Foods and home making

Calcium is another of the minerals of which most persons are likely to get too little. If you had a quart of milk to-day, you had some calcium, as explained on page 65. By studying Figure 92 you will learn that vegetables and some other foods are rich in calcium also. We need to eat calcium-rich foods every day. As stated on page 66, drinking milk is the best way to get calcium. 268 Luncheon or Supper However, eating fresh vegetables helps to supply calcium as well as other minerals. A third mineral of which we are likely to get too little is phos- phoms. If you have eaten eggs, whole-wheat bread, and vege- tables to-day, you have had some phosphorus. Milk contains phosphorus as well as calcium. By studying Figure 93 you can learn what foods are rich in phosphorus. Eat phosphorus-rich foods every day. Boston brown bread, dandelion greens, cauliflower, dried beans, cheese, whole milk, spinach, dried figs, buttermilk, orange, celery. Milk is the best source of calcium. Vegetables contain all three of the elements — iron , calcium, and phosphorus — of which we are likely to get too little. This is one of the reasons why we need vegetables every day. If you live in the region of the Great Lakes or in the states that are far away from the ocean, you may not be getting enough iodine in your food. Lack of iodine may cause goiter. Although only a very small quantity of iodine is needed, that little is very necessary to good health. Iodine is present in sea water. Vege- tables grown near the seashore and salt-water fish contain iodine. Fresh Vegetables 269 It is believed enough iodine will be supplied to persons living near the ocean if milk and green vegetables are used freely.1 In certain cities situated in the goitrous region, iodine is put in the water supply. Some persons use iodized salt, that is, table salt containing a small quantity of iodine. This salt is believed to be beneficial if not too much is used. Excessive use of iodized salt may be harmful. Figure 93. Phosphorus-Rich Foods Cheese, wheat bran, kidney beans, milk, spinach, cauliflower, eggs, cocoa, Graham bread, Brussels sprouts. Why should we know how to classify vegetables ? Spinach is the leaf of a plant, the carrot is a root, the white potato is a tuber (a thickened part of an underground stem) , celery is a stem. Corn and tomatoes are really fruits, but they are used as vegetables. From this we can realize that different parts of plants are used as food. To know from what part of a plant a 1 See page 193 of The Foundations of Nutrition by Mary Swartz Rose, The Macmillan Company. 270 Luncheon or Supper vegetable comes helps one in learning about the composition of vegetables for the following reason : In general it can be said that roots, tubers, and seeds are starchy vegetables, while leaves, stems, and fruits used as vegetables are juicy vegetables containing only a little starch. All the vegetables contain mineral matter, vitamins, and cellulose, some containing more of these nutrients than others. Knowing the composition of a vegetable helps us to understand its value as a food. This knowledge helps us also to know what vegetables to use together and what vegetables to use with other foods.