The Connecticut labor press., 1920-09-25
IN WOMAN'S REALM Bits of Interesting Things for the Housewife and the Home of the Wage-Earner, Contri- buted by the Ladies Into Whose Homes The Connecticut Labor Press is a Welcome Visitor
ECONOMIZING ON
 CHILDREN'S FOOD
By EVELYN L. COOLIDGE, M. D.

By EMELYN l.. COOLIDGE, M. U.
 In feeding young children we have to consider the future quite as much as the present; they are undergoing constant development, and to provide for sound bones, muscle and nerve tissue we must supply the right kind of food for the growth of all these parts.
 Children positively must have variety of food clements There is no greater mistake than feeding a child decidedly one-sided menu. Take, for example, the child who has been given too much starchy food-very often too much sugar in the diet will produce the same symptoms, so we may consider these together. The child fed on this sort of diet is usually very fat, but the flesh is fabby, the skin very white, the abdomen very prominent, the bones often curved badly, and the child per spires frequently and then catches cold on the slightest provocation. He is list less, has headaches and frequent attacks of vomiting or diarrhea, with fever and restless nights.
 A different chain of symptoms is seen in the child who has been fed on too much fat Here the skin has muddy tinge, the tongue is coated, there are dark circles under the eyes, the breath is foul, and the bowel movements are very light or show particles of undi- gested fat. Vomiting and diarrhea may also be present.
 The child who has had too much pro- tein Is apt to be thin and nervous, and often has headache and coated tongue also.
 There is no doubt that 1t is expensive to feed child in the most approved style, but there are a few changes we may make to lessen the cost and at the same time not injure the child. Let us take the chief articles found in model diet lists for children and see what we can do to find less expensive substi- tutes:
 MIk. Never buy cheap milk; if necessary give less in quantity but have the quality always the best Most chil- dren who have a varied diet will need pint or even more of milk daily, and very often 1t is admissible to substitute one glass of buttermilk, which is cheap CT than sweet milk, for the same amount of sweet milk once daily. Some chil- dren who take fats badly do much bet ter on buttermilk entirely.
 Soups If you have garden of your own, very nourishing and very mex pensive vegetable soups may be made for children. Even if YOU must buy vegetables they are usually cheaper than meat, and III summer, at any rate, vege- table soups or purees are. better than animal broths. If you are at the sea- shore fish chowder or clam soups may be given to children over two years of age if they agree.
 MeatS5s Growing ~eY1fIdfeh need, "a little meat, say twice weekly at least, but at other times eggs, fish and the soups that contain a large amount of protein may be substituted. In some parts of the country one article will be less expensive than others. Soups that. are the best meat substitutes are 1enti1 soup, soy-bean souD and 1egume soup. Any one of these-with a green vege- table and one starchy vegetable bread and butter, and with either fruit or simple milk pudding-makes a suitable dinner for child several times weekly when meat Is not used as the main article.
 Vegetables. Some green vegetables are essential; spinach, carrots, young tender beets, peas and beans in varoius forms are the best to select and are apt ito be fairly inexpensive Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, rice, mac aronl and spaghetti are needed in small quantities at least. To get the most good out of potatoes bake or boil them III their jackets.
 Cereals and BreadS There are no good substitutes, but to get the most food value out of the cereals cook them very thoroughly, and if cereal Hours are used for cereal jellies try to get stand ardized Hours. Who1e-wheat breads and crackers are usually best for young chil- dren. Bread must not be given when very fresh. Less starchy food than is I1SuallV given wO111d he beffer for tha average child.
 FrMitS. These are essential, but the cheaper ones may be used If cooked they usually agree better with young children, and the small amount of sugar used is permissible in most cases. Fruit l juices may be given raw
 Fats. These are obtained from but | ter, little bacon or milk, and are needed in small quantities by most chi1- l dren. They should never be given in excess.