crackers 1875 .20 .010 Rolls 1232 .10 .008 What to Feed the Family 59 Cakes and Cookies Doughnuts 1940 Molasses cookies 1776 Plain cookies 1776 Loaf cakes (egg) 1600 Angel cake 1232 Sweets Chocolate fudge 1776 Corn syrup 1056 Honey 1480 Maple syrup 1328 Molasses 1328 Sugar (granulated) 1814 Sugar, loaf 1814 Sugar, brown 1720 Fats Bacon fat 4000 Butter 3490 Cream thin 880 Cream thick 1730 Cream whipped 1730 Oleomargarine 3490 Olive oil 4000 Wesson oil 4000 From this it will be found that the cost of 100-calories varies from .003c, when the energy comes from cornmeal, to .036c for puffed rice. The difference of energy cost in the ready-to-serve and the uncooked cereals is apparent; none of the uncooked cereals, except cream of wheat, cost- ing as much as a cent per 100-calories, and the prepared cereals ranging in price from .013c to .036c, the puffed cereals costing over twice as much as those prepared in some other way. The starchy vegetables compare favorably with the prepared cereals in fuel value, while most of the bread- stuffs, plain cakes, and cookies, and sweets are to be classed with the uncooked cereals. Exceptions to this are graham crackers, soda crackers, honey, and maple syrup, which are somewhat more expensive. In considering cakes and cookies, it must be noted that the estimates that make them comparable to uncooked cereals are made while eggs are cheap (twenty cents per dozen), and that a higher cost of .19 .009 .12 .007 .13 .007 .12 .007 .19 .015 .16 .009 .10 .009 .18 .012 .32 .024 .13 .009 .10 .005 .14 .007 .14 .008 9 ? .40 .011 .20 .022 .35 .02 ? ? .33 .009 .90 .022 .35 .009 60 Universitip of Texas Bulletin eggs will make them more expensive fuel sources. Cream and olive oil are rather dear fuels, while the other fats cost about the same as uncooked cereals. Note the difference in the cost of olive oil and Wesson oil. Comparison of Protein Foods. We can find our cheapest protein food by comparing the cost of each that it takes to give 75 grams of protein, the total amount required each day, by the body. This is done in Table 13. TABLE XIII Comparison of Protein-Containing Foods Approximate amount Food Price per lb. containing 75 gms. Beef Pounds Liver 20 4/5 Loin 30 1 Porterhouse steak 35 9/10 Round steak 30 9/10 Rump 25 1 1/5 Tongue .20 1 1/5 Pork Ham, boiled 65 4/5 Loin chops 30 1 1/5 Shoulder - .25 1 1/5 Sausage meat 25 1 Lamb Leg, hind - 30 1 Loin 30 1 Shoulder 30 1 1/5 Chicken - 25 1 1/5 Fish Cod, salt (canned) 40 9/10 Trout 25 1 4/5 Mackerel 25 1 3/5 Oysters 28 2 4/5 Eggs 132 1 2/5 Cheese American 30 1/2 Cottage 25 4/5 Cost of 75 gms. .160 .300 .315 .270 .300 .240 .520 .360 .300 .250 .300 .300 .360 .300 .360 .450 .400 .780 .184 .150 .200 3 2/5 .680 3 2/5 1.700 7/10 .088 7/10 .098 5 ,375 What to Feed the Family 61 Nuts Walnuts 20 Pecans 50 Dried beans 10 Dried peas 10 Milk 075 Dried beans and peas prove to be our cheapest sources of protein, with cheese, eggs, and peanuts second. Peanuts are a much cheaper source of protein than any of the other nuts. Since it takes so nearly the same amount of meat to furnish the daily supply of 75 grams, the cost of meat as a protein can be fairly accurately based on its cost per pound. Milk compares with the medium priced cuts of meat, as a source of protein. Compa7ison of Mineral-Containing Foods, When we put together the list of foods high in calcium, phosphorus, and iron, we have thirty-seven foods which, for practical pur- poses, may be considered together as the best foods to de- pend on for our mineral supply. Almost all of these are fresh vegetables and fruits, and the price varies so much with the season that data relative to the cost is apt to be misleading. The ones that are cheapest at any particular season are to be considered the most economical mineral sources. Ordinarily, cabbage, onions, turnips, spinach, squash, and carrots are among the cheaper sources, while celery, lettuce, cauliflower, asparagus, and brussels sprouts are among the most expensive. Cheese and dried beans are cheap sources of minerals, and as they are also cheap sources of protein, they should occupy a large place in a diet where rigid economy must be observed. Whole wheat flour and all-grain cereals are also deserving of wider popularity, since they furnish both minerals and vitamines in addition to energy. In many cases, we have the dried, fresh, or canned prod- uct to select from. The dried fruits and vegetables are always cheap sources of minerals compared with the fresh or canned. Drying does not, of course, affect the mineral content, but it is likely to destroy or diminish the vitamine 52 University of Texas Bulletin content. So also is canning. Except for flavor and ease of preparation, the canned fruits and vegetables have no ad- vantage over the dried, and when v^e are constructing cheap menus, the dried products must be used extensively. Canned products are apt to be more expensive than fresh, except when the fresh products are purchased out of season or at the very beginning of the season, when the reverse is usually true. To avoid buying fruits and vegetables that are not in season must, then, become one of the maxims of the economical housewife. Let us consider our type menu in the light of food econ- omy. The fruit for breakfast would have to be selected from the dried fruits with an occasional serving of some of the fresh fruits that are in the height of their season. The cereal would, in the winter, be cornmeal mush, oatmeal, rice, or hominy grits; in the summer, shredded wheat, cornflakes, or grape-nuts. There could be a considerable choice of breadstuffs, and we should never attempt to violate the rule of a pint of milk a day for every child, even when the most rigid economy is necessary and when milk is high in price. Everything considered — digestibility, protein con- tent, and quality of protein, energy value and mineral and vitamine content, milk gives us more in return for our money than any other food, unless it is exceptionally high in price. We are on dangerous ground when we attempt to substitute other food for milk, especially in the diet of the child. Dried beans or peas would appear quite fre- quently as the main dish for luncheon, with some of the cheese dishes for variety. The salads would have to be mostly vegetable salads, with boiled dressing instead of mayonnaise, and some of the nut margarines substituted for butter. The cheaper cuts of meat must be utilized for dinner, and most of the combination meat dishes will be found valuable in constructing a cheap menu. The starchy vegetables are not expensive if you get a good, sound prod- uct. But often there is much waste. Rice is cheaper than potatoes and there is little waste. The use of rice as a starchy vegetable has much to recommend it. The green What to Feed the Family 63 vegetable selected will depend on the time of year and the market. Simple puddings are one of the cheapest forms of dessert, and rice pudding, cottage pudding, chocolate blanc mange, etc. may be used to fill this need. Of course when the most rigid economy is necessary the type menu will probably have to be discarded altogether, desserts and sal- ads being omitted and only the plainest and simplest food used. Reducing the dietary to its lowest cost always means emphasizing the non-perishable staple foods, such as cereals and dried fruits and vegetables and a very sparing use of meat and fresh or canned fruits and vegetables. The Food Budget. There must be, of course, a minimum amount for which a family can be properly fed. In 1919, quite an extensive survey of living costs was made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under the direction of Mr. Royal Meeker, United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics. This included an analysis of the food budgets of nearly thir- teen thousand families, obtained in seventy-one large cities and twenty-six small towns in the different geographical sections of the country, with incomes of $900 to $2500. As a result of this analysis, it was concluded that from fifty to sixty cents per man per day was necessary to secure a weil-balanced diet, sufficient in the number of calories and in variety. Perhaps this "per man per day" basis needs some explanation, as it is easily misunderstood. In order to have some unit of measurement, we have to express the food consumption of families in terms of a common unit of meas- ure, and we do this in terms of the adult man, counting each individual in the family over 14 years of age as 1 unit, between 11 and 14 years .9 of a unit, between 7 and 10 years .75 of a unit, 4 to 6 years .4 of a unit, and 3 years and under .15 of a unit. Thus, a family consisting of mother, father and three children, aged three, seven and twelve would contain 3.8 per man per day units (l4-l+.9+.75-f .15). Food prices have fallen considerably since the above in- vestigation was made, and it can now be estimated that, when rigid economy is observed, proper food may be ob- tained for from 45 to 50 cents per day per person. Fifty- five to sixty cents is a good average allowance for food. 64 University of Texas Bulletin With this amount to spend, menus approximating the one already outlined may be furnished. The amount of money spent for food will always depend upon the income of the family, the smaller the income, the larger the percentage spent for food. On a basis of 55 cents per day per person, it would require about $800 per year for food for the average family of five — mother, father, and three children between the ages of four and fourteen. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 337 661 8