Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume V Part 37

POUNDS Weight of chicken, including head, feet, and entrails 4 Weight of head, feet, and entrails 1-1/4 Weight of bones after cooking 7/8 Weight of skin after cooking 1/4 Shrinkage in cooking 3/8 ----- Total amount of waste 2-3/4 ----- Actual weight of edible meat 1-1/4

It will readily be seen that chicken at 40 cents a pound would make the cost per pound of edible meat amount to exactly $1.28, a rather startling result. It is true, of course, that the busy housewife with a family can hardly spare the time for the extra labor such experiments require; still the greater the number of persons to be fed, the more essential is the need for economy and the greater are the possibilities for waste and loss.

27. The home production of foods does not belong strictly to economical buying, still it is a matter that offers so many advantages to the economical housewife that she cannot afford to overlook it. A small garden carefully prepared and well cultivated will often produce the summer's supply of fresh vegetables, with sufficient overproduction to permit much to be canned for winter. Not only do foods produced in a home garden keep down the cost of both summer and winter foods, but they add considerably to the variety of menus.

CORRECT DIET

SUITABILITY OF FOOD

28. At the same time the housewife is making a study of economy and trying to procure as nearly as possible the best quality and the largest quant.i.ty of food for the amount of money she has to spend, she must consider the suitability of this food for the persons to whom it is to be served. This matter is undoubtedly of greater importance than economy, for, regardless of the amount of money that is to be spent, suitable foods for the nourishment of all the members of the family must be supplied to them. For instance, a family of two may have $10 a week to spend for food, whereas one of five may perhaps have no more; but the larger family must have nouris.h.i.+ng food just as the one of two must have. Therefore, whether the housewife has much or little to spend, her money must purchase food suited to the needs of her family. Unless she is able to accomplish this, she fails in the most important part of her work as a housewife, and as a result, the members of her family are not properly nourished.

29. It has long been an established fact that correct diet is the greatest factor in maintaining bodily health. Food is responsible for the growth and maintenance of the body tissues, as well as for their repair. In addition, it supplies the body with heat and energy.

Consequently, taking the right food into the body a.s.sists in keeping a person in a healthy condition and makes work and exercise possible.

Because so much depends on the diet, the housewife, while considering what can be bought with the money she has to spend, must also decide whether the foods she plans to buy are suitable for the needs of her family. In fact, she should be so certain of this matter that she will automatically plan her menus in such a way that they will contain all that is necessary for each person to be fed. But, as every housewife knows, the appet.i.tes of her family must also be taken into consideration. Theoretically, she should feed her family what the various members need, regardless of their likes and dislikes. However, very few persons are willing to be fed in this way; in truth, it would be quite useless to serve a dish for which no one in the family cared and in addition it would be one of the sources of waste.

30. To make the work of the housewife less difficult, children should be taught as far as possible to eat all kinds of food. Too often this matter is disregarded, and too often, also, are the kinds of food presented, to a family regulated by the likes and dislikes of the person preparing the food. Because she is not fond of certain foods, she never prepares them; consequently, the children do not learn to like them. On the other hand, many children develop a habit of complaining about foods that are served and often refuse to eat what is set before them. Such a state of affairs should not be permitted. Indeed, every effort should be made to prevent a spirit of complaint. If the housewife is certain that she is providing the members of her family with the best that she can purchase with the money she has to spend and that she is giving them what they need, complaining on their part should be discouraged.

31. With a little effort, children can be taught to like a large variety of foods, especially if these foods are given to them while they are still young. It is a decided advantage for every one to form a liking for a large number of foods. The person who can say that he cares for everything in the way of food is indeed fortunate, for he has a great variety from which to choose and is not so likely to have served to him a meal in which there are one or more dishes that he cannot eat because of a distaste for them.

Every mother should therefore train her children during their childhood to care for all the cereals, vegetables, and fruits. Besides affording the children a well-balanced diet, these foods, particularly vegetables and fruits, when served in their season, offer the housewife a means of planning economical menus, for, as every one knows, their price is then much lower than at any other time and is less than that of most other foods. During the winter, turnips, carrots, onions, and other winter vegetables are more economical foods than summer vegetables that must be canned or otherwise prepared to preserve them for winter use or the fresh summer vegetables purchased out of season. However, it is advisable to vary the diet occasionally with such foods.

COMPOSITION OF FOOD

32. To feed her family properly, the housewife should understand that the daily food must include the five food substances--protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral matter, and water. As these are discussed in _Essentials of Cookery_, Part 1, they should be clear to the housewife, but if they are not fully understood, a careful review should be made of the discussions given there. The ways in which these food principles contribute to the growth and health of the body, as well as the ordinary foods that supply them in the greatest number, are tabulated in Table II for easy reference. This information will a.s.sist the housewife materially in the selection and preparation of food for her family; consequently, close attention should be given to it and constant application made of it.

33. As has already been learned and as will be noted here, a food substance often has more than one use in the body. For instance, protein builds tissue and also yields energy, but its chief work is that of building tissue, and so it is cla.s.sed first as a tissue-building food substance. The fats and carbohydrates also have a double use in the body, that of producing heat and energy and of building fatty tissue.

However, as their chief use is to produce heat and energy, they are known princ.i.p.ally as heat-producing foods. Mineral matter not only is necessary for the building of bone and muscle, but also enters into the composition of the blood and all the fluids in the body. Growth and development are not ideal without an adequate supply of the many kinds of these salts, which go to make up the tissues, nerves, blood, and other fluids in the body.

34. The body regulators must be included in the food given, for they a.s.sist in all processes carried on in the body. Some are necessary to aid in the stimulation required to carry on the processes of digestion and in some cases make up a part of the digestive fluids. Consequently, vegetables and fruits that supply these body regulators and foods that supply vitamines should be provided.

Water, the chief body regulator, not only is essential to life itself, but forms by far a greater proportion of the body than any other single substance. The largest part of the water required in the body is supplied as a beverage and the remainder is taken in with the foods that are eaten.

TABLE II

FOOD SUBSTANCES AND THEIR RELATION TO GROWTH AND HEALTH

I Body-building materials Proteins.

Meat Fish and sh.e.l.l fish Poultry and game Eggs Milk and milk products Legumes (dried beans, peas, lentils) Wheat and wheat products, as corn starch Nuts Mineral matter, or ash Vegetables Fruits Eggs Milk Cereals Meats II Heat-producing materials Fats Animal Lard Suet Tallow b.u.t.ter and cream Vegetable Olive oil Corn oil Cottonseed oil Coconut oil Nut oils Mixed oils Oleomargarine b.u.t.terine Nut b.u.t.ter Crisco, etc.

Carbohydrates Starch Cereals and cereal products Irish and sweet potatoes Sugar Cane sugar and mola.s.ses Beet sugar Maple sugar and sirup Honey Corn sirup and other manufactured sirups Proteins Same as in I

III Body regulators Water Mineral matter, or ash Same as in I Cellulose Fruits Vegetables Covering of cereals and nuts Food Acids Sour fruits--citric and malic Tomatoes--malic Spinach--oxalic Rhubarb--oxalic Vitamines Fat soluble A Milk b.u.t.ter Egg yolk Water soluble B Green vegetables, as spinach, chard, lettuce, beet greens Asparagus and stem vegetables, as celery Fruit vegetables, as tomatoes, peppers, okra Fruits

The importance of bulk in foods cannot be emphasized too much. The indigestible cellulose of fruits, vegetables, and cereals is of such importance in the body that some of these foods should be supplied with every meal. Therefore, their incorporation into the diet should be considered as a definite part of the menu-making plan.

The acids of fruits are valuable as stimulants both to the appet.i.te and to the digestion. Then, too, they give a touch of variety to a menu otherwise composed of rather bland foods. The stimulation they produce is much more healthful than that of condiments, drugs, or alcoholic beverages and should receive the preference.

_Vitamines_ are substances necessary for both growth and health. A child deprived of the foods containing them is usually not well and does not grow nor develop normally. These substances are also required in the diet of adults in order to maintain the body in a healthy condition. The leafy vegetables and milk are the foods that yield the greatest supply of vitamines. In fact, it is claimed by those who have experimented most with this matter that these two sources will supply the required amount of vitamines under all conditions.

BALANCING THE DIET

QUANt.i.tY AND PROPORTION OF FOODS

35. FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD.--Numerous factors affect the kind and quant.i.ty of food necessary for an individual. Chief among these are age, size, s.e.x, climate, and work or exercise. In addition to determining the amount of food that must be taken into the body, these factors regulate largely the suitability of the foods to be eaten. It is true, of course, that all the food substances mentioned in Table II must be included in every person's diet after the first few years of his life, but the quant.i.ty and the proportion of the various substances given vary with the age, s.e.x, size, and work or exercise of the person and the climate in which he lives. Merely to provide dishes that supply sufficient food value is not enough. This food material must be given in forms that can be properly digested and a.s.similated and it must be in the right proportion for the person's needs. The aim should therefore be to provide a _balanced diet_, by which is meant one that includes the correct proportion of the various food substances to supply the needs of the individual.

36. QUANt.i.tY OF FOOD IN CALORIES.--Without doubt, the most intelligent way in which to feed people is to compute the number of calories required daily. As will be remembered, the calorie is the unit employed to measure the amount of work that the food does in the body, either as a tissue builder or a producer of energy. The composition and food value of practically all foods are fairly well known, and with this information it is a simple matter to tell fairly accurately the amount of food that each person requires.

As has been stated, the number of calories per day required by a person varies with the age, size, s.e.x, and occupation of the person, as well as with the climate in which he lives. For the adult, this will vary from 1,800 to 3,000, except in cases of extremely hard labor, when it may be necessary to have as high as 4,500 calories. The average number of calories for the adult, without taking into consideration the particular conditions under which he lives or works, is about 2,500. Still a small woman who is inactive might be sufficiently fed by taking 1,800 calories a day, whereas a large man doing heavy, muscular work might require 3,500 to 4,000 daily.

37. IMPORTANCE OF PROPER AMOUNT OF FOOD.--Most authorities agree that it is advisable for adults and children well past the age of infancy to take all the food required in three meals. The taking of two meals a day is sometimes advocated, but the possibility of securing in two meals the same quant.i.ty of food that would ordinarily be taken in three is rather doubtful, since it is a.s.sumed that large amounts of food are not so easily disposed of as are smaller ones.

On the other hand, to overeat is always a disadvantage in more respects than one. Taking food that is not required not only is an extravagance in the matter of food, but overtaxes the digestive organs. In addition, it supplies the body with material that must be disposed of, so that extra work on the part of certain organs is required for this activity.

Finally, overeating results in the development of excessive fatty tissue, which not only makes the body ponderous and inactive, but also deadens the quickness of the mind and often predisposes a person to disease or, in extreme cases, is the actual cause of illness.

38. EFFECT OF WEIGHT ON DIET.--An idea of the way in which the weight of a person affects the amount of food required can be obtained by a study of Tables III and IV. As will be observed, Table III gives the number of calories per pound of body weight required each day by adults engaged in the various normal activities that might be carried on within 24 hours.

It deals only with activity, the various factors that might alter the amounts given being taken up later. The figures given are for adults and the factors mentioned are those which affect the intake of food to the greatest extent.

The lowest food requirement during the entire 24 hours is during the time of sleep, when there is no activity and food is required for only the bodily functions that go on during sleep. Sitting requires more food than sleeping, standing, a still greater amount, and walking, still more, because of the increase in energy needed for these activities.

In a rough way, the various occupations for both men and women are cla.s.sified under three different heads: Light Work, Moderate Work, and Heavy Work. It is necessary that these be understood in examining this table.

TABLE III

CALORIES PER POUND FOR 24 HOURS FOR ADULTS Occupation Calories Sleeping............................... 12 Sitting................................ 14 Standing............................... 17 Walking................................ 20 Light work............................. 22 Moderate work.......................... 24 Heavy work............................. 27

Those considered as doing light work are persons who sit or stand at their employment without any great degree of activity. They include stenographers, dressmakers, milliners, teachers, clerks, shoemakers, tailors, machine operators, elevator operators, and conductors.

Moderate work involves a little more activity than light work, but not so much as heavy work. Professional cooks, professional housekeepers, housekeepers in their own homes, professional chambermaids, waitresses, masons, drivers, chauffeurs, plumbers, electricians, and machinists come under this cla.s.s.

Persons doing heavy work are the most active of all. They include farmers, laundresses, excavators, lumbermen, miners, metal workers, and soldiers on forced march.

39. To show the variation in the amount of food required according to body weight, Table IV is given. The scale here presented has been worked out for two persons who are normal and whose weight is correct, but different, one weighing 130 pounds and the other 180 pounds. It is a.s.sumed, however, that they are occupied in 24 hours with activities that are identical, each one sleeping 8 hours, working at moderate labor for 8 hours, walking 2 hours, standing 2 hours, and sitting 4 hours.

TABLE IV

DIFFERENCE IN FOOD REQUIREMENTS THROUGH VARIATION IN WEIGHT

Number of Calories for 130 Pounds 8 hours, sleeping ....... 520 4 hours, sitting ........ 303 2 hours, standing ....... 184 2 hours, walking ........ 216 8 hours, moderate work 1,040 -- ----- 24 2,263

Number of Calories for 180 Pounds 8 hours, sleeping ....... 720 4 hours, sitting ........ 430 2 hours, walking ........ 300 2 hours, standing ....... 238 8 hours, moderate work 1,440 -- ----- 24 3,128