The following menus and analyses are taken from bulletin No. 74, prepared in the United States Experiment Stations, and are inserted so as to give some idea of the cost and relative value of various foods in combination. It must be remembered that the prices given are in excess of prices in Ontario, therefore the cost per menu would be less than is given in these illustrations. The more expensive menus have been omitted. The writer of the article says:—

"In planning a well balanced diet the following points must be considered:—

(1) The use of any considerable amount of fat meat or starchy food should be offset by the use of some material rich in protein. Thus, if roast pork is to be eaten for dinner, veal, fish, or lean beef might well be eaten for breakfast or supper, or both. Bean soup furnishes a considerable amount of protein, while bouillon, consommÉ, and tomato soup are practically useless as a source of nutriment. Skim milk also furnishes protein, with but very little accompanying fats and carbohydrates to increase the fuel value.

(2) The use of lean meats or fish for all three meals would require the use of such foods as rice, tapioca, or cornstarch pudding, considerable quantities of sugar and butter, and more vegetables, in order to furnish sufficient fuel value.

(3) Since flour, sugar, and butter or lard enter very largely into pastries and desserts, the larger the quantities of these dishes that are consumed the larger does the fuel value tend to become as compared with the protein."

The principal classes of food materials may be roughly grouped as follows as regards the proportion of protein to fuel value, beginning with those which have the largest proportion of protein and ending with those which contain little or no protein:—

• Foods containing a large amount of protein as compared with the fuel value.
  • Fish;
  • veal;
  • lean beef, such as shank, shoulder, canned corned, round, neck, and chuck;
  • skim milk.
• Foods containing a medium amount of protein.
  • Fowl;
  • eggs;
  • mutton leg and shoulder;
  • beef, fatter cuts, such as rib, loin, rump, flank, and brisket;
  • whole milk;
  • beans and peas;
  • mutton chuck and loin;
  • cheese;
  • lean pork;
  • oatmeal and other breakfast foods;
  • flour;
  • bread, etc.
• Foods containing little or no protein.
  • Vegetables and fruit;
  • fat pork;
  • rice;
  • tapioca;
  • starch;
  • butter and other fats and oils;
  • sugar, syrups.

To illustrate the ways in which milk may be combined with other food materials, to form daily dietaries with about the amount of protein and the fuel value called for by the standard for men at moderate muscular work, a few menus are given in the following pages. These menus are intended to show how approximately the same nutritive value may be obtained by food combinations differing widely as regards the number, kind, and price of the food materials used to make up three daily meals. They also illustrate how the cost of the daily menu may vary greatly with the kind and variety of materials purchased, though the nutritive value remains the same. These sample menus should not, however, be regarded as in any sense "models" to be followed in actual practice. The daily menus for any family will necessarily vary with the market supply, the season, and the relative expensiveness of different food materials, as well as with the tastes and purse of the consumers. The point to which we wish here to draw especial attention is that the prudent buyer of foods for family consumption can not afford to wholly neglect their nutritive value in making such purchases.

With reference to the following daily menus, several points must be definitely borne in mind. (1) The amounts given represent about what would be called for in a family equivalent to four full-grown men at ordinary manual labor, such as machinists, carpenters, mill-workers, farmers, truckmen, etc., according to the usually accepted standards. Sedentary people would require somewhat less than the amounts here given. (2) Children as a rule may be considered as having "moderate muscular exercise," and it may easily be understood that the 14-year-old boy eats as much as his father who is engaged in business or professional occupation, both requiring, according to the tentative standard, 0.8 of the food needed by a man with moderate muscular work. (3) It is not assumed that any housewife will find it convenient to follow exactly the proportions suggested in the menus. The purpose is to show her about what amounts and proportions of food materials would give the required nutrients.

A family equivalent to four men having little muscular exercise—i.e., men with sedentary occupation—would require but about 0.8 the quantities indicated in the following menus. It would be very doubtful, however, if they would eat proportionally less of every food material. It would, in fact, be more probable that the amounts of meat, fish, eggs, potatoes, and bread eaten would be reduced in a much greater proportion than fruit, pastry, coffee, etc.

In these menus the amount of milk has, as a rule, been taken as representing somewhere near the average consumption. The amount of milk can be increased in any of the menus given above either by substituting it to some extent for coffee or tea, or by using more milk and smaller quantities of meats, butter or eggs. Roughly speaking, 1 quart of whole milk could be substituted for half a pound of meat or eggs and the amount of nutrients would be the same, while a pint of milk would give as large a fuel value as 1-1/2 ounces of butter, and in addition considerable protein not furnished by the latter.

This replacement of meats by milk is illustrated in the following menu, in which a diet with a rather small quantity of milk is so changed as to include a much larger amount. Thus for breakfast in the modified ration a pint and a half of milk is made to take the place of half a pound of broiled steak. For dinner a quart of skim milk (or buttermilk) is called for, or a glass for each person unless some of it is used in the cooking. At the same time, 4 ounces less roast pork is required. In the same way a glass of whole milk is allowed each person for supper, or the bread can be made into milk toast and the most of the extra milk used in this way. This allows the canned salmon to be reduced 6 ounces.

Menus VI and VII, following, are intended to illustrate how nourishing food can be procured in sufficient quantities and moderate variety at a cost of not over 16 cents per day. The cost to the farmer would be much less, since these menus call for considerable amounts of milk, which is hardly worth more than one-half or one-third as much on the farm as it costs in the towns and cities. Coffee has not always been indicated, but can be introduced for any meal at a cost of from 1/2 to 1-1/2 cents per cup, according to how much coffee is used in making the infusion, and how much sugar, milk, and cream are added.

It is, of course, not important that each meal, or the total food of each individual day, should have just the right amount of nutrients, or that the proportions of protein and fuel ingredients should be exactly correct so as to make the meal or day's diet well balanced. The body is continually storing nutritive materials and using them. It is not dependent any day upon the food eaten that particular day. Hence an excess one day may be made up by a deficiency the next or vice versa. Healthful nourishment requires simply that the nutrients as a whole, during longer or shorter periods, should be fitted to the actual needs of the body for use.

These menus attempt to give, as nearly as convenient, the range of food materials and the variety of combination which might be found in the average well-to-do household. Some of the menus are more varied and costly than others, and a few are given showing the effect of the use of more milk, and also how a diet might easily become one-sided. The quantities of the different foods used per meal will not, it is believed, be found out of proportion to each other, though of course they will not suit every family. The weights of all materials, oatmeal and other cereals, meat, vegetables, etc., are for these substances as purchased.

The calculation of the quantities of nutrients contained in the different foods is based upon the average percentage composition of these materials. Inasmuch as the fats and carbohydrates are used simply as fuel they are not shown in the menus, only the quantity of protein and the fuel value of the food being of interest.

The cost of the different food materials must of necessity be more or less of a varying quantity, depending upon the season of the year, the character of the markets, large or small, city or country, etc. Of the more important food materials the assumed price per pound is as follows: Beef loin, 18 to 25 cents; shoulder, 12 cents; round, 14 cents; chicken, 15 cents; mutton loin, 16 cents; lamb leg, 20 cents; bacon, 16 cents; sausage, 10 cents; milk, 3 cents (6 cents per quart); skim milk, 1-1/2 cents (3 cents per quart); butter, 32 cents; cheese, 16 cents; eggs, 16 cents (24 cents per dozen); flour and meal, 2-1/2 to 3 cents; cereals, 5 to 8 cents; bread, 4 cents; potatoes and other vegetables, 1-1/2 cent (90 cents per bushel); bananas, about 8 cents (20 cents per dozen); oranges, about 7 cents (25 to 40 cents per dozen); apples, 1-1/2 cent per pound (90 cents per bushel).

It is probable that the above figures represent more nearly the average prices of the different food materials in the eastern part of the country than in the central and western portions, where meats, cereals, and many other products are somewhat cheaper. It is also to be borne in mind that by observing the markets many food materials can be purchased much cheaper than here indicated, while on the other hand there may be times when they will be much more expensive. The choice of vegetables and fruits will naturally be governed by their abundance and cost.

Another point that must not be overlooked is that the quantities, and consequently the costs, here given are for four working men; that is to say, men engaged in moderately hard muscular labor. Of course, different individuals differ greatly in their needs for food. These figures express only general averages and are based upon the best information accessible.

Dietetic authorities advise people who are engaged in active muscular work to partake of the more substantial meal in the middle of the day, leaving such articles of food as soup—which is a valuable stimulant after a day of hard work—fruit, cake, etc., for the evening meal, when the system is too much exhausted to digest the more concentrated foods. When men are obliged to take cold lunches in the middle of the day the housewife should see that the lunch basket contains the necessary nourishment in the form of cheese, cold meat, meat or fish sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, a fish or vegetable salad, cold pork and beans, rice pudding, whole wheat bread and butter, a bottle of milk or strained tea or coffee, pie, doughnuts, etc.

Remember, a man working in the open air or in a large building requires food which will not oxidize too quickly, or in other words, food which will keep up the fuel and force necessary for his work. Supper in such cases should consist of a good broth or well made soup, and the lighter foods; but breakfast and dinner should be more substantial. It is a question of economy to provide suitable food for the wage-earner. The children may be equally well nourished on a less expensive diet, such as whole wheat bread and butter, milk puddings, fruit, green vegetables, cereals, milk, and meat once a day.

On the other hand the individual engaged in sedentary employment, such as book-keeping, teaching, needlework, etc., should dine later in the day, as it leaves a longer interval for digestion, which is much slower when the individual is confined in a close office or work-room, and where little exercise is taken.[5] Care should be taken in planning meals for this class to avoid food which requires much oxygen, such as fresh pork, fried food, sausage, warm bread, pastry, griddle cakes, etc. The mid-day meal of a brain worker or business man should be light; a soup, glass of milk (hot or cold), fruit, bread and butter, vegetable salad, a broiled chop or steak, etc., are suitable for luncheon.

Special attention should be given to the diet of school children. (See p. 153.)

Students and children who are obliged to study at night should, as a rule, take some light nourishment before retiring; a biscuit, a piece of bread and butter, or a glass of hot milk, is sufficient.

Young girls, who are employed in shops, factories, etc., frequently hurry away to their work in the morning without taking a substantial breakfast. It is needless to say that such action is sure to be followed by a physical breakdown. A glass of hot milk or an egg beaten and added to a glass of milk will serve as an occasional substitute for a more substantial meal, but is not enough to sustain active exercise for any length of time.

Another point to consider in the planning of meals is economy of fuel. The thoughtful housekeeper will arrange to have food requiring long, slow cooking, such as stews, soup stock, bread, etc., and ironing done by the same fuel. Broiling, toasting, omelets, etc., require a quick fire. It is in the careful consideration of details that economy in both food and fuel may be exercised.

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