How to select foods.I,What the body needs /Caroline L. Hunt and Helen W. Atwater.

HOW TO SELECT FOODS

I. WHAT THE BODY NEEDS

CAROLINE L. HUNT and HELEN W. ATWATER

Scientific Assistants, Office of Home Economics

FARMERS' BULLETIN 808
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Contribution from the States Relations Service
A. C. TRUE, Director

Washington, D. G.

March, 1917

vu^<^

THIS BULLETIN does not attempt to make
definite suggestions for obtaining food at
low cost or to recommend any special foods or
combinations of foods. It tells very simply what
the body needs to obtain from its food for build-
ing its tissues, keeping it in good working order,
and providing it with fuel or energy for its mus-
cular work. It shows in a general way how the
different food materials meet these needs and
groups them according to their uses in the body.
It suggests that, by remembering these groups
and having them all suitably represented in the
daily diet, the housekeeper can easily plan at-
tractive meals which meet the needs of her family
without waste of money or material.

Walter Clinton Jackson Library

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Special Collections & Rare Books

World War I Pamphlet Collection

Gift of Greensboro Public Library

HOW TO SELECT FOODS^

I. WHAT THE BODY NEEDS.

Purpose of this bulletin

The day's food

What the day's food should provide.
Grouping foods to show their uses—

Page.
How to tell whether or not the diet

is adequate 11

General suggestions 13

PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN.

How can the housekeeper tell whether or not she is providing the
food which her family needs and is getting the best possible returns
for the money she spends? Unfortunately, the price she pays for
food is no test of the nourishment it yields to the body. Tomatoes
at 5 or 10 cents apiece in winter do not build body tissues nor furnish
fuel for the body engine any better than those at 5 cents a quart in
summer, nor does fancy capon at 40 cents a pound nourish the healthy
body more generously than fowl at half the price. Appetite is not
always a safe guide. A child's appetite might be satisfied with a
diet of nothing but sugar, but this certainly would not be good for
him. Neither can hunger and its satisfaction always be relied on.
A bulky diet of potatoes or bananas alone would soon make a person
feel that he had eaten enough, but would not furnish all that the
body needs.

Evidently what a person who plans meals ought to know is what
things the body needs in its food and how these needs can be filled
by the ordinary food materials. This paper is intended to give such
information in a simple way. It should make plain that different
kinds or classes of foods serve different uses in the body and should
help the housekeeper to choose those which will serve all these uses
without waste.

1 Prepared under the direction of C. F. Langworthy, Chief, Office of Home Economics.
Note. — This bulletin gives a simple method of selecting and combining food materials
to provide an adequate, attractive, and economical diet,

79363°— Bull. 808—17 3

.A

THIS BULLETIN does not attempt to make
definite suggestions for obtaining food at
low cost or to recommend any special foods or
combinations of foods. It tells very simply what
the body needs to obtain from its food for build-
ing its tissues, keeping it in good working order,
and providing it with fuel or energy for its mus-
cular work. It shows in a general way how the
different food materials meet these needs and
groups them according to their uses in the body.
It suggests that, by remembering these groups
and having them all suitably represented in the
daily diet, the housekeeper can easily plan at-
tractive meals which meet the needs of her family
without waste of money or material.

Walter Clinton Jackson Library

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Special Collections & Rare Books

World War I Pamphlet Collection

Gift of Greensboro Public Library

HOW TO SELECT FOODSJ

T \A/iTAT ^^l-n7 Dnrkv attttj^t^

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jeoartment of Agriculture
i:>itPS Rfflatioris Service
•'• C T'-ije: Director

R-epared by

C.FLANGWORTHY

Chief. Office of Home Economics

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Page.

e is providing the
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ourish the healthy
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4 FARMERS BULLETIN 808.

THE DAY'S FOOD.

A man who does fairly hard miiscuhir work would be likely to
get the food which his body needs if supplied daily with such a
combination of foods as the following:

li pounds of bread, having about the same food value as 1 pound of such cereal

preparations as wheat or rye flour, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice, etc.
2 ounces, or i cup, of butter, oil, meat drippings, or other fat.

2 ounces, or i cup, of sugar ; or ^ cup of honey, or sirup, or an equivalent

amount of other sweet.

1| pounds of food from the following : Fresh fruits and green or root vegtables.

12 ounces of food from a class which may be called " meats and meat substi-
tutes" ; that is, moderately fat meats, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, dried
legumes (beans, peas, lentils, cowpeas, and peanuts). Milk also belongs
among these foods, but because of the large amount of water it contains
half a glass, or 4 ounces, of it would be required to equal an ounce of any
one of the others.

A man who works hard out of doors all day probably would need
more food than this, and one who sits all day at his desk would need
less. The amounts given are suitable for a man who, like a salesman
in a store, walks about more or less and does more or less of such
work as lifting.

A family consisting of a man and a woman who do moderately
hard muscular work and three children — say, between 3 and 12 years
of age — would get the food they require if supplied daily with:

4i pounds of bread, having the same food value as 3 pounds of wheat or rye

flour, oatmeal, cornmeal or hominy, or rice; or about 25 pounds of

cereals and 5 or 6 medium-sized potatoes.
i cup of fat (butter or butter with oil, beef drippings, or other fat) — a weekly

allowance of 2* to 3 pounds.
A little more than 1 cup of sugar, or a weekly allowance of 4 pounds; or an

equivalent amount of some other sweet.
4 pounds in all of fresh fruits and fresh or root vegetables.

One of the two following, the choice depending on the age of the children :

3 quarts of milk and 1 pound of other foods taken from the meat and meat-

substitute group.
2 quarts of milk and lA pounds of other foods taken from the meat and meat-
substitute group.

This rather rough calculation is based on the assumption that
cereals contain, on the average, about 12 per cent protein (see p. 7, B) ,
1 per cent fat, and 75 per cent carbohydrates, and that 1 pound of
bread contains about | of a pound of cereal; that butter, oil, lard, and
other fatty foods average 90 per cent fat ; that fresh fruits and fresh
and root vegetables average about ^ per cent protein and 10 per cent
carbohydrates, with negligible quantities of fat ; and that meats, fish,
eggs, cheese, etc., as purchased, may be considered to average about
14 per cent each of protein and fat. The estimate also assumes that
all the fat obtained with the meats, etc., is utilized, being either eaten
with the meat or saved for use in cookery. Under these conditions

HOW TO SELECT FOODS. 5

the fuel value of the diet would be about 10,000 calories per family
per day, or the equivalent amount of 3,000 calories per man per day ;
the protein value would be about 3.30 grams per family, or 100 grams
per man per day.

Figure 1 represents the materials in such a ration. The cereals
include 11 pounds of bread, one ordinary -sized portion of rolled oats
(one-fourth pound in all), and one of rice for each person (one-half
pound in all), and a pound of flour for use in cooking. The meat
and meat-substitute group includes 2 quarts of milk, 1 pound of
beef, and two eggs. The food value of the ration pictured on the
cover is practically the same as in figure 1, but there more bread is
used and a little more meat is given to make up for the eggs shown in
figure 1. The combinations of food materials shown in these pictures

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food for a family of five.

are no better than many others. By studying them in connection
with what is said in the text the housekeeper may understand better
how to make wise combinations of her own.

In the combinations of food materials here pictured bread and
other preparations of cereals are used as freely as they can con-
veniently be without making the ration one sided or unattractive.
Such cereal foods form a very wholesome and economical basis for
the diet, Avhether the cereal is used as a breakfast dish, as flour or
meal in bread and cakes, or in other ways. A diet equally nourish-
ing and wholesome might be planned with less cereal, but this would
make it necessary to increase the amount of the more costly foods,
such as meat, fruits, vegetables, and sweets. When cereals are used
as largely as in the diet just described it is most important that they

6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 808.

be made as attractive as possible. This means good bread, well-
cooked and carefully salted breakfast cereals, and inexpensive but
well-made and seasoned cakes and puddings. Rice, macaroni, and
hominy can often be made more appetizing and nutritious by com-
bining with them small amounts of materials which are not so cheap
and have more distinctive flavors. Among these are meat and cheese,
and onion, tomato, and other seasoning vegetables. Examples of
such combinations are rice and meat, meat pie, or meat with dump-
lings; macaroni and cheese; tomatoes cooked with bread crumbs or
rice; and cereal and fruit puddings, or cereal and milk puddings.

Food materials such as those shown in the pictures may be com-
bined into three meals in many ways. The following meals are
given, not because they are recommended above many others that
might be used, but simply to show that such foods can be combined
into dishes such as are commonly used in American homes.
Sample Meals for a Family.
(Man, woman, and three small children.)

BREAKFAST.

Fruit, li pounds of fresh fruit (equivalent to 3 medium-sized oranges, 5 small

apples, or a quart-box of strawberries), or 3 or 4 ounces of dried fruits

(equivalent to 10 or 12 dates or 4 or 5 figs).
Cereal breakfast food, 4 ounces before being cooked, or about li pints after it

is cooked. The equivalent in food value in puffed or flaked, ready-to-eat

cereals would be 5 or 6 cups.
Milk on cereal, i cup for each person.

Sugar on fruit, on cereal, or in coffee, 2* level tablespoons or li ounces.
Bread, 8 slices, or 8 ounces.
Butter, li ounces, or 2^ cubic inches.
An egg or 2 ounces of meat, fish, or poultry for each older person, and a glass

of milk for each young child.

DINNER.

INIeat, or fish, i pound per grown person ; or, for each child, an egg or a glass

of milk.
Potatoes (5 medium sized), 1^ pounds.

Another vegetable (turnips, spinach, corn, cauliflower, or other), 1 pound.
Bread, 8 slices, or 8 ounces.
Butter, IJ ounces, or 2i cubic inches.
Steamed apple (or other fruit) pudding. (Ingredients: Two cups flour, 2

tablespoons butter, f cup milk, 4 apples, 1 tablespoon sugar.)
Sauce. ( Ingredients : One-half cup sugar, 1^ tablespoons flour, 2 teaspoons

butter, i cup water, flavoring.)

SUPPER.

A gravy made out of 1 pint of skim milk, J cup flour, 2 level teaspoons butter,
and 4 ounces salt or smoked fish (just enough for flavor). To this can
be added the egg yolk left from the frosting of the cake. (See below.)

Rice, 8 ounces, or 1 cup, measured before being cooked.

Bread, 8 slices, or 8 ounces.

Butter, 1| ounces, or 2^ cubic inches.

One-half of a cake. (Ingredients for whole cake: One-fourth cup butter, i cup
sugar, 1 egg, i cup milk, lA cups flour, 2^ teaspoons baking powder.)

Frosting made with 1 egg white and i cup sugar.

HOW TO SELECT FOODS. 7

WHAT THE DAY'S FOOD SHOULD PROVIDE.

The above meals Avoiikl supply the following substances in about
the right proportions to keep the family in healthful condition and
to make the food taste good, providing they were Avell prepared.

A. Mineral substances of great variety (lime salts, compounds of
phosphorus, iron, and others). — These are used by the body for build-
ing material and are found in all parts of it. They also produce
substances within the body tissues which tend to offset acid substances
produced in the tissues in the course of digestion of meats and cereals
and serve many other important uses. Without fruits and vegetables
the meals would be likely to lack certain mineral substances. With-
out milk they would be lacking in a mineral substance specially
needed by children ; that is, lime.

B. Protein. — Protein serves as fuel for the body and also provides a
certain important element, nitrogen, which is needed in the case of
children for growth and in the case of both children and grown
people to keep the body in repair. Without the meat or meat substi-
tutes (including milk) the meals would be lacking in this body -build-
ing material.

C. Starch. — This is one of the chief fuels of the body and is sup-
plied mainjy by the cereal foods.

D. Sugar. — This serves as fuel for the body and to flavor the food.
It is found in milk, fresh fruits, and many other materials, but unless
small amounts of very sweet materials — sugar itself, sirup, or honey —
are used, the diet is likely to be lacking in it.

E. Fat. — This serves as body fuel and also improves the flavor and
texture of the food. It is present in meats, nuts, and many other
foods, but unless small amounts of specially fat materials, like
butter, oil, or cream, are used, the meals are likely to be lacking in it.
Moreover, dishes cooked without a certain amount of fat and meals
served without butter or some substitute seem, to most persons, dry
and unpalatable.

F. Cellulose. — This is the material which makes up the framework
of plants. It gives bulk to the diet and may tend to prevent consti-
pation. Without the fruits and vegetables the meals would be lack-
ing in this important element.

G. Certain newly discovered substances in very small amounts.,
which are believed to play an important part in keeping people well
and in promoting the growth of children. Without milk in the diet
some of these substances, particularly those necessary for children,
would be lacking, and without meat, milk, eggs, fruits, and vege-
tables others needed by persons of all ages might not be present in
sufficient amounts.

8 FARMERS BULLETIN 808.

H. Flavorings and condiments.— -In most families some materials
are used in preparing or serving food which add to the attractivenesg
of the meals without furnishing the body any nourishment. Among
these are salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, spices, seasoning herbs,
horse-radish, flavoring extracts, and many other materials often
spoken of as "condiments." These are not discussed at length,
because they are not absolutely needed by the body. They may,
however, be very useful in making an otherwise unattractive diet
taste good. In fact, the secret of making inexpensive meals attrac-
tive lies largely in the skillful use of seasoning and flavors, and in
this way they may well be worth the cost they add to the diet even
if they do not increase its actual food value.

Any kind of food contains one or more of the substances just
described, and they are combined in as many different waj^s as there
are kinds of food. A satisfactory diet contains all of them and
each in its proper proportion, and the problem of planning meals is
really that of choosing foods which will do this.

GROUPING FOODS TO SHOW THEIR USES.

Perhaps as easy a way as any to select the right foods is to group
the different kinds according to their uses in the body and then
to make sure that all the groups are represented regularly in the
meals. Fortunately no more than five groups need be considered:
(1) Fruits and vegetables; (2) meats and other protein-rich foods;
(3) cereals and other starchy foods; (4) sweets; and (5) fatty foods.
The materials under each of these heads have their special uses.
It will be helpful, therefore, for the housekeeper to form the habit
of thinking of the many different kinds of food which she handles
as grouped in some such way as the following :

Group 1. — Fruits and vegetables, such as apples, bananas, berries,
citrus fruits, spinach and other greens, turnips, tomatoes, melons,
cabbage, green beans, green peas, green corn, and many other vegeta-
bles and fruits. Without these the food would be lacking in mineral
substances needed for building the body and keeping it in good
working condition; in acids which give flavor, prevent constipation,
and serve other useful purposes; and in minute quantities of other
substances needed for health. By giving bulk to the diet they make
it more satisfying to the appetite.

Group 2. — Meat and meat substitutes, or protein-rich foods : Mod-
erately fat meats, milk, poultry, fish, cheese, eggs, dried legumes
(beans, peas, lentils, cowpeas, peanuts), and some of the nuts. These
are sources of an important body-building material, protein. In the
case of children part of the protein food should always be whole
milk.

HOW TO SELECT FOODS. 9

Group 3. — Foods rich in starch: Cereals (wheat, rice, rye, barley,
oats, and corn) and potatoes (white and sweet). Cereals come near
to being complete foods, and in most diets they supply more of the
nourishment than any other kind of food. It is not safe, however,
to live only on cereals. The grains may be simply cleaned and par-
tially husked before cooking, as in cracked wheat and KScotch oat-
meal ; they may be ground into flour and used as the basis of breads,
cakes, pastry, etc.; or they may be partially cooked at the factory,
as in many breakfast preparations; or they may be prepared in the
form of such pastes as macaroni, noodles, etc. In all these forms
they furnish the body with the same general materials, though in
different proportions.

Group 4. — Sugar (granulated, pulverized, brown, and maple),
honey, molasses, sirup, and other sweets. Unless some of the fuel is
in this form the diet is likely to be lacking in flavor.

Group 5. — Foods very rich in fat: Bacon, salt pork, butter, oil,
suet, lard, cream, etc. These are important sources of body fuel.
AVithout a little of them the food would not be rich enough to taste
good.

Some food materials really belong in more than one group.
Cereals, for example, supply protein as well as starch; potatoes
supply starch as well as the mineral matters, acids, cellulose, and
body-regulating substances, for which they are especially valuable;
and most meat supplies fat as well as protein. For the sake of sim-
plicity, however, each material is here grouped according to the
nutrient for which it is usually considered most valuable. These
points are all brought out in more detail in other bulletins which
discuss the special groups.

The lists given below show some of the common food materials
arranged in these five groups. If the housekeeper wdll consult them
in planning meals until she has learned where each kind of food be-
longs, she will have taken the first step toward providing a diet
which will supply all the food needs of her family. It will be only
one step, to be sure, but it should prevent two mistakes — ^that of
serving meals that have not sufficient variety, and that of cutting
down in the wrong places wdien economy either of time or money is
needed :

Group 1. — Foods depended on for mineral matters,
vegetable acids, and body-regulating substances.

Fruits :

Apples, pears, etc.

Bananas.

Berries.

Melons.

Oranges, lemons, etc.

Etc.

Vegetables :

Salads — lettuce, celery, etc.
Potherbs or " greens."
Potatoes and root vegetables.
Green peas, beans, etc.
Tomatoes, squash, etc.
Etc.

10 FARMEES BULLETIN 808.

Group 2. — Foods depended on for protein.

Milk, skim milk, clieese, etc.

Eggs.

Meat.

Poultry.

Fish.

Dried peas, beans, cowpeas, etc.

Nuts.

Group 3. — Foods depended on for starch.

Cereal grains, meals, flours, etc.

Cereal breakfast foods.

Bread.

Crackers.

Macaroni and other pastes.

Cakes, cookies, starchy puddings,

etc.
Potatoes and other starchy

vegetables.

Group 4. — Foods depended on for sugar.

Sugar.
Molasses.
Sirups.
Honey.

Candies.

Fruits preserved in sugar, jel-
lies, and dried fruits.
Sweet cakes and desserts.

Group 5. — Foods depended on for fat.

Butter and cream.
Lard, suet, and other cooking
fats.

Salt pork and bacon.
Table and salad oils.

Thinking of foods according to the group to which they belong or
according to the nutrient which they supply in largest amount will
help the housekeeper to see whether in the meals she plans she has
supplied all the different materials needed, especially whether there
is the necessary, though small, amount of tissue-building mineral
matters and body-regulating materials (group 1), and of tissue-build-
ing protein (group 2). When she has made sure that these are pres-
ent, she may safely build up the bulk of the diet from whatever ma-
terials from the other groups that seem economical, wholesome, and
appetizing. By means of this grouping she will be reminded that
meals consisting only of cereal mush (group 3) served with butter
(group 6) and sirup (group 4) would not be a complete ration, and
would almost surely be lacking in body-building material, because
there are no foods from either group 1 (fruits and vegetables) or
group 2 (protein rich). It will become clear, also, that a school
lunch of a kind far too frequently served, consisting of bread and
cake, is lacking in the same way, and that a glass of milk (group 2)
and an apple or an orange (group 1) would make it far more nearly
complete. She will learn the wisdom of serving fruit (group 1)
rather than a whipped-cream dessert (group 5) or a suet pudding
(groups 3 and 5) after a course including a generous portion of fat
meat (groups 2 and 5).

The grouping will also help the housekeeper who wishes to save
money or time to simplify her meals without making them one-sided

HOW TO SELECT FOODS. 11

or incomplete. For example, if she has been serving bread, potatoes,
and rice or hominy in one meal, she will see that one or even two of
them may be left out without omitting any important nutrient, pro-
viding- a reasonable quantity of the one or two remaining is eaten.
It will show her that a custard Avhich is made of milk and eggs, two
foods from group 2, would hardly be needed after a meal in Avhich
a liberal supply of meat had been served, provided one ate heartily
of all, and that a child does not need milk at the same meal with an
egg or meat. It will suggest that baked beans or other legumes, or
thick soups made of legumes, are substitutes for meat rather than
foods to be eaten with meat.

This method of planning prevents substituting one food for an-
other which has an entirely different use. It prevents the house-
keeper, for example, from trying to give a pleasant variety by using
an extra amount of cakes or sweet desserts in the place of fruit and
vegetables when the latter seem difficult to obtain. Sugar is nutri-
tious and has a valuable place in the diet, but the nourishment it
furnishes is fuel and not the body-building and body-regulating
materials which are found in fruits and vegetables, and it is not safe
to cut them out, even if the meals can be made attractive . without
them. Fortunately, they are not always so hard to obtain as it
seems, and the wise housekeeper will make every effort to supply
them. In general, economy within each group is safer than using an
inexpensive food from one group in place of an expensive one from
another group.

Thinking in terms of these groups will also help when laying in
supplies. Dried peas and beans and dried fish, canned fish, and
meat, and some kinds of cheese keep for a long time and can be used
in place of fresh meat in an emergency. Fruits and vegetables put
up when they are abundant will help to supply this important group
in winter.

Farm women can look even farther ahead, and often can plan to
raise a variety of foods for use when it is difficult to buy at reason-
able prices ; for example, enough beans to give the family a generous
supply. Though navy beans have been most largely used in this
country, there are many other good and easily grown kinds that can
be chosen to give variety. In the South cowpeas should not be over-
looked. If sugar is high in price honey can be produced, aiid home-
made or purchased sorghum, maple, or cane sirup can be used.

HOW TO TELL WHETHER OR NOT THE DIET IS ADEQUATE.

It is very hard for a housekeeper to know exactly how much of
each of the food substances or nutrients her family needs or exactly
how much of each she is giving them. The exact amount which each
person needs depends upon age, sex, size, and amount of work done
with the muscles. An elderly person, or one of quiet habits, needs

12 FARMERS BULLETIN 808.

less food than a vigorous, young one; a large person more than a
small one; a man more than a woman; grown persons more than
children; and a farmer working in the hayfield, a mechanic, or a
football player more than a man who sits at his desk all day.

In order to calculate exactly how much starch, sugar, fat, protein,
etc. (or, what is equivalent to this, how much protein and energy)
the family needs one would have to know exactly how much muscu-
lar work each member was performing and also exactly how much of
the different nutrients each food contained and exactly how much
each person would eat. This, of course, would mean a great deal of
figuring. Fortunately, such exactness is not necessary in ordinary
life. If a little too much or too little of one nutrient is provided at
a single meal or on a single day a healthy body does not suffer,
because it has ways of storing such a surplus and of using its stored
material in an emergency. The danger would come if the diet taken
week in and week out always provided too much or too little of some
one nutrient. Against this danger the housekeeper can more easily
protect her family.

Habit and custom help greatly, because they usually are based on
what the experience of generations has proved is wise and healthful,
though, of course, there are bad habits and outgrown customs in food
as in everything else. Good food habits, it must be remembered, in-
clude more than cleanliness and order in everything that has to do
with food and meals and leisurely ways of eating. Equally impor-
tant are a liking for all kinds of wholesome foods, even if they have
not always been used in one's home or neighborhood, and eating rea-
sonable amounts, without being either greedy or overdainty. Every
effort should be made to train children in such good food habits. If
older people have not learned them, they, too, should try to do so, for
such things are very important not onlj^ to health but also to economy.
To refuse to eat some wholesome dish simply because one is not accus-
tomed to it may prevent the use of some very desirable and economical
food. To feel that there is any virtue in providing more food than is
needed shows poor taste as well as poor economy.

The health and appearance of the family are a good test of the
wholesomeness of their diet. If they are strong, well developed for
their ages, free from ailments, and full of energy and ambition, one
may safely say their food agrees with them. But if they are listless
and ailing, or not as well developed either physically or mentally as
they should be, and if a competent physician finds that there is no
special disease to account for these bad symptoms, a mother may well
ask herself if the food is right, and if not, how she can make it so.

In such cases she might, for instance, apply for information on food
and diet to her State leader in agriculture and home economics and to
the home-economics department of her State agi'icultural college.

HOW TO SELECT FOODS. 13

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.

It is believed that it is impossible to plan the meals for a family
wisely without at least as much knowledge of how different kinds
of food serve the body as this bulletin has given and that the
safest short cut to good planning lies in considering foods in the
five groups here described. Ways of making economical use of the
materials in each group can not be discussed in this bulletin, but a
few general suggestions for getting the most for one's money in the
matter of food may be made here.

Use cereals (flour, meal, cereal breakfast foods, etc.) freely, taking
pains to prepare them Avith great care and to vary the kind used
from day to day if necessary to keep people from tiring of them.

Remember that a quart of whole milk a day for each child, to be
used as a beverage and in cookery, is not too much.

Remember that while skim milk should never be substituted for
whole milk as the principal food in a child's diet, it is as valuable as
whole milk as a source of protein and mineral matters in the general
diet.

Remember that, except in the case of milk for children, the amount
needed of foods specially useful for body-building purposes — that is,
meats and meat substitutes, fruits, and vegetables — is not large, but
what is needed is needed very much.

Do not be ashamed to plan closely. Thrift in food means provid-
ing enough food, neither too little nor too much.

Notice carefully how much of such staples as flour, sugar, milk,
cooking fat, etc., is used each week for a month, and see if there are
any ways of cutting down the quantity consumed.

Buy nonperishable materials in quantities if better prices can be
secured and there is a good storage place in the home. Neighbors
can sometimes club together to get lower rates.

Try to make the dishes served of such size that there will be enough
to satisfy the appetite of the family and no unnecessary table and
plate waste.

Do not be above noticing whether anything usable is thrown away
with the garbage, which always shows how thriftily food is used in
a household.

Many inexpensive materials can be made attractive and the diet
can be pleasantly varied by a wise use of different flavorings.

" Finicky " tastes in food often prevent the use of many valuable
materials which might be the means of saving money.

Good food habits are an important part of personal hygiene and
thrift. Children get such habits by having suitable amounts of suit-
able foods served to them and then being expected to eat what is
set before them.

True economy lies not only in buying wisely, but also in making
the fullest possible use of what is bought.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRI-
CULTURE OF INTEREST IN CONNECTION WITH THIS BUL-
LETIN.

AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY THE DEPARTMENT.

Meats: Composition and Coolving. (Farmers' Bulletin 34.)

Beans, Peas, and Otlier Legumes as Pood. (Farmers' Bulletin 121.)

Canned Fruit. Preserves, and Jellies : Household Methods of Preparation.

(Farmers' Bulletin 203.)
Cereal Breakfast Foods. (Farmers' Bulletin 249.)
Preparation of Vegetables for the Table. (Farmers' Bulletin 2.56.)
Use of Fruit as Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 203.)
Food Value of Corn and Corn Products. (Farmers' Bulletin 298.)
The Use of Milk as Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 363.)
Care of Food in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 375.)
Economical Use of Meat in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 391.)
The Care of Milk and Its Use in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 413.)
Mutton and Its Value in the Diet. (Farmers' Bulletin .526.)
Sugar and Its Value as Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 535.)
Use of Corn, Kafir, and Cowpeas in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin .5.59.)
Corn Meal as a Food and Ways of Using It. (Farmers' Bulletin .565.)
Honey and Its Uses in the Home. (Farmers' Bulletin 653.)
School Lunches. (Farmers' Bulletin 712.)
Food for Young Children. (Farmers' Bulletin 717.)
Homemade Fireless Cookers and Their Use. (Farmers' Bulletin 771.)

FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS. GOVERNMENT PRINTING
OFFICE. WASHINGTON, D. C.

Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Food. (Farmers' Bulletin 142.)

Price, 5 cents.
Bread and Bread Making. (Farmers' Bulletin 389.) Price. 5 cents.
The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials. (Office of Experiment

Stations Bulletin 28.) Price, 10 cents.
Iron in Food and Its Functions in Nutrition. (Office of Experiment Stations

Bulletin 185.) Price, 10 cents.
Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus in Food and Nutrition. (Office of Ex-
periment Stations Bulletin 227.) Price, 10 cents.
Composition of Food Materials. (Office of Experiment Stations Food and

Diet Charts 15.) Price per set, $1.
The Food Value and Uses of Poultry. (Department Bulletin 467.) Price,

5 cents.
Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Other Starchy Roots as Food. (Department

Bulletin 468.) Price, 5 cents.
Fats and Their Economical Use in the Home. (Department Bulletin 4G9.)

Price, 5 cents.
Eggs and Their Value as Food. (Department Bulletin 471.) Price, 5 cents.

14

■WASHINGTON : GOVEENMEXT PRINTING OFFICE : 1917