The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-05-23
DIET FOR A FAMILY.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMER
IcAS FOOD MATERIALS.
False Economy of Bayins Provisions
fn Toe Large Qua ntitfes-The
Danger That Turks in Runnins
Accountability and Nstrimenf
for General Use.
FIRST Article.


who would wisely provide food for fam
tly bulletin recently issued 6y the
United States department Of agriculture.
The Chemical Composition O. American
Food Materials" prepared b. Pro1s- At
water and Woods. viii prove as valuable
70 the student Of foods as dictionary IS
20 the literary worker. Here the conpo-
sltion OF food as purchased. and It's ed
inIs portion. are both given. thus its true
value IS seen az once.
comparison OF the dietaries proposed
hy various authorities shows that the
daily diet should be composed Of one part
protei6 one part fat and from two 10
four parts OF the carbohydrates. These
solid substances are TO be combined ~Fith
about three times their weight OF water.
To express this in another form. the daily
diet OF the average man should way
when he Is at moderate work or az hard
work from four 10 six ounces or fat. an
equal amount Of proteid and about one
pound OF starch. sugar and the Ike A
womans diet is reckoned as about 70 Per
cent of that OF a man. that of boy OF
II or u al 20 per cent. and that of
child under : at 3 per cent.
A brief outline OF the essential classes
OF foods Is desirable for the fun under
standing OF our subject Air and water
are so abundant that their food value IL
rarely considered The out-of-door la
borer Is able 20 assimilate very differ
emf kind OF food from the man whose
air supply is limited. Air apparently
costs nothing. yet its quality varies in
definitely. SO little have we thought OF
IL as food that we have placed our
kitchens where they get almost no air
that Is purified by the sunlight Foods
filied with stale. impure air in the prep
aration cannot be as wholesome as those
prepared elsewhere.
We are more ready 10 count the cost
OF water. because our cities have put
price upon IT, But as yet Americans
seem perfectly satisfied as long as they
have ice-water In abundance. whatever
its source. Since the human body is
largely water, and water must make up
three-fourths of the weight OF our food.
IL deserves more attention,
Mineral substances come to us through
all our foods In the small quantities
which are required to keep the body In
healthful condition, bones and blood ana
muscle suffering IL these are not supplied.
There are three classes of solid sub
stances which in combination with water
are essential to the well-being OF the
human body. These must be represented
In our diet each day, but not necessarily
In their most expensive forms.
Fats are faRaiifar TO US in several forms.
cream and butter. the fats of meats and
Office OF this class of foods is TO furnish
the body with fuel. hence they are most
essential in cold weather. AS far as
this duty is concerned. beet-fat and cot
ten-seed oil are as effectuai as butter and
olive oil.
proteid includes foods often cIassed as
natrogenous and albuminous. and is found
u grains and vegetables, in the curds of
MAX and cheese. in eggs and in the lean
~ fish and meat Its vegetable forms are
the cheaper. but the animal forms digest
mere readily.
carbohydrates are the various forms Of
sarrh and sugar. and. like fats. bat in
less degree, aid in keeping the bodily ma
chime running. As a rule, these foods
are inexpensive when compared With fats
and proteids.
Unless these food principles are pres
ent in right proportions bad results fol-
low. inevitably The proportions given
will differ slightly with different individ-
uals. and with the same individual at
different stages OF life. Therefore we
will proceed TO consider the needs of each
member of our typical family.
The food for the father of the family
must be adapted to his employment. The
man whose labor is out OF doors and mus
cular rather than mental. will require the
larger bulk OF food. and IL may be COM
posed of the kinds least easy Of digestion.
diet. The mother especially should be we'll
fed. and she seldom gives enough atten-
ton to her own diet Spending neces-
sarily, so much time in the atmosphere OF
foods her appetite falls. and she often re-
sorts TO stimnlants such as tea and coffee.
The girl of Il and the boy of Il, IL
healthy. viii have good appetites. and will
eat all wholesome foods. II they have been
rightly trained. The growing bodies of
these children must be supplied with suit
able foods TO make good homes and mus
cies. Presumably they are in school. and
the dangers are that breakfast will be
hurried that coffee viii be used too freely,
and that the school lunch IS of the kind
that makes headaches rather than health.
The childish love Of sweets is natural and
should be suitably gratified. not repressed
20 break out in wrong places Condiments.
tea and coffee should be reserved 10 slim
ulate the waning powers OF later years.
The food OF the baby in this household
demands great care as 10 quality. but IL
costs less than for any other member OF
the family. According 10 a leading au-
thority on the feeding of infants. a child
12 months Old should DC fed about five
times during the twenty-four hours and
requires Ia all from two 10 three pints OF
milk or two pints with small quantities
Of broth and Cruel. The cost OF its food is
a small item. proba bly, less than half that
Of any other member OF the family Care
must be given To every detail in the prepa-
ration of its food.
Having thus outlined the need Of good
food and the especial classes required VIC
next must know how % obtain it for the
money We have TO spend for truiy ne
IS poor whose expenses exceed his in
come"
The AVERAGE family has solved the prob
lem OF good living on small means in this
way. Without land enough 70 warrant
the name OF the farm. il Is possible 10
have a garden. and keep a COW. pig and
some hens The garden supplies fresh
veget Ables for the table and helps feed
the animals The cow furnishes milk AT
less cost 1han II could Otherwise be OBJ
tanned. v ile the surplus is sola or con-
verified into butter and cheese The pig
Is fed upon the sour milk and sich vex4-
tables as the COW refuses. Supplemented
by little corn meal. thus at small cost
furnishing a years supply OF pork. The
hers in turn Gereur bits Of meat etc
which the COW and zig would not touch
The waste material thrown of by the an
irals enricles the garden for another
year. There IS a round OF transformation
in which nothing is lost and a family al
most entirely Ted WITH small outlay Of
money or labor. This manner Of living
Is y,assI he 70 nearly every country family
ThouEh al families cannot add 10 their
incomes Sn this manner there IS a lesson
for evevy one N the possibilities of mate
! rla3 seemingly useless
The cd time New England thrift and
wise saving which has fed. clothed ard
/ s~sggcayed many : large family or incomes
/ far less tran thousand dollars n year.
arrears - be out % fashion. and until
I Il returns people VIII ind Il airiczllt 10
keep with4n che boundaries OF small
( means Two generations ago the larger