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Show WHAT to EAT and WHY C. Houston Goudiss Offers Practical Help in Planning Meals That Avoid Hidden Hunger; Illustrates Right and Wrong Methods of Menu Building By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS A GENERATION ago, homemakers approached the problem prob-lem of feeding their families with but two objectives: to put weight on their children and to send adults away from the table with their appetites appeased. If the child failed to gain satisfactorily, or if his teeth were crowded and subject sub-ject to decay, he was said to "take after his Uncle Abner" or perhaps to have inherited the poor teeth of his maternal grandmother. And if adults were chronically tired or suffered suf-fered from "nerves," that, too, was blamed on circumstances circum-stances that had nothing to do with the diet. No one had ever heard of hidden hid-den hunger! For nutritionists had not yet startled the W'WKjstfg World by demon- f ' strating that food may satisfy the ap- " petite and yet fail E, - to feed . . . that the absence of mi- nute amounts of ' " t $ minerals and vita-mins vita-mins may be re-Pf, re-Pf, I - j sponsible for a long k1 'i train of deficiency k2k I J diseases which cause untold misery mis-ery and are responsible for mental men-tal and physical inefficiency. Planning Meals Scientifically Today we know that a definite relationship exists between food consumption and bodily activity, and that normal individuals can usually control body weight by regulating the amount of fuel foods in the diet. We know that minerals and vitamins play a powerful pow-erful part in building and maintaining main-taining sound teeth as well as healthy nerves; and that we can build resistance to disease, defer old age, and even lengthen the span of life by choosing our food, not merely for its appetite appeal, but for the qualities that contribute contrib-ute toward what nutritionists term a balanced diet. The Balanced Diet Every modern homemaker therefore owes it to her family not to plan meals at random, but to take into consideration the seven factors that science has determined deter-mined to be essential for top health. These include: protein for building and repairing body tissue; carbohydrates to produce quick heat and energy; fats, a more compact form of fuel; minerals, min-erals, which serve both as builders, build-ers, and as regulators of body processes; vitamins A, B, C, D, E and G, which act as regulators, and help to prevent the various deficiency de-ficiency diseases; water, which serves as a vehicle by which food is carried to the tissues, and cellulose cellu-lose or bulk, required for the normal nor-mal functioning of the intestinal tract. A Day's Food Plan The various food essentials will be supplied if the three daily meals include a quart of milk for $ every child, a pint for each adult, which may be served as a beverage, bever-age, with cereals, in soups, sauces or made into desserts; an egg daily, or at least three or four weekly; one serving of meat, fish or chicken, usually at the main meal of the day; a second protein food, such as cheese, baked beans or nuts, usually served at lunch or supper; two vegetables besides potatoes, one of which should be of the raw, leafy variety; two servings of fruit, and at least one serving of a whole grain cereal. By adhering to this plan, you will help to supply your family with the necessary proteins, minerals, min-erals, vitamins and cellulose. Fuel foods may be added by way of breadstuffs, macaroni, rice and other cereals; butter or- margarine and the fats used in cooking. Common Errors in Menu Planning Common mistakes in menu planning plan-ning are a concentration of too many proteins or carbohydrates in one meal; the failure to include adequate bulk by way of fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereals; cere-als; and the massing in one meal of too many foods that are high in fat. The following menu, for example, exam-ple, contains more protein than necessary, and too little bulk, yet it is typical of the dinners served t in many homes: Hamburger Steak, Baked Beans, Potatoes, Stewed Corn, Custard Pie. Since both meat and baked beans are rich in protein, they may well be served at separate meals, as indicated by either of the following combinations: Hamburger Ham-burger Steak, Creamed Potatoes, String Beans, Lettuce Salad, Fresh or Cooked Fruit. Or, Baked Beans, Stewed Tomatoes, Cabbage Salad, Custard Pie. In the first menu, the beans, potatoes, po-tatoes, corn and pastry are all high carbohydrate foods. To provide pro-vide additional bulk, as well as to reduce the amount of carbohydrate, carbo-hydrate, it would be advisable to serve a green vegetable such as string beans, and choose fruit instead in-stead of pie for dessert. It is assumed, as-sumed, of course, that eggs would be given in some other form during dur-ing the day. Since baked beans contain both protein and carbohydrate, we omit potatoes in the third menu, and serve a food rich in vitamin C the tomatoes, and add a bulky raw vegetable by way of the salad. It's Balance That Counts It requires no more time or effort ef-fort to prepare nutritionally correct cor-rect meals than those which lack balance, nor is it more expensive. expen-sive. For elaborate meals can lack balance, if they are deficient in minerals, vitamins and bulk, while those composed of such simple foods as bread and milk, and stewed fruits may provide an abundance of the protective substances sub-stances which satisfy the hidden hunger of the body. My plea to homemakers is to give less thought to the preparation prepara-tion of elaborate recipes, and more thought to supplying the food values that will create abundant health and vitality. In that way, I believe we shall take a real step forward in human progress. WNU C. Houston Goudiss 1939 5T |