Part 6

A balanced dietary is one that supplies in about the right proportion all the kinds of food required to nourish the body. From the earliest impressions of childhood, many persons have received the idea that the most important article of diet is animal flesh. In most cases, this idea has been accepted without question or thought, and probably has never been challenged. A careful study of the subject, however, will show that with the use of meat, there is great danger of an excess of protein above the minimum requirements, there being thus placed upon the liver and the kidneys an amount of work which should not be imposed on these vitally important organs.

To combine foods in such a way as to supply all the needed elements, we should choose something from each of the different classes of food elements. There should also be among these such as supply sufficient cellulose and mineral. To illustrate this point, a few menus will be given that are extremely unbalanced, or one-sided, that we may understand more forcibly, by contrast, what a good meal is:

1. Soy bean soup \ Lentil patties | / Too much building food Cottage cheese | | Too concentrated Custard pie | \ Too little bulk Milk /

2. White rice \ Mashed potato | Spaghetti | / Too much fuel food White crackers | | Too little bulk and mineral Butter | \ Lacks building food (protein) Cake /

3. Vegetable soup \ Wax beans | / Too little building food Lettuce | | Too little fuel food Stewed beets | | Too bulky Bran biscuit | | Lacking in nourishment Strawberries / \ Bad combination

In order to make a balanced meal out of the above foods, it would be necessary to choose something from each of these unbalanced meals, and it would not be necessary to choose a large variety in order to supply the needs of the body. Upon examination, we find that bread (entire wheat) possesses properties which so nearly represent the constituent parts of the body as to make such bread ideal for the building up and keeping in repair of the human body. In the matter of building food (protein), bread contains about ten per cent, or about the recognized dietary requirement.

Bread is an exceedingly digestible food; and experiments taken as a whole show nearly ninety-eight per cent of the starch, or carbohydrate nutrients, and about eighty-eight per cent of the gluten, or protein constituents, assimilated by the body. See Snyder's "Human Foods," page 179; also table, page 23.

Many other grains, such as corn, oats, rye, barley, and rice, all contain heat- and energy-producing substances and tissue-forming elements in about the right proportion to meet the needs of the body. Exception is made of rice, which is slightly deficient in protein.

Bread of some kind, therefore, is the "backbone" of the meal. Around it are grouped the various fruits and vegetables for change and variety, alternating with one of the more solid foods, rich in protein, such as cottage cheese, eggs, nuts, or any of the various legumes, as peas, beans, lentils, etc. Of all the legumes, the soy bean takes the lead for building food, containing nearly twice the per cent of protein found in round steak. These more hearty foods should be used with discretion, especially during the summer months, when well baked breads, fruits, and green garden products constitute the ideal diet.

Potatoes, which are mostly starch, and eggs, which are largely albumen and fat, may be combined in such a way as to furnish all the needed elements in the right proportion. As rice is nearly all starch, and beans are rich in protein, these make an excellent combination. Nuts, rich in proteins and fats, and fruits, containing sugars and acids, also make an ideal combination. To a meal composed largely of rice and potatoes, which are deficient in fats, there may be added a little cream, a few ripe olives, a few nuts, or an egg, to give a well balanced ration.

The custom of eating a light lunch at noon, and reserving the heaviest meal for the close of the day, while actuated to a great extent by seeming necessities, or convenience, is not, as a rule, found a benefit to health. As a result of a hearty meal at night, the digestive process is continued through the sleeping hours; and though the stomach works constantly, its work is not properly accomplished. The sleep is often disturbed by unpleasant dreams; and in the morning, the person awakes unrefreshed, and with little relish for breakfast.

The practice of eating but two meals a day is generally found a benefit to health; yet under some circumstances, persons may require a third meal. This should, however, if taken at all, be very light, and of foods very easily digested, so that when we lie down to rest, the stomach may have its work all done, and it, as well as the other organs of the body, may enjoy rest.

In the following menus, some allowance is made for variety. Some persons will not require everything named on the menu; and each person will choose such things, and in such amounts, as experience and sound judgment prove to be best suited to his own necessities.

_MENUS FOR ONE WEEK_

SUNDAY

_Breakfast_

STEAMED NATURAL RICE CREAM PEAS ON TOAST STRAWBERRIES CORN BREAD MILK VEGETABLE BUTTER

_Dinner_

ENTIRE WHEAT BREAD BEANS WITH NOODLES LETTUCE CORN ON COB CLUSTER RAISINS BUTTER

_Luncheon_

CREAMED RICE CORN MEAL CRISPS ZWIEBACK PEACH SAUCE CEREAL COFFEE

_Steamed Rice._--Wash one cup of natural brown rice, and put to cook in three cups of boiling water. Let boil gently until the water is absorbed and the rice looks dry; then set on the edge of the stove, well covered, to steam for fifteen minutes.

_Cream Peas on Toast._--One cup drained green peas, one third cup water, three tablespoonfuls rich cream, salt. Bring the water and the peas to a boil, mash through a colander to remove the hulls, and season with cream and salt. Dip a slice of zwieback into hot milk to soften, lay on a platter, cover with a spoonful of the cream of peas, and serve.

_Corn Bread._--One and one third cups corn meal, two tablespoonfuls whole wheat flour, two and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable butter, two tablespoonfuls brown sugar, one and one fourth teaspoonfuls salt, one and one third cups boiling water, two eggs. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter, and pour on the boiling water in a _slow_ stream, stirring while it is being poured in. Add two or three tablespoonfuls of cold water if needed to make a medium batter. Separate the eggs, and beat the whites stiff. Beat the yolks, and fold them into the whites. Add the corn mixture, and mix, using the folding motion. Pour into an oiled shallow baking pan, and bake in a quick oven.

_Butter Substitutes_

Owing to the great increase in disease among animals, and along with this, the advance in prices of nearly all foodstuffs, a desire has been created for some substitute for dairy butter, which would prove both wholesome and appetizing. The following butter substitutes are now used to some extent both for cooking and for table use, and are easily prepared:

_Emulsified Vegetable Oil._--Secure a high grade cottonseed, corn, or peanut oil. Beat one egg slightly, then add the oil in a very slow stream at first, beating continuously, and increase as the egg takes up the oil. Add two teaspoonfuls lemon juice, then more oil, until three cupfuls have been used, and the mixture is smooth and thick. Salt to taste, put into a well covered jar, and use the same as butter.

_Vegetable Butter._--Take three cupfuls of any good coconut product on the market, such as kokofat or kaola, or a good brand of hydrogenated vegetable fat, as crisco.[A] Add the juice of half a lemon, salt to taste, and a few drops of vegetable butter color. Mix with a spoon until the color of dairy butter. The juice from carrots, grated and pressed, may be used instead of the lemon juice and the butter color if desired.

[Footnote A: NOTE.--The presence of a proprietary substance in a recipe must not be understood as guarantee by the authors. We know very little regarding the manufacture of the above named products; but we have reason to believe they are wholesome, and contain no animal products.]

In harmony with the recent food pledge, saying, "Use no butter in cooking," all the recipes in these menus are prepared without the use of dairy butter. However, the same recipes may be prepared with dairy butter instead of the vegetable fats if so desired.

_Beans with Noodles._--Wash one cup navy or Lima beans, add three cups water and a little salt, and let boil gently until tender. Beat one egg slightly, with two teaspoonfuls of water or milk and a pinch of salt. Add one cup of pastry flour, or enough to make a stiff dough. Knead well, and divide into two pieces. Roll out into thin sheets about the thickness of paper, having the dough well floured. Let dry a few minutes, then cut into strips about two inches wide. Lay in tiers, and shred very fine with a sharp knife. Drain the liquid from the beans, add to it enough water to make three cups of liquid, and add salt to taste. Add two teaspoonfuls of vegetable butter, and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the noodles into the boiling broth, and let cook gently for fifteen minutes. Add the cooked beans, and shake together, reheat, and serve. New peas may be substituted for beans when in season.

_Corn on Cob._--Husk full ears of corn, and brush off the silks with a stiff brush. Wash, and drop into boiling water to which has been added a little milk or lemon juice. Bring to a good boil; then draw the saucepan to one side of the stove, and let simmer for twenty minutes.

_Entire Wheat Bread._--Three cups warm water, one half cake compressed yeast, three tablespoonfuls brown sugar, two tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, one tablespoonful salt, seven cups entire wheat flour. Dissolve the yeast in two teaspoonfuls of water, add the liquid, and mix all the ingredients to a medium _soft_ dough. Turn out on a slightly floured board, and knead until elastic to the touch; then return to an oiled bowl, cover, and let stand in a warm room to rise until, when tapped sharply, it _begins_ to sink (about two hours). Work down well, turn over in the bowl, and let rest until it begins to rise again (about fifteen minutes); then mold into loaves, and put into pans for baking. Brush over the top of each loaf with an oiled brush, and let rise until half again its original bulk; then bake in a good oven. These coarse breads must be watched closer during the rising than those made from white flour, as they get light in much less time.

_Creamed Rice._--Heat some milk in a double boiler, and when it is hot, add enough cooked rice to have it creamy, but not too soft. Add a pinch of salt, and a little rich cream, if you have it at hand, and serve.

_Corn Meal Crisps._--One cup white corn meal, one cup pastry flour, one half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful brown sugar, two tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, scant one half cup water. Mix all the dry ingredients, add the oil, and rub between the hands to distribute the fat through the grain. Add the water, and mix to a dough. Roll out to a thickness of one fourth of an inch, cut with a biscuit cutter, prick with a fork, and bake in a hot oven, to a light brown.

_Zwieback._--Cut stale bread into slices about one half inch thick. Lay these in a baking pan, and put them into the warming oven until the moisture is evaporated; then put them into a hot oven until they are a light brown all the way through.

MONDAY

_Breakfast_

CREAM SCRAMBLED EGG WITH NEW TOMATO BUTTER WHEAT PUFFS STEAMED PEARL BARLEY STEWED PRUNES

_Dinner_

SLICED TOMATO FARMER'S FAVORITE SOUP SPINACH ROASTED POTATO WITH DRESSING EGG GRAVY BUTTER RYE BREAD

_Luncheon_

BAKED BANANA TOMATO SANDWICHES BLACKBERRIES RYE BISCUIT MILK CRACKERS

_Steamed Pearl Barley._--Wash one cup pearl barley, and put to cook in four cups boiling water. Add one fourth teaspoonful salt, and let boil gently until the water is absorbed and the grain looks dry; then cover, and set on the edge of the stove to steam for forty minutes. This grain is preferably cooked on a hot stone in the fireless.

_Scrambled Egg with New Tomato._--Rub a large ripe tomato with the back of a knife; then remove the skin, and cut the tomato into pieces. Put it into a small pan, with one teaspoonful vegetable butter and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Break two eggs slightly with a fork, put them into a hot oiled frying pan, and stir until they are soft scrambled. Have the tomato drained, add the pulp to the scrambled eggs, and mix, being careful not to cook the egg too much. Serve on toast.

_Wheat Puffs._--One and one fourth cups sifted pastry flour, one fourth cup whole wheat flour, two teaspoonfuls melted vegetable butter, one fourth teaspoon salt, one cup milk, one egg. Make a batter of the flour, the salt, the milk, the egg yolk, and the butter, and stir smooth. Beat the white stiff, and pour the batter into the beaten white, mixing as it is being poured in, and using the folding motion, so as not to break down the lightness of the egg. Pour into hot oiled iron gem pans, and bake in a quick oven.

_Stewed Prunes._--Wash dried prunes thoroughly, and let them soak overnight. Then bring them to a boil, and let simmer for two hours or more, and they will need no sweetening.

_Farmer's Favorite Soup._--One half cup rich sour cream, one third cup macaroni, one small onion, one stalk celery, one small carrot, one medium sized potato, chopped parsley, salt. Drop the macaroni into three cupfuls boiling salted water, and cook until thoroughly done. Have the vegetables cut into small dice. Put the cream into a small pan, and stir over the fire until the oil separates, and the albumen turns a light brown color. The degree of browning determines the flavor of the soup. Add the diced onion, carrot, and celery, and stir for a few moments. Add three cupfuls water, the diced potato, and a little salt, and cook until the vegetables are thoroughly done. Add the macaroni water to the vegetable soup; then lay the macaroni on a board, cut into small rings, and drop into the soup. Boil up well, add chopped parsley, and serve.

_Roasted Potato._--Peel eight medium sized potatoes, and boil until they are about half done; then drain them, and save the water. Lay the potatoes in an oiled baking pan, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and flour, and put into a hot oven to brown.

_Baked Dressing._--Two cups soaked stale bread, one half cup milk, three tablespoonfuls chopped onion, one and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable butter, three tablespoonfuls browned flour, a pinch of sage and marjoram, and salt to taste. Soak the bread in cold water until it is soft all the way through, then press it out. Put the butter, the onion, and the savory into a small pan, and let them simmer for a few moments, to soften the onion, but do not brown. Add the brown flour, then the milk, and stir smooth. Add the bread, salt to taste, and mix. Bake in an oiled brick tin, or spread among the roasted potatoes when they are partly browned, and finish baking them together.

_Egg Gravy._--Two tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, one teaspoonful chopped onion, three tablespoonfuls flour, one egg, one and one half cups potato water or almost any vegetable broth. Put the oil into a frying pan, and when it is quite hot, add the whole egg. Break the yolk with a fork, turn it over, and stir until brown over the entire surface. Remove the brown egg from the oil, and chop with a knife. Add the flour to the oil, and stir until a light brown. Add the onion, and stir; then the chopped egg and one third of the water, and stir smooth. Add the balance of the water, and boil up. Let simmer for ten minutes, and serve. The egg may be omitted, if desired; but without it, the gravy will have less flavor.

_Spinach._--Wash the greens in several waters. If the spinach is young and tender, it can be cooked with no additional water beyond that remaining on the leaves after washing. As the spinach ages, it absorbs bitter flavor, and should then be cooked in boiling water, with the _cover off_. When done, drain, cut with a knife, season with salt and a little vegetable butter, reheat, and serve.

_Rye Bread._--Two cups warm water, one half cake compressed yeast, one and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, two tablespoonfuls brown sugar, two teaspoonfuls salt, four cups white bread flour, three cups rye flour. Dissolve the yeast in two teaspoonfuls water, add the liquid, and beat in three cups best bread flour to a smooth batter. Cover, and let stand in a warm room to rise for one and one half hours. Add the salt, the sugar, and the oil, and beat into the sponge. Mix in the rye flour and the remaining cup of white flour, to a medium dough. Knead on a board until elastic to the touch, then return to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise the same as for entire wheat bread, in Sunday's lesson. When ready to mold into loaves, roll out six buns, and lay on an oiled pie tin, and let rise for _rye biscuit_. Divide the remaining dough into two parts, and roll out into the shape of ordinary rye bread loaves. Lay in an oiled baking pan, leaving space between. Brush with an oiled brush, and cut three gashes across each loaf with a sharp knife, and let rise until light, then bake in a quick oven.

_Baked Banana._--Select firm, rather ripe bananas, put them into the oven without removing the skins, and bake until the skins burst. Then remove from the oven, and serve in a folded napkin.

_Tomato Sandwiches._--Peel ripe tomatoes without scalding, by first scraping them with the back of a knife; then cut into thin slices. Cut bread into very thin slices, and spread one slice with butter, and the opposite slice with mayonnaise or boiled dressing. Lay tomatoes between the slices, cut in triangles, and serve.

TUESDAY

_Breakfast_

CANTALOUPE SAVORY HASH JELLIED EGG MILK CORN DODGERS HONEY

_Dinner_

SLICED TOMATO NEW ENGLAND DINNER ENGLISH WALNUTS ENTIRE WHEAT BREAD BUTTER CREAM RICE PUDDING

_Luncheon_

MILK TOAST RAISIN SANDWICH PEACH SAUCE UNLEAVENED RYE WAFERS WATERMELON

_Savory Hash._--Two cups cold boiled potatoes cut in dice, three fourths cup of the baked dressing as given in Monday's lesson, cold, and cut into small dice, one and one half tablespoonfuls diced onion, one and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable butter, one tablespoonful brown flour, a pinch of sage or marjoram, one half cup milk, and salt to taste. Put the butter, the onion, and the savory into a small pan, and simmer for a few moments; then add the brown flour and a little of the milk, and stir smooth. Add the balance of the milk, and boil up. Salt to taste, and add the diced food. Sprinkle the diced potato with a little salt, add the gravy mixture, and mix with a fork. Put into an oiled baking pan, brush over the top with a little cream, and bake in a hot oven to a nice brown.

_Jellied Egg._--Put one pint of water into a small, narrow saucepan, and bring to a boil. Drop in one egg with a spoon, and set the saucepan immediately on the table for from seven to eight minutes; then serve. If more eggs are added, the amount of water must be increased proportionately.

_Corn Dodgers._--One cup corn meal (preferably toasted lightly in the oven), one and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, one half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful brown sugar, one and one half cups boiling water. Mix all the dry ingredients, add the fat and pour on the boiling water and stir smooth. A few more tablespoonfuls water may be added if needed to make a batter of such a consistency as to drop from a spoon, but not run. Drop from the side of a spoon, onto an oiled baking pan, and bake in a quick oven.

_Corn Cake._--Use the above recipe, and spread in an oiled baking pan one fourth inch deep, and bake in a hot oven.

_New England Dinner._--Six medium small potatoes, four small carrots, four small turnips, six small onions, one half small cabbage, one and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable butter, and salt to taste. Quarter the peeled turnips and carrots. Add the onions whole, and put into a saucepan with water enough to cover the vegetables, and salt, and bring to a boil. Separate the cabbage leaves, and drop them into another vessel of boiling water, to blanch them for five minutes; then drain, and add to the boiling vegetables. Add the potatoes, and let boil gently until nearly done; then add the vegetable butter, and let simmer until thoroughly done.

_Cream Rice Pudding._--One half cup uncooked white rice, five cupfuls milk, scant one third cup sugar, vanilla flavor. Wash the rice thoroughly, add the milk, and cook in a double boiler for three fourths of an hour. Add the sugar and the vanilla flavor, and pour into an oiled baking pan and bake in a moderate oven. As soon as the first crust forms, stir it down, at the same time stirring the rice. Then allow the last crust to form and brown, and remove from the oven.

_Milk Toast._--Put a piece of zwieback into a bowl, pour scalding hot milk over it, and serve.

_Raisin Sandwich._--Chop one half cup seeded raisins fine, and add one fourth cup ground walnuts. Add one and one half tablespoonfuls mayonnaise dressing and one teaspoonful lemon juice, and mix well. Spread between slices of thinly buttered bread, cut in triangles, and serve.

_Rye Wafers._--One cup rye flour, one cup pastry flour, two and one half tablespoonfuls vegetable fat, two tablespoonfuls brown sugar, one half teaspoonful salt, one half cup water, or barely enough to mix to a stiff dough. Mix all the dry ingredients, add the oil, and rub the flour between the hands to distribute the oil evenly. Add the water very slowly, stirring meantime to avoid getting any part of the flour wet and sticky. Work on the board until mixed, then roll out to one fourth inch thickness, cut with a biscuit cutter, prick with a fork, and bake in a hot oven to a light brown.

_Rye Sticks._--Take the above dough, roll out one half inch thick, cut into long strips about one third inch wide, then crosswise into three-inch lengths. Lay in a baking pan, leaving a little space between, and bake to a light brown color.

WEDNESDAY

_Breakfast_

STEWED CHERRIES STEAMED WHEAT PLAIN OMELET CREAM CORN MEAL PUFFS BUTTER

_Dinner_

VEGETABLE JULIENNE SOUP STRING BEANS MACARONI FAMILY STYLE BUTTER RAISED CORN BREAD WATERMELON

_Luncheon_

WHEAT GRUEL STEWED PRUNES RYE STICKS ZWIEBACK GRAPES MILK

_Steamed Wheat._--Pick over one cup of wheat, and wash in several waters. Let soak overnight; then drain, add four cups boiling water, and let boil slowly until the water is evaporated and the wheat looks dry. Cover, and let stand on the edge of the stove to steam for forty minutes. This grain is best cooked on a hot stone in fireless overnight.

_Plain Omelet._--One egg, one tablespoonful milk, a pinch of salt. Beat the yolk until thick, add the milk, and mix well. Add a pinch of salt to the white, and beat stiff. Fold the yolk into the white, and pour the mixture into a hot oiled fry pan, and set into the oven until just barely _set_. While still in the pan, turn one half of the omelet over the other half, by slipping a knife under one side and turning it over on the other section. Invert on a hot platter, and serve.