Imperial Valley press., 1941-06-20

Food prices have jumped con-
siderably in the last few months
and while it may be some comfort
to know they are 20 per cent lower
than in 1925 and two per cent
lower than in 1886 on a general
average, the fact still remains that
the homemaker on limited budget
has to plan wisely to secure a bal
anced diet for her family at an &C.
onomical price.
With higher prices possibly in
prospect, the United States depart
ment of agriculture and the Uni
verSity of California agricultural ex-
tension service have been working
out budgets, menus, recipes for low
cost meals, a subject which home
department members in this county
have been studying under the lead
ership of Miss Florence Glenn, home
demonstration agent.
The problem is to secure adequate
amounts of food which provide the
necessary elements for health ut
cost which will meet the limited
budget. AS Miss Glenn says: IF
you haven't much money, you have
to plan all the more carefully. If
you live in the country, you should
raise more of your own food prod
ucts: keep a COW, hog, chickens,
grow vegetables, have fruit trees
and with this as basis, a family
may have an optimum diet at a
remarkably low cost"
Essential Elements
The essential elements which
should be included in the diet, are
milk, ranging from y to one quart
for q growing child and one pint
or more for adults; one or more
servings of leafy green or yellow
vegetables such as spinach, kale,
chard, collards, mustard greens, beet
or turnip tops, wild green's: one or
more servings of tomatoes, oranges,
grapefruit, or other raw fruits or
vegetables rich In vitamin c; one
or more servings of lean meat, poul-
try or fish; two or more servings
of potatoes, other vegetables and
fruits than those listed; eggs, three
or four week; two servings of
whole-grain cereals or bread; fats
and sweets as needed to satisfy the
appetite, six or more glasses of
water.
In order to fit these requirements
into the limited budget, amounts
of milk must be decreased, cheaper
cuts of meat must be used, and
the amounts of leafy green and
yellow vegetables increased. Empha-
sis must be placed on legumes,
such as peas, beans, lentils, cereals
and nuts, these plant proteins being
substituted for the animal proteins.
PeanutS, and peanut butter are
particularly important as their pro-
tein is an adequate, complete pro-
tein while many of the other plant
proteins are incomplete.
Adequate Diet
An adequate economical diet i'll
cludes daily: milk, either to drink
or in cooked foods, in the following
amounts: 2 to 3 cups daily for each
child under seven years; two cups
daily for children over seven years;
two cups daily for women and sed-
entary persons, one cup daily for
each man. fruits and vegetables, as
follows, potatoes, 10-11 servings a
week; mature dry legumes and
nuts, As servings a week; tomatoes
and citrus fruits, ga servings a
week (4-6 tablespoons of tomato
juice or two tablespoons of orange
juice daily for eacn child under
four years.; green, leafy and yellow
vegetables, 80 servings a week:
other vegetables and fruits, one
serving day; eggs. 2-3 eggs a week
for each person; lean meat or fish,
3-4 servings a week; cereal dish.
once or twice day; bread at evelJ
meal, dessert, occasionally such as
cereal pudding, gingerbread, dried
fruit, one-egg cake and other in
expensive kinds.
Under milk, fluid milk, whole or
skim, buttermilk, evaporated milk,
dry milk, cheese may be included.
One pint of undiluted evaporated
milk, u pound of dry milk, 1-3
pound of cheese have about the
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