A manual of home-making

Meat is not a necea^iary food if other animal foods are used in the dietary. Its greate.st advantage over other animal foods is its palatability. Meat in the diet of Uttle children is always questional>Ie. The protein of meat is very subject Uy putre- faction, and the digestive tract of the child is particularly sus- ceptible to this comiition. The protein of meat is a valuable type but not necessary if milk, cheese, or eggs replace it. Meat con- tains stimulating substances not desirable for the normal child. It has a high iron content, but the susceptlljility of meat to putrefaction may often destroy its value jis a carrier of iron. Iron may often be introduced better in the diet through other foods. Meat lacks lime and has a much more limited quantity of the growth-promoting substance that is carried l)y certain fats than has eiOier milk or eggs, ll contains the secon<l growth- promoting substance (page 412). The protein substitutes for meat are milk, cheese, eggs, and to a lesser extent soybeans and peanuts. Other legumes are not good meat substitutes miless used with milk, cheese, or eggs. Fruits and vegetables should lie used liberally in the dietary, for they are among nature's best lx)dy-cleansing and regulating agents. They furnish sul>stances which stimulate the activity of the intestine, neutrahzc the harmful acids produced hy the tissues, and keep both intt»stine and blood in good condition. Fruits stimulate digestion and are appetizing additions to the 430 A MANUAL OF nOME-MAKING day's focMi Complamt is oftoi made that at certaia fruit and vop;t*tal>les are tot) expensive to Im* used llberaUy. However, tlieir value Ls not romparal»le to the lo.ss of efficiency resulting fixiiii a diet that lacks natural laxatives anti iron. When apples are ehea[j they should Ije baker! or made into apple- sauce and Hhould he canned for use ihiring a season of seareity. CarrotSi beets, turnips, cabbage, onions, and pai-snips art* cheap at a time when other vejz:etableH are expensive, and if carefully prepared they arc easily digested; they not only give variety to the dietary, but also furuish the much-needed vegetable material. I A diet enriched liy fruits and vegetables has a tendency to fl revent or correct anapuiia, to prevent constipation and its ^ prevent or correct anapuna, to prevent const ipati attendant ills, ami to iinj>rnve general health eonditiuns in that it increases the amount of iron furnished to the bUxxl and heJps to prevent a putrefactivT condition in the intestine. The leaves and sterna of plant.s are particularly valuable additiona to the dietary in that they supply lime and fat-soluble growth- promoting substances. Those cereals an^l cereal foods that contain tlie hirger part of the grain should be given preference in the dietary. While such a cereal food as wliite flour retains all the original energy- yielding ingredients and most of the protein, it has lost in the milling process the sul)stance8 occurring in the outer layers, which stimulate the aetix^ity of the intestines, which help in such body functions as bone-building and the foniiation of red blood (Hjrpuscles, and one of which promotes growth.