The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-01-26

| OF the uncooked varieties can be fur
7 tner increased by using milk instead
OF water in preparing them. In this
way skim milk, which has a higher
, food value than most people realize
. and which is too often wasted. can
be made to count as nourishment.
Other Protein Foods
; Other protein-rich foods should be
used as well as milk in the diet of
all children who have passed baby
mood. Eggs are usually the first of
these foods given in addition to milk.
They contain much iron, an ingredi-
ent in which milk (tho rich in other
kinds of mineral matter, particularly
lime) is lacking. Gradually as the
child develops, chicken, fish, meat,
4 cheese, dried beans, peas, cowpeas,
and other protein-rich foods. may be
added. No great quantity is needed,
lnasmuch as bread and milk come
near to supplying all the child s
needs. These foods should not be
overlooked, however, and in order
to prevent this they should be
thought of as forming a separate
and important group of food ma
terials which are to be drawn upon
more and more as the child grows.
Ways of introducing them into the
diet, particularly into the school
lunch, are given later.
The Importance of Green Vegetables
and Fruits in the Child's Diet
Vegetables and fruits are now con-
sidered necessary part of the diet
of the child. The reasons are many,
but most of them may be summed up
by saying that they furnish material
needed to form bone and tissue and
to regulate body processes. The mild
acids which some of them contain
help to prevent constipation; so, too,
does the cellulose or fiber, especially
when it is raw, tho it's value for this |
purpose may have been exaggerated
in popular literature. Green veget- |
able are also valuable means of in
PRODUCING into the diet mineral mat
tiers, particularly iron, in a form in
which the body can utilize them.
Even at city prices green vegetables
have been shown to be an economical
source of iron. Like the protein-rich
foods, therefore, they should be look
ed upon as separate and import
ant group of foods to be drawn up
on regularly.
The uses of fruits in the diet are
much the same as those of green
vegetables, tho, unlike most veget-
ables, they have considerable per-
centage of sugar, especially when
hnI 1,,fA &c,
absorbed fuel food. Like vegetables,
they nave value because they contri-
butte some of the nitrogen required
for tissue building and repair, and
some energy. However, they are
valuable chiefly because they supply
growth stimulating and body-regulat-
ing substances and also mineral mat
ter needed for bone and for many
other purposes. The quantity of
these materials in fruits and veget-
ables is small, it is true, but large in
comparison with the amount in many
other common foods.
Fresh vegetables and fruits must
be prepared with care, for there is
danger of transmission of disease by
means of foods that are served raw.
Most people will agree that apples,
pears, ETC., as picked from the tree {
in an orchard far enough from the
road to escape dust, are clean. If
they drop on the ground upon clean ,
grass they may still be eaten without
much risk, altho there would then be !
more chance for dirt, with it's attend
ant disease-producing bacteria. G
All fresh fruits and vegetables 4
which come from the market should i
be- thoroly washed in several waters. a
Most fruits may be safely dipped in e
boiling water and many can be kept II
therefor several seconds without in r
Turing their flavor. This kills many, r
# not all, of the bacteria and other u
organisms that are likely to cling to n
he fruit. A convenient way to do n
his is to place the fruit in a wire c
'rying basket. Grapes, apples, pears, t
peaches, and plums are not injured D
~ this treatment, and unripe straw t
berries are often improved by it. O
large fruits, such as bananas, apples, il
and others with unbroken a
'kins may be safely washed with a
'oap. "
Dried fruits should be particularly D
veil washed. If they are then put s.
INTO a warm oven to dry they are n
likely to absorb the water which
lings to them and thus to be soft D
ned and improved in taste.
y