Show build your dit diet e on simple foods to lower costs nutrition study reveals ways of keeping healthy on limited budget CHICAGO ILL the average normal american needs from three to tour four pounds of food a day he can buy it for an average cost ot of as little as seven cents a pound even at prices he can be amply and healthfully nourished on 25 cents a day if necessary if he will build his diet around a few s simple plentiful foods according to a current low cost nutrition study millions a of f low income and moderate income american families are undernourished today because of wasteful spending of their food money which in turn is the result partly of over civilized eating habits and partly of lack of education in food values the study says much of their precious food money goes for items of little or no food value taste ticklers and stimulants if the american housewife with a limited food budget will see that each member of her family over 10 years old gets a pound of whole wheat foods and a pound one pint of milk per day she need not study elaborate tables of vitamins calories and minerals this study by northwestern lile life insurance company continues the pint of 01 milk and a pound of entire wheat flour together with other makings for a loaf of bread will cost 15 cents or less and will supply most of the proteins vitamins and minerals needed for healthful vigorous living if she will further enrich curich her bread with a couple of ounces of soy flour and spend another 7 or 8 cents a day per person on potatoes and carrots an occasional orange or can of tomato juice and a bit abitol of fatty meat two or three times a week her family can be completely nourished for about 25 cents a day per person or seven dollars a week for a family of four the study shows additional food money coney aVal available lable can then be used to add variety and I 1 luxuries ux urles to this has basic ic health diet which the study emphasizes pha sizes Is not a so called mini mum standard diet but furnishes the various necessary food ile elements ments more bountifully than many expensive menus and can be combined to make more than 50 different dishes variety Is expensive the average american family has avoided serious diet deficiencies in the past simply by eating a wide variety of foods this is the easiest and pleasant est but also the most expensive way the study r tates states where income is low and prices are rising more reliance must be placed upon such low cost high value combinations as wheat and milk if a complete and healthful diet is to be maintained on an a small food budget the whole wheat grain boiled or steamed makes a tasty and sustaining breakfast cereal the study states put through a home coffee grinder twice the wheat becomes an inexpensive coarse flour which bakes into a delicious nutlike nut like bread rich with the flavor of the tresh fresh ground wheat grain observing that the average urban american even of low income may not make this return to pioneer days with a coffee grinder in his steam heated kitche kitchenette the study suggests that whole wheat flour can be obtained at many groceries together with numerous prepared whole wheat cereals whole wheat bread of the per cent grade retails at 9 to 10 cents a pound in most cities and day old bread can frequently be bought at half price for infants and young children and for oldsters with weaker digestive tracts the study recommends the enriched farina and the new enriched white loaf which gives almost the same food values as whole wheat bread present defense prosperity is very s spotty potty th the e study states and has boosted the income of many families who p previously ly could scarcely spare pare a 25 c cents a day per person for food while at the same time millions of other families with fixed incomes find their purchasing power sharply reduced by soaring prices still greater rises in living costs see seem inevitable unless adequate large scale efforts are made to control cost elements extraordinary demands due to the war and to defense preparations are likely soon to be reflected in the prices of milk and other dairy products the report observes sells whole wheat A promotion campaign to sell the american public on the value of whole wheat Is suggested by the report along the lines of the dairy campaign which has been promoting greater use of milk with an embarrassing surplus of wheat on hand present U S consumption of wheat products averages only 6 ounces per capita if this could be increased to a pound of entire wheat products per capita plus a pound of milk the health and vitality of the nation would climb and our wheat surplus problems would be largely solved the study states such a wheat promotion campaign should not only broadcast the scores of tempting ways in which whole wheat can be served says the report it should also see that whole wheat is available through the family grocery store in many licali ties at present wheat can only be obtained at a teed feed store or flour mill other low cost foods which can be interchanged with the basic diet of whole wheat and milk for the sake of variety are oatmeal and barley used as cooked c cereals or mixed in with the wh whole ole wheat flour also corn bread and corn meal mush potato soup and navy beans |