In the following pages will be found a number of diet tables, giving compositions and fuel values of various foods which have been grouped for the sake of convenience, for the foods in each group are quite similar. These tables are not complete, for to list every food would take too much space. I have simply selected a representative list from the various classes of foods. Under flesh are given fish, meats and eggs. Under succulent vegetables are given both root and top vegetables, because of their similarity. Nuts, cereals, legumes, tubers and fruits are each grouped because it is easy to gain an understanding of them in this way. Milk is given a rather long chapter of its own because of its great importance in the morning of life.
Allow me to repeat that it is impossible to figure out the calories in a given amount of food and then give enough food to furnish so many calories and thus obtain good results. I have already given the key to the amount of food to eat, and it is the only kind of key that works well. However, it is very helpful to have a knowledge of food values.
The calorie is the unit of heat, and heat is convertible into energy. A calorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree C. To translate into common terms, it is the heat required to raise one pound of water four degrees F.
One pound of protein produces 1,860 calories.
One pound of sugar produces 1,860 calories.
One pound of starch produces 1,860 calories.
One pound of oil or fat produces 4,220 calories.
For the scientific facts regarding foods I have consulted various works, especially the following: Diet and Dietetics, by Gauthier; Foods, by Tibbles; Food Inspection and Analyses, by Leach; Foods and their Adulteration, by Wiley; Commercial Organic Analysis, by Allan. However, I am most indebted to the numerous bulletins issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. All who make a study of foods and their value owe a great debt to W. O. Atwater and Chas. D. Wood, who have worked so long and faithfully to increase our knowledge regarding foods.
As we consider the various groups of foods, directions are given for the best way of cooking, but no fancy cooking is considered. Those who wish fancy, indigestible dishes should consult the popular cook books.
The women have it in their power to raise the health standard fifty to one hundred per cent by cooking for health instead of catering to spoiled palates, and by learning to combine foods more sensibly than they have in the past. The art of cooking has made its appeal almost entirely to the palate. This art is not on as high level as the science of cooking, which gives foods that build healthy bodies. The right way of cooking is simpler, quicker and easier than the conventional method, and gives food that is superior in flavor. After the normal taste has been ruined, it takes a few months to acquire a natural taste again so that good foods will be enjoyed.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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Beef, average 72.03 21.42 5.41 …. 1.14 ….
Veal, lean 78.84 19.86 .82 …. .50 ….
Mutton, average 75.99 17.11 5.77 …. 1.33 ….
Pork, average fat 47.40 14.54 37.34 …. .72 ….
Pork, average lean 72.57 20.25 6.81 …. 1.10 ….
Rabbit 66.80 22.22 9.76 …. 1.17 ….
Chicken, fat 70.06 19.59 9.34 …. .91 ….
Turkey 65.60 24.70 8.50 …. 1.20 ….
Goose 38.02 15.91 45.59 …. .49 ….
Pigeon 75.10 22.90 1.00 …. 1.00 ….
Duck, wild 69.89 25.49 3.69 …. .93 ….
Black bass 76.7 20.4 1.7 …. 1.2 450
Sea bass 79.3 18.8 .5 …. 1.4 370
Cod, steaks 82.5 16.3 .3 …. .9 315
Halibut, steaks 75.4 18.3 5.2 …. 1.1 560
Herring 74.67 14.55 9.03 …. 1.78 ….
Mackerel 73.4 18.2 7.1 …. 1.3 640
Perch, white 75.7 19.1 4.0 …. 1.2 525
Pickerel 79.8 18.6 .5 …. 1.1 365
Salmon 71.4 19.9 7.4 …. 1.3 680
Salmon trout 69.1 18.2 11.4 …. 1.3 820
Shad 70.6 18.6 9.5 …. 1.3 745
Sturgeon 78.7 18.0 1.9 …. 1.4 415
Trout, brook 77.8 18.9 2.1 …. 1.2 440
Clams, long 85.8 8.6 1.0 2.00 2.6 240
Clams, round 86.2 6.5 .4 4.20 2.7 215
Lobster 79.2 16.4 1.8 .40 2.2 390
Oyster in shell 86.9 6.2 1.2 3.70 2.0 230
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The food value of meat depends on the amount of fat and protein it contains. Lean meat may contain less than four hundred calories per pound, while very fat meat may contain more than one thousand five hundred calories.
These foods are eaten because they are rich in protein. Protein is the great builder and repairer of the body. It forms the framework for both bone and muscle. We can get along very well without starch or sugar or fat, but it is absolutely necessary to have proteid foods. They are the only ones that contain nitrogen, which is essential to animal life.
Nitrogenous foods are used not only to build and repair, but in the end they are burned, supplying as much heat as the same weight of sugar or starch.
Proteid foods are generally taken to excess. To most people they are very palatable, and they are generally prepared in a manner that renders rapid eating easy. Besides, meats contain flavoring and stimulating principles, called extractives, which increase the desire for them. The consequence is that those who eat meat often have a tendency to eat too much. Excessive meat eating often leads to consumption of large quantities of liquor. Stimulants crave company.
As will be noted, most fish and meat contain about 20 per cent. of protein, while about 75 per cent. is water. The fatter the meat, the less water it contains, and the more fuel value it has. The leaner the meat, the more watery the animal, and the more easily is the flesh digested. Beef is fatter than veal and harder to digest. Also, the flesh of old animals is more highly flavored than that of the young ones, because it contains more salts. For this reason people who have a tendency to the formation of foreign deposits, as is the case with those who have rheumatism and gout or hardening of the arteries, should take the flesh of young animals when it is obtainable.
In the past we have been taught to partake of excessive amounts of protein. The prescribed amount for the average adult has been about five ounces. If we were to obtain all the protein from meat, this would necessitate eating about twenty-five ounces of meat daily. However, inasmuch as there is considerable protein in the cereals and milk, and a little in most fruits and vegetables, a pound of meat would probably suffice under the old plan. A few physicians have known that such an intake of protein is excessive, and now the physiologists are learning the same. It has lately been determined experimentally that the body needs only about an ounce of protein daily, which will be supplied by about five ounces of flesh. Three or four ounces of flesh daily make a liberal allowance, for it is supplemented by protein in other foods.
Workers eat large quantities of flesh because they think they need a great deal. The fact is that very little more protein is needed by those who do hard physical labor than by brain workers. The extra energy needed calls for more carbohydrates, not for protein.
When the organism is supplied with sugar, starch and fat, or one of these, the protein of the body is saved, only a very small amount being used to replace the waste through wear and tear. Though protein can be burned in the body, it is not an economical fuel, either from a physiological or financial standpoint. The energy obtained from flesh costs much more than the same amount of energy obtained from carbonaceous foods. Ten acres of ground well cultivated can raise enough cereals and vegetables to support a number of people, but if this amount of land is used for raising animals, it will support but a few. The protein obtained from peas, beans and lentils is cheap, but these foods do not appeal to the popular palate as much as flesh.
Meat immediately after being killed is soft. After a while it goes into a state of rigidity known as rigor mortis. Then it begins to soften again. This third stage is really a form of decay, called ripening. It is believed that the lactic acid formed is one of the principal agents producing this softening. Some people enjoy their meats, especially that of fowls and game, ripe enough to deserve the name of rotten. The ripening produces many chemical changes in the meat, which give the flesh more flavor. Consequently those who indulge are very apt to overeat. It is a fact that those who eat much flesh go into degeneration more quickly than those who are moderate flesh eaters and depend largely on the vegetable kingdom for food.
If an excess of good meat causes degeneration, there is no reason to doubt that partaking of overripe foods is even worse.
All meat contains waste. If the flesh comes from healthy animals and is eaten in moderation this waste is so small that it will cause no inconvenience, for a healthy body is able to take care of it. If too much is eaten, the results are serious. Overeating of flesh is followed by excessive production of urea and uric acid products. Some of these may be deposited in various parts of the body, while the urea is mostly excreted by the kidneys. The kidneys do not thrive under overwork any more than other organs. The vast majority of cases of diabetes and Bright's disease are caused by overworking the digestive organs. Too much food is absorbed into the blood and the excretory organs have to work overtime to get rid of the excess.
Meats are easily spoiled. They should be kept in a cold place and not very long. Fresh meat and fish are more easily digested than those which are salted, or preserved in any other way. Pickled meats should be used rarely The same is true of fish.
Ptomaines, or animal poisons, form easily in flesh foods. These are very dangerous, and it is not safe to eat tainted flesh, even after it is cooked. Fish decomposes quickly and fish poisoning is probably even more severe than meat poisoning. Fish should be killed immediately after it is caught, for experiments have shown that the flesh of fish kept captive after the manner of fishers degenerates very rapidly. Fish should be eaten while fresh. Even when the best precautions have been taken, it is somewhat risky to partake of fish that has been shipped from afar.
Flesh foods are more easily and completely digested than the protein derived from the vegetable kingdom.
From the table it will be noted that some fish is fat and some is lean. The ones containing more than 5 per cent of fat should be considered fat fish. These are somewhat harder to digest than the lean ones, but they are more nutritious.
Shell fish is generally low in food value and if taken as nourishment is very expensive. However, most people eat this food for its flavor.
Cooking is an art that should be learned according to correct principles. Every physician should be a good cook. He should be able to go into the kitchen and show the housewife how to prepare foods properly. Medical men who are well versed in food preparation and able to make good food prescriptions have no need of drugs.
The flesh of animals is composed of fibres. These fibres are surrounded by connective tissue which is tough. The cooking softens and breaks down these tissues, thus rendering it easier for the digestive juices to penetrate and dissolve them. That is, proper cooking does this. Poor cooking generally renders the meats indigestible.
The simpler the cooking, the more digestible will be the food. Flavors are developed in the process, but these are hidden if the meats are highly seasoned.
Boiling: When meats are boiled they lose muscle sugar, flavoring extracts, organic acids, gelatin, mineral matters and soluble albumin. That is, they lose both flavor and nourishment. Therefore the liquid in which they are cooked should be used.
The proper way to boil meat is to plunge it into plain boiling water. Allow the water to boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. This coagulates the outer part of the piece of meat. Then lower the temperature of the water to about 180 degrees F. and cook until it suits the taste. If it is allowed to boil at a high temperature a long time, it becomes tough, for the albumin will coagulate throughout.
Salt extracts the water from meat. Therefore none of it should be used in boiling. The meat should be cooked in plain water with no addition. No vegetables and no cereals are to be added. All meats contain some fat, and this comes into the water and acts upon the vegetables and starches, making them indigestible. Season the meat after it is cooked, or better still, let everyone season it to suit the taste after serving.
Meats that are to be boiled should never be soaked, for the cold water dissolves out some of the salts and some of the flavoring extracts, as well as a part of the nutritive substances. It is better to simply wash the meat if it does not look fresh and clean enough to appeal to the eye, which it always should be.
Stewing: If meat is to be stewed, cut into small pieces and stew or simmer at a temperature of about 180 degrees F. until it is tender. It is to be stewed in plain water. If a meat and vegetable stew is desired, stew the vegetables in one dish, and the meat in another. When both are done, mix. By cooking thus a stew is made that will not "repeat" if it is properly eaten. Foods should taste while being eaten, not afterwards.
Broths: If a broth is desired, select lean meat. Either grind it or chop it up fine. There is no objection to soaking the meat in cold water, provided this water is used in making the broth. Use no seasoning. Let it stew or simmer at about 180 degrees F. until the strength of the meat is largely in the water.
When the broth is done, set it aside to cool. Then skim off all the fat and warm it up and use. One pound of lean meat will produce a quart of quite strong broth.
Broiling: Cut the meat into desired thickness. Place near intense fire, turning occasionally, until done. Be careful not to burn the flesh. An ordinary steak should be broiled in about ten minutes. Of course, the time depends on the thickness of the cut and whether it is desired rare, medium or well done, and in this let the individual suit himself, for he will digest the meat best the way he enjoys it most.
Beefsteak smothered in onions is a favorite dish. It is not a good way to prepare either the onions or the steak. A better way is to broil both the steak and the onions, or broil the steak, cut the onions in slices about one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick, add a little water and bake them. Beefsteak and onions prepared in this way are both palatable and easy to digest.
Roasting is just like broiling, that is, cooking a piece of meat before an open fire. Here we use a larger piece of meat and it therefore takes longer. Of old roasting was quite common, but now we seldom roast meat in this country.
Baking: Here we place the meat in an enclosed oven. Most of our so-called roast meats are baked. The oven for the first ten or fifteen minutes should be very hot, about 400 degrees F. This heat seals the outside of the meat up quite well. Then let the heat be reduced to about 260 degrees F. If it is kept at a high temperature it will produce a tough piece of meat. The time the meat should be in the oven depends upon the size of the piece of meat and how well done it is desired.
While baking, some of the juices and a part of the fat escape. About every fifteen minutes, baste the meat with its own juice. A few minutes before the meat is to be removed from the oven it may be sprinkled with a small amount of salt, and so may broiled and roasted meats a little while before they are done. However, many prefer to season their own foods or eat them without seasoning and they should be allowed to do so.
Steaming: This is an excellent way of cooking. None of the food value is lost. Put the meat in the steamer and allow it to remain until done. The cheapest and toughest cuts of meat, which are fully as good as the more expensive ones and often better flavored, can be rendered very tender by steaming. Tough birds can be treated in the same way. An excellent way to cook an old hen or an old turkey is to steam until tender and then put into a hot oven for a few minutes to brown. Some birds are so tough that they can not be made eatable by either boiling or baking, but steaming makes them tender.
It is best to avoid starchy dressings, in fact dressings of all kinds. A well cooked bird needs none, and dressing does not save a poorly cooked one. Most dressings are very difficult to digest.
Fireless cooking: Every household should have either a good steamer or a fireless cooker. Both are savers of time and fuel and food. They emancipate the women. Those who have fireless cookers and plan their meals properly do not need to spend much time in the kitchen.
Place the meat in the fireless cooker, following the directions which accompany it. However, if they tell you to season the meat, omit this part.
Smothering is a modification of baking. Any kind of meat may be smothered, but it is especially fine for chickens. Take a young bird, separate it into joints, place into a pan, add a pint of boiling water. If chicken is lean put in a little butter, but if fat use no butter. Cover the pan tightly and place in oven and let it bake. A chicken weighing two and one-half pounds when dressed will require baking for one hour and fifteen minutes. Keep the cover on the baking pan until the chicken is done, not raising it even once. Gravy will be found in the pan.
Pressed chicken is very good. Get a hen about a year old. Place it into steamer or fireless cooker until so tender that the flesh readily falls from the bones. Remove the bones, but keep the skin with the meat. Chop it up. Place in dish or jar, salting very lightly. Over the chopped-up meat place a plate and on this a weight, and allow it to press over night. Then it is ready to slice and serve. This is very convenient for outings.
Fish should preferably be baked or broiled. It may also be boiled, but it boils to pieces rather easily and loses a part of its food value. It must be handled with great care. No seasoning is to be used. When served a little salt and drawn butter or oil may be added as dressing.
Frying is an objectionable method of cooking. It is generally held, and with good reason, that when grease at a high temperature is forced into flesh, it becomes very indigestible. In fact the crust formed on the outside of the flesh can not be digested. It is folly to prepare food so that it proves injurious.
However, there is a way of using the frying pan so that practically no harm is done. Grease the pan very lightly, just enough to prevent the flesh from sticking. Make the pan very hot and place the meat in it. Turn the meat frequently. Fries (young chickens) may be cooked in this way with good results. The same is true of steaks and chops.
Avoid greasy cooking. It is an abomination that helps to kill thousands of people annually.
Paper bag cooking is all right if it is convenient. Those who have good steamers or fireless cookers will not find it of special advantage.
Brown flour gravies are not fit to eat. If there is any gravy serve it as it comes from the pan without mixing it with flour or other starches. It may be put over the meat or used as dressing for the vegetables. Milk gravies are also to be avoided. Use only the natural gravies.
Oysters may be eaten raw or stewed. Stew the oysters in a little water. Heat the milk and mix. Eat with cooked succulent vegetables and with raw salad vegetables. It is best to leave the crackers out. The oysters themselves contain very little nourishment, but when made into a milk stew the result is very nutritious.
Eggs should be fresh. Some bakers buy spoiled eggs and use them for their fancy cakes and cookies. This is a very objectionable practice and may be one of the reasons that bakers' cookies never taste like those "mother used to make." Eggs take the place of fish, meat or nuts, for they are rich in protein. They may be taken raw, rare or well done.
Eggs may be boiled, poached, steamed or baked. Soft boiled eggs require about three and one-half minutes. Hard boiled ones require from fifteen to twenty minutes. The albumin of an egg boiled six or seven minutes is tough. When boiled longer it becomes mellow. Eggs may be made into omelettes or scrambled, but the pan should be lightly greased and quite hot so that the cooking will be quickly done. Eggs are variously treated for an omelette. Some cooks add nothing but water and this makes a delicate dish. Others use milk, cream or butter, and beat.
Bacon is a relish and may be taken occasionally with any other food. It should be well done, fried or broiled until quite crisp. This is one place where frying is not objectionable.
Pork should rarely be used. It is too fat and rich and requires too long to digest. When eaten it should be taken in the simplest of combinations, such as pork and succulent vegetables or juicy fruits, either cooked or raw, and nothing else.
Flesh may be eaten more freely in winter than in summer. Meat especially should be eaten very sparingly during hot weather, for it is too stimulating and heating. Nuts, eggs and fish are then better forms in which to take protein.
Flesh foods combine best with the succulent vegetables and the salad vegetables or with juicy fruits. It is more usual to take vegetables with flesh than to take fruit, but those who prefer fruit may take it with equally as good results. Both fruits and vegetables are rich in tissue salts, in which flesh foods are rather deficient. The succulent vegetables contain some starch and the juicy fruits some sugar, but not enough to do any harm. They both act as fillers.
Flesh is quite concentrated and it is customary to take it with other concentrated foods, such as bread and potatoes. As a result too much food is ingested. It would be a splendid rule to make to avoid bread and potatoes when flesh food is taken, but if this seems too rigid, make it a rule never to eat all three at the same meal. It is best to eat the flesh foods without bread or potatoes, but if starch is desired, take only one kind at a time.
Most people crave a certain amount of food as filler, and they have fallen into the habit of using bread and potatoes for this purpose. This is a mistake. Use the juicy fruits and the succulent vegetables for filling purposes and thus get sufficient salts and avoid the many ills that come from eating great quantities of concentrated foods.
When possible, have a raw salad vegetable or two with the meat or fish meal.
Eat only one concentrated albuminous food at a meal. If you have meat, take no fish, eggs, nuts or cheese.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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Acorns 4.1 8.1 37.4 48.0 2.4 2718
Almonds 4.8 21.0 54.9 17.3 2.0 3030
Brazil nuts 5.3 17.0 66.8 7.0 3.9 3329
Filberts 3.7 15.6 65.3 13.0 2.4 3432
Hickory nuts 3.7 15.4 67.4 11.4 2.1 3495
Pecans 3.0 11.0 71.2 13.3 1.5 3633
English walnuts 2.8 16.7 64.4 14.8 1.3 3305
Chestnuts, dried 5.9 10.7 7.0 74.2 2.2 1875
Butternuts 4.5 27.9 61.2 3.4 3.0 3371
Cocoanuts 14.1 5.7 50.6 27.9 1.7 2986
Pistachio nuts 4.2 22.6 54.5 15.6 3.1 3010
Peanuts, roasted 1.6 30.5 49.2 16.2 2.5 3177
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Nuts vary a great deal in composition. They are generally the seeds of trees, enclosed in shells, but other substances are also called nuts. The representative nuts are rich in fat and protein, containing some carbohydrate (sugar or starch.)
A few nuts, such as the acorn, cocoanut and chestnut, are very rich in starch, and these should be classified as starchy foods. Very few foods contain as high per cent of starch as the dry chestnut. In southern Europe chestnuts are made into flour, and this is made into bread or cakes. An inferior bread is also made of acorn flour. Chestnuts may be boiled or roasted. They are very nutritious.
The more representative nuts are pecans, filberts, Brazil nuts and walnuts. These may be used in place of flesh foods, for they furnish both protein and fats. If the kernel is surrounded by a tough membrane, as is the case in walnuts and almonds, it should be blanched, which consists in putting the kernel in very hot water for a little while and then removing this membrane. The pecan, though it does not contain very much protein, is one of the best nuts, one which can be eaten often without producing dislike.
Nuts have the reputation of being hard to digest. If they are not well masticated they are very hard to digest indeed, but when they are well masticated they digest almost as completely as do flesh foods and they produce no digestive troubles.
One reason that nuts have obtained a bad reputation is that they are often eaten at the end of a heavy meal, when perhaps two or three times too much food has already been ingested. The result is indigestion and the sufferer swears off on nuts. If he had sense enough to reduce his intake of bread, potatoes, meat, pudding and coffee, the benefit would be very great. The tendency is for the sufferer from indigestion to pick out a certain food and blame all the trouble on that, when in truth the combinations and the quantity of food are to blame.
Some vegetarians make nuts one of their principal foods. We can easily get along without flesh, for we can obtain all the protein needed from milk, eggs, nuts and legumes. However, people who are used to flesh are able to digest it when they can take hardly anything else. The foods which we prefer are taken largely because we have become accustomed to them and have formed a liking for them, not because they are the very best from which to select.
Nut butter: Take the nut meats, clean away all the skins and grind fine in a nut mill. Then form into a pasty substance with or without the addition of oil or water, to suit the individual taste. Most nut butters are very agreeable in flavor. Sometimes the nuts are roasted and sometimes they are not. Almond butter is very good. The nut butters soon spoil if left exposed to the air, for the oils they contain turn rancid.
Peanut butter can be made by taking clean kernels of freshly roasted peanuts and grinding fine. Some are very fond of this butter. Cocoanut and cocoa butters are not made in this way. They are purified fats, the former from cocoanuts, the latter from the cocoa bean.
Nut milk: Take nut butter and mix with water until it is of the desired consistency. Cocoanuts contain a sweet liquid which is called cocoanut milk. However, the artificial cocoanut milk is made by pouring a pint of boiling water over the flesh of a freshly grated cocoanut. Let it stand until cold and strain. If it is allowed to stand some hours the fat will rise to the top and form cream. This milk is used by some who object to the use of animal products.
Various meals are made from nuts and made into food for the sick. This does no harm, nor does it do any special good. These meals contain more or less starch and the action of starches is much the same, no matter what the source. Please remember that there are no health foods.
Nuts are especially fine in combination with fruits. Fresh pecan meats and mild apples make a meal fit for the gods. Nuts may be used in any combination in which flesh is used, that is, they take the place of flesh foods. The starchy nuts take the place of starchy foods.
A good meal is made of a fruit salad, consisting of two or three kinds of fresh fruits and nuts.
Nuts or nut butter with toast also make a good meal.
Nuts have such fine flavor that cooks should think twice before spoiling them. It is very difficult to use them in cookery and get a product that is as finely flavored as the original nuts. The vegetarians use them in compounding what they call roasts, cutlets, steaks, etc. My experience with these imitation products has not been of the best, for though my digestive organs are strong, they do not take kindly to these mixtures. Some of my friends report the same results, in spite of thorough mastication and moderation. These imitation roasts and cutlets usually contain much starch and there is no reason to believe that it is better to cook nut oils into starchy foods than it is to use any other form of fat for this purpose. Those who like starch and nuts can make a splendid meal of nut meats and whole wheat biscuits or zwieback.
In eating nuts, always remember that the mastication must be thorough. It takes grinding to break up the solid nut meats and the stomach and bowels have no teeth. Those who can not chew well should use the nuts in the form of butter.
Ordinarily two ounces of nut meats, or less, are sufficient for a meal.
At present prices, nuts are not expensive, as compared with meat. Meat is mostly water. Lean meat produces from five to seven hundred calories to the pound. Nut meats produce from twenty-seven to thirty-three hundred calories per pound. In other words, a pound of nut meats has the same fuel value as about five pounds of lean meat, but not as great protein value.
Those who are not used to nuts have a tendency to overeat, but this is largely overcome as soon as people become accustomed to them.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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Fresh Legumes:
String beans ……… 89.2 2.3 0.3 7.4 0.8 195
Shelled limas …….. 68.5 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 570
Shelled peas ……… 74.6 7.0 0.5 16.9 1.0 465
Dried Legumes:
Lima beans ……….. 10.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 1625
Navy beans ……….. 12.6 22.5 1.8 59.6 3.5 1605
Lentils ………….. 8.4 25.7 1.0 59.2 5.7 1620
Dried peas ……….. 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 1655
Soy beans ………… 10.8 34.0 16.8 33.7 4.7 1970
Peanuts ………….. 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2560
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Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with the conditions under which the foods are grown and is not always even approximately the same.
The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables. The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteid foods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are the cheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are very important foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormous quantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, the poor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they make the soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe and is gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with a flavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminous plants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively as food for man and beast.
These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean being exceptionally rich in protein.
These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and of producing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest than some other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simple combinations and in moderation, provided they have been properly prepared.
It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoid overeating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed without proper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of these rich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gas production.
One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean or St. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. It grows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. It is so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to the fact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he did he must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint really devoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believe that he was a vegetarian.
The fresh young legumes are to be considered in the same class as succulent vegetables, which are dealt with in the next chapter.
Ripe peas, beans and lentils may be cooked alike.
In cooking ripe legumes, try to get as soft water as possible. Hard water contains salts of lime and magnesia and these prevent the softening of the legumes.
Bean soup: Clean the beans and wash them. Let them soak over night. Cook them in the same water in which they have been soaked, until tender. They are to be cooked in plain water without any seasoning and with the addition of neither fats, starches nor other vegetables. When the beans are done, meat stock and other vegetables may be added, if desired. Pea soup is made in the same way.
The reason for not draining away the water in which the beans are soaked is that it takes up some of the valuable salts, the phosphates for instance. The addition of seasoning or fat while they are cooking makes the beans indigestible.
Baked beans: Clean and wash well. Soak them over night. Let them boil about three and one-half to four hours, using the water in which they were soaked. Then put them into the oven to bake. They are to be cooked plain and no fat or seasoning is to be added while they are baking. After they are done you may add some form of fatty dressing, such as bacon, which has been stewed in a separate dish, or you may dress them with butter and salt when they are served. Cooked this way they digest much more easily than when cooked in the ordinary way with tomatoes and grease. Some prefer to add either sugar or molasses to the beans when they are put into the oven. Avoid too much sweetening. Lentils may be baked in the same way.
Boiled beans: The same as bean soup, except that less water is used. Dressing may be the same as for baked beans. Lentils and peas may be treated in the same way.
Beans and corn may be cooked together.
The legumes are so very rich that they should be eaten in very simple combinations. It is best to take them with some of the raw salad vegetables and nothing else, or with the raw salad vegetables and one of the stewed succulent vegetables. The legumes contain all the protein and all the force food the body needs, so it is useless to add meat, bread and potatoes. Tomatoes and other acid foods should not be used in the same meal, yet beans and tomatoes or beans and catsup are very common combinations.
A plate of bean soup makes a good lunch. Bean soup or baked or boiled beans with succulent vegetables, raw and cooked, give all the nourishment needed in a dinner.
Pea and bean flours can be purchased on the market. These flours can not be made into dough, but they may be used for thickening. They contain more protein than ordinary flour.
Both peas and beans may be roasted, but they are rather difficult to masticate. Roasted peas have a fine flavor. Roasted peanuts are a nutritious food, and may be taken in place of peas or beans.
More legumes and less flesh foods will help to reduce the cost of living. Taken in moderation and well masticated, the legumes are excellent foods.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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Asparagus…….. 93.96 1.83 2.55 2.55 .67 …..
Beet…………. 87.5 1.6 .01 8.8 1.10 215
Cabbage………. 90.52 2.39 .37 3.85 1.40 …..
Carrot……….. 88.2 1.1 .4 8.2 1.00 219
Cauliflower…… 90.82 1.62 .79 4.94 .81 …..
Cucumber……… 95.4 .8 .2 3.1 .5 80
Egg plant…….. 92.93 1.15 .31 4.34 .5 …..
Pumpkin………. 93.39 .91 .12 3.93 .67 …..
Lettuce………. 94.17 1.2 .3 2.9 .9 90
Okra…………. 87.41 1.99 .4 6.04 .74 …..
Onion………… 87.6 1.6 .3 9.9 .6 225
Parsnip………. 83.0 1.6 .5 13.5 1.4 300
Radish……….. 91.8 1.3 .3 8.3 1.0 135
Squash……….. 88.3 1.4 .5 9.0 .8 215
Tomato……….. 94.3 .9 .4 3.9 .5 105
Spinach………. 90.6 2.50 .5 3.8 1.7 …..
Kohlrabi……… 87.1 2.6 .2 7.1 1.7 …..
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Lima beans and shelled peas are generally included in this list, though the young lima beans contain about 20 per cent. starch.
Look at the cabbage analysis for kale and Brussels sprouts. They are much alike.
Most of the vegetables contain from one-half of one per cent. to two per cent. of indigestible fibre, which is not listed above.
This is but a partial list of the succulent vegetables. In addition may be mentioned artichokes of the green or cone variety, chard, string beans, celery, corn on the cob, turnips, turnip tops, lotus, endive, dandelion and garlic.
These vegetables produce but little energy, for most of them are not rich in protein, fat and carbohydrates, but they have considerable salts, which are given in the tables as ash. Their juices help to keep the blood alkaline, and it would be well for people to get into the habit of eating these foods, not only cooked, but some of them raw. The salts are very easily disturbed and in cooking they are somewhat changed. The best salts we get when we consume natural foods, such as raw fruits and raw vegetables and milk.
Another function of the succulent vegetables is to take up space in the stomach. Many like to eat until they feel comfortably full, but if they indulge in concentrated foods to this extent they overeat. The succulent vegetables have the merit of taking up much space without furnishing very much nourishment and they should, therefore, be used as space-fillers. However, they contain enough nourishment to be well worth eating, and most of them are excellent in flavor. This flavor is not appreciated by those who eat much meat and drink much alcohol.
The liberal use of these cooked vegetables has a tendency to prevent constipation, and some of them are called laxative foods, such as stewed onions and spinach.
These vegetables may be either steamed or prepared in a fireless cooker.
The usual way is to cook them in water. Clean the vegetables. Then put them on to cook in enough water to keep from burning, but use no seasoning. When the vegetables are tender there should be only a little fluid left and those who eat of the vegetables should take their share of this fluid, for it may contain as high as one-half to two-thirds of the salts. When served, let each one season to taste. Avoid the use of vinegar and all other products of fermentation as much as possible. Lemon juice will furnish all the acid needed for dressing.
The vegetables may be dressed with salt, or salt and butter, or salt and olive oil, and at times with cream, or with the natural gravy from meats, but avoid the use of flour and milk dressings, usually called cream gravy. These vegetables may also be eaten without any dressing.
The water is drained off from corn on the cob, asparagus, artichokes and unpeeled beets.
Vegetables should not be soaked in water, for they lose a part of their value if this is done. Cucumbers may be soaked in water to remove a part of the rank flavor, before being peeled.
Spinach is prepared as follows: Wash thoroughly. Put about two tablespoonfuls of water in the bottom of the kettle. Put over the fire and let the spinach wilt. Its juice will then begin to pour out and the spinach will cook in its own juice. Let it cook slowly until tender. Serve the spinach with its proportion of the juice. At first this will taste rather strong, but after a while a person will not want the dry, tasteless mess that is drained, usually served in hotels and restaurants. If some of the roots are left on the spinach, it tastes milder. The roots contain sugar.
Some of these vegetables, such as summer squash, onions and parsnips may be baked. Onions are very good sliced and broiled, but they should never be fried. Beets are good baked, and especially is this true of sugar beets. Radishes are very delicate and delicious when peeled and boiled, but their preparation is tedious. Egg plant is to be stewed, but not fried. As usually served, dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs and fried it is very indigestible.
Beet greens are excellent. They are best if the beets are pulled very young and both the roots and the leaves are used. Turnip tops, dandelion, mustard and Swiss chard are other greens that are good. All of them are prepared like spinach, except that more water is necessary. However, do not use much water.
Those who say that the various vegetables are unfit to eat and act accordingly are missing some good food. The vegetables all contain crude fibre, but they hurt the stomach and intestinal walls no more than they hurt the mucous membrane of the tongue. They furnish some bulk for the intestines to act upon, which is good and proper. All animals need some bulky food, otherwise they become constipated.
Tomatoes are best raw. If they are stewed they are to be cooked plain. Adding crackers and bread crumbs is a mistake. They taste all right without sugar, but a little may be used as dressing.
Vegetable soup: Take equal parts of about four vegetables, any that you like. Slice and cook in plain water until tender. When done add enough water or hot milk to make it of the right consistency. Season to taste. One of the constituents may be starchy, such as potatoes, barley or rice, but the rest should be succulent vegetables.
The succulent vegetables may be combined with all other foods. They go well with flesh or milk or nuts or starchy foods. With flesh or nuts they make a very satisfying meal. They may be taken with fruit. The tomato grows as a vegetable, but for practical purposes it is a fruit. The tomato combines well with protein, but not so well with the starchy foods.
If possible, salads should be made entirely of raw vegetables and raw fruits. The chief salad vegetables are celery, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, onions and garlic, the two last mentioned being used for flavoring.
Dr. Tilden, who has done much to popularize raw vegetable salads, has a favorite, which he calls by his own name. It is equal parts of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, with a small piece of onion. Chop up coarse and dress with salt and olive oil and lemon juice. This is all right for those who like it, but many do not care for such a complex salad with such dressing. Some of the combination salads that are served are wonderful mixtures, containing as many as seven or eight vegetables and a complex dressing.
Raw onions are too irritating to use in large quantities, and the same is true of garlic. The best salads contain but two or three ingredients. Take any two of the vegetables mentioned, such as lettuce and tomatoes; lettuce and cucumbers; cabbage and celery; celery and tomatoes, or eat simply one of these green vegetables raw. It is a good thing to eat some of those salad vegetables daily. If your digestion is excellent, you may occasionally take raw carrots or turnips, and a few raw spinach leaves are tasty for a change. Never mind if people tease you about eating grass, for it helps you to keep well.
Dress the raw vegetables as your taste allows. Most people want some salt, or salt and lemon juice, or a little sugar, or cream, or salt and olive oil, or salt, olive oil and lemon juice, or mayonnaise on their salad vegetables. Some eat them without any dressing and the flavor is excellent. Tasty salad can be made of fruit and vegetables, using no dressing, but strewing some nuts over the dish. On warm days, such a salad makes a satisfactory lunch.
It is all right to make a fruit and vegetable salad. Instead of using tomatoes, take strawberries, apples, grapes, or any other acid fruit. These fruits may be combined with cabbage, lettuce, celery or cucumbers. Do not mix too many foods in a meal, for to do so is indicative of poor taste. Those with refined palates like simple meals, and there is no reason for making salads so complex, when simplicity is a requirement for building health. However, a complex salad made of raw vegetables and raw juicy fruits does not play so much havoc as a mixture of concentrated foods.
Lettuce and celery are the most satisfactory salad vegetables to mix with fruits.
People who eat raw fruits do not need to eat the raw salad vegetables, for fruits and vegetables supply the same salts. Those who avoid both raw fruits and raw vegetables are not treating their bodies fairly.
The vegetable salads are most satisfactory when taken in combination with flesh, nuts or eggs, together with cooked succulent vegetables. They may be eaten with starchy foods, but then they should contain little or no acid.
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Carbohy-
Water Protein Fat drates Ash
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Barley. 10.9 12.4 1.8 72.5 2.4
Buckwheat. 12.6 10.0 2.2 73.2 2.0
Corn. 9.3 9.9 2.8 76.3 1.5
Kafir corn. 16.8 6.6 3.8 70.6 2.2
Oats. 11.0 11.8 5.0 69.2 3.0
Rice. 12.4 7.4 .4 79.4 .4
Rye. 11.6 10.6 1.0 73.7 1.9
Wheat, spring. 10.4 12.5 2.2 73.0 1.9
Wheat, winter. 10.5 11.8 2.1 73.8 1.8
First patent flour. 10.55 11.08 1.15 76.85 0.37
Whole wheat flour. 10.81 12.26 2.24 73.67 1.02
Graham flour. 8.61 12.65 2.44 74.58 1.72
Bread, ordinary white. 37.65 10.13 .64 51.14 .44
Bread, whole wheat. 41.31 10.60 1.04 46.11 .94
Bread, Graham. 42.20 10.65 1.12 44.58 1.45
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The cereal foods are important because of their wide distribution and the ease with which they can be prepared and utilized as food. They are very productive and need but little care and hence are a cheap food. The body can digest and absorb sugar and starch more completely than any other kind of food.
All civilized people have a favorite cereal. The Chinese and Japanese use rice very extensively, and this grain is growing in favor with us. White people generally prefer wheat, which is an excellent grain that has been used by man for thousands of years. It has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and it is so retentive of life that it has started to grow after lying dormant for several thousand years. Truly it is a worthy food for man.
The table of cereals should be carefully studied. It will be seen that the grains contain much starch, a little fat, and considerable protein. They also carry sufficient of salts, but only a small amount of water.
Please note further that patent flour loses nearly all of its salts. Patent flour is the product that is left after all the bran and practically all of the germ have been removed from the wheat. Whole wheat flour, or entire wheat flour, is the name given to the flour that has had a great part of the outer covering of the wheat kernel removed. It is a misnomer. Graham flour, named after Dr. Graham, is the product of the whole wheat kernel, and it will be noted that it is richer in salts and protein than the white flour and the whole wheat flour. The whole wheat flour and Graham flour we find on the market are often the result of blending, which is also true of the patent flour.
As we would expect, the various breads are rich or poor in salts according to the flours from which they are made.
All the cereals are good foods, but inasmuch as wheat and rice are used most extensively, they will receive more attention than the rest.
Wheat is perhaps the best and most balanced of all our cereals. The whole wheat with the addition of a little milk is sufficient to support life indefinitely. It is one of the foods of which people never seem to tire. Tiring of food is often an indication of excess. It is with food as with amusement, if we get too much we become blase. Those who eat in moderation are content with simple foods, but those who eat too much want a great variety, as a rule. There are beef gluttons, who are satisfied with their flesh and liquor, but this is because the meats are so stimulating.
Inasmuch as we use so much wheat, it is important that we use it properly. Today people want refined foods, and in refining they spoil many of our best food products. Sugar is too refined for health, rice suffers through refinement, and so does wheat. The wheat kernel contains all the elements needed to support life. In making fine white flour of it, at least three-fourths of the essential salts are removed. This robs the wheat of a large part of its life-imparting elements, and makes of it starvation food. If much white bread is consumed it is necessary to supplement it by taking large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, not necessarily in the same meal, in order to get the salts that have been removed in the process of milling.
The salts are found principally in the coats of the wheat, and in removing these coats and the germ, not only the salts, but considerable protein is lost. In other words, we remove most of the essential salts and a considerable part of the building material of the wheat, and then we eat the inferior product. The finer and whiter the flour, the poorer it is.
White flour has a very high starch content. The products made from it are quite tasteless and lacking in flavor, unless flavoring is added. Those who are used to whole wheat products find the white bread flat. It is possible to consume large quantities of white bread, and yet not be satisfied. There is something lacking. Whole wheat bread is more satisfying and therefore the danger of overeating of it is not so great.
The advocates of white flour say that the bran is too irritating for the bowels and for this reason it should be rejected. There is no danger in eating the entire kernel, after it is ground up. The particles of bran are so fine that they do no harm. The intestines were evidently intended for a little roughage, and it might as well come partly from wheat as from other sources. The gentle stimulation produced by the bran helps to keep the intestines active. It is noticeable that consumption of very refined foods leads to constipation.
Bran bread and bran biscuits are prescribed for constipation. This is just as bad as removing the bran entirely. Man has never been able to improve on the composition of the wheat berry. When an excess of bran is eaten, it causes too great irritation and in the end the individual is worse off than before. The after effect of irritation is always depression and sluggishness. Recent experiments seem to show that it is not the coarseness of the bran that causes activity of the bowels, but that some of the contained salts are laxative, for the same results have been obtained by soaking the bran in water and drinking the liquid.
The products of refined flour are more completely and easily digested than the whole wheat products. However, by eating in moderation and masticating well every normal person is able to take good care of whole wheat products, and the benefit of using the entire grain is so great that we should hesitate about continuing the use of the refined flours and white breads.
In the French army it has been found that when the soldiers are fed on refined flour products they are not so well nourished as when they have whole wheat products, and that they must have more of other foods to supplement the impoverished breadstuffs. It is difficult to get people to realize how important it is to give the tissue salts with the foods. Salts are absolutely essential to vital activity, and a lack of salts always results in mental and physical depression and even in disease.
No matter what adults are given, children should not be fed on white flour products. They need all the salts in the wheat. Depriving them of salts retards their development and results in decaying teeth and poor bone formation, among other things. They do not feel satisfied with their white flour foods. Therefore they overeat and get indigestion, catarrh, adenoids and various other ills. It is not difficult for people with observing eyes to note the difference in satisfaction of children after they get impoverished foods and the natural foods.
Anemia is very common among children, especially among the girls. The chief reason is impoverished foods. Salts can be used by the animal organism only after they have been elaborated by the vegetable kingdom. To remove all the iron from wheat and then give inorganic iron, which can not be assimilated, in its stead, is the height of folly. By all means, use less of the white flour and more of the entire wheat flour. If the white flour habit can not be given up, take enough raw fruit and vegetables to make up for the loss of salts in milling.
When rice is properly prepared it digests very easily. It is a little poor in protein, but this can be remedied by taking some milk in the same meal.
The rice we ordinarily get is inferior to the natural product. First they remove the bran. Then the flour is taken off. Then it is coated with a mixture of glucose and talcum and polished. All this trouble is taken to make it appeal to the eye. This impoverished rice is lacking in salts. It will not support people in health. In the countries where polished rice is fed in great quantities, they suffer a great deal from degenerative diseases. One of these is beri-beri, in which there are muscular weakness and degeneration, indigestion, disturbances of the heart and often times anasarca. When people suffering from this disease are given those parts of the rice grain lost in making polished rice, they recover. This is proof enough that the cause of the disease is the impoverished food.
The rice that should be used is brown and unpolished. When it is cooked it looks quite white. It is very satisfying.
Rye is extensively used in some lands. The bread is very good. Oats are largely devoured in Scotland. Corn bread is a favorite food in the southern part of our country. The negroes are fond of corn and pork with molasses, which is far from an ideal combination in warm climates.
Wheat makes the best bread because it contains gluten. Among proteins gluten is unique, because it is so elastic and after it has stretched it has a tendency to retain its place. This is what makes bread so porous. There are various meals or flours that can not be made into bread, or even dough, because they lack compounds which will act as frame work.
Bread can be made in many ways. The chief question for the housewife to decide is whether to make the bread from entire wheat flour or from patent flour. They are so different in value that a decision should not be difficult. It is also necessary to decide whether to use yeast bread or some other kind.
Yeast bread is made essentially from flour, water and yeast in the presence of heat. There are so many ways of making bread of this kind that a recipe is not necessary. The amount of salt to be added depends upon individual taste. Some like to set their yeast working in part potato, part flour. Others use milk instead of water. Some add shortening. And nearly all women believe that their own bread is the best.
Yeast is made up of myriads of little plants or fungi, which thrive on the sugary part of the flour. They convert this into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The alcohol is practically all gone before the bread is brought to the table. The gas raises the bread, assisted by the expansion of the water in the dough when it is placed in a hot oven.
The yeast consumes a great deal of the nutritive part of the flour. This may amount to from 5 to 8 per cent. of the food value, and I have read that sometimes it is as high as 20 per cent. Liebig said that the fermentation destroyed enough food material daily in Germany to supply 400,000 people with bread. However, yeast bread is very agreeable to the taste and therefore is probably worth more than the unfermented product.
One objection to yeast bread is that all the yeast is not killed in baking, and the alcoholic fermentation may start again in the stomach. If the bread is turned into zwieback this is remedied. Fresh bread is not fit to eat, for it is very rarely properly masticated and if it is merely moistened and converted into a soggy mass in the mouth it is hard to digest.
Unleavened bread is made by making the flour into a paste, rolling out thin and baking well. Any kind of flour may be used. This is the passover bread of the Jews.
Dr. Graham's bread was made by mixing Graham flour with water, without any leavening, mixing the dough thoroughly, putting this aside several hours and baking.
Macaroni and spaghetti are made by mixing durum wheat flour with water, without any leavening. With the addition of eggs we get commercial noodles. The paste is moulded as desired.
All bread stuffs should be well baked.. The baking turns part of the starch into dextrine, which is easy to digest. Biscuits should be placed into a hot oven, but bread should be put into an oven moderately heated, otherwise the crust forms too quickly.
Whenever a light product is desired, whether it is bread, biscuit or cake, sift the flour over and over again to get it well impregnated with air. The more air it contains the more porous will be the finished product. Five or six siftings will suffice.
Unleavened breads of excellent flavor can be made by using either cream or butter as shortening, rolling the bread very thin, like crackers, and baking thoroughly.
Shredded wheat biscuits, puffed wheat and puffed rice, flaked wheat and flaked corn are some of the good foods we can purchase ready made. Most of them should be placed in a warm oven long enough to crisp. Masticate thoroughly and take them with either butter or milk, or both. It is best to take the milk either before or after eating the cereal. Sugar should not be added to these foods. Those who are not hungry enough to eat them without sugar should fast until normal hunger returns.
Baking powder bread is very good. The essentials are well sifted flour, liquid, good baking powder, quick mixing and a hot oven. The following recipe, recommended by Dr. Tilden, is good: To a quart of very best flour, which has been sifted two or three times, add a little salt and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift again three times. Then add one or two tablespoonfuls of soft butter. Mix rapidly into a rather stiff dough with unskimmed milk. The dough should be rolled thin, and cut into small biscuits or strips. Put into a pan and bake in a hot oven until there is a crisp crust on bottom and top, which will take about twenty minutes. The more thoroughly and quickly the dough is mixed, the better the result.
These biscuits or bread sticks are good, always best when made rather thin, not to exceed an inch in thickness after being baked. When an attempt is made to bake in the form of a fairly thick loaf it is generally a failure. Use the proportions of white and whole wheat flours desired.
If more butter or some cream is added and it is rolled out thin, it serves very well for the bread part of shortcake.
Toast: Slice any kind of bread fairly thin, preferably stale bread. Place the slices into a moderately hot oven and let them remain there until they are crisp through and through. The scorched bread that is generally served as toast is no better than untoasted bread.
Whole wheat muffins: One cup whole wheat flour; one cup white flour; one-fourth cup sugar; one teaspoonful salt; one cup milk; one egg; two tablespoonfuls melted butter; four teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix dry ingredients; add milk gradually, then eggs and melted butter. Put into gem pans and bake in hot oven for twenty-five minutes.
Ginger bread: One cup molasses; one and three-fourths teaspoons soda; one-half cup sour milk; two cups flour; one-half teaspoon salt; one-third cup butter; two eggs; two teaspoonfuls ginger. Put butter and molasses in sauce pan and heat until boiling point is reached. Remove from fire, add soda and beat vigorously. Then add milk, egg well beaten, and remaining ingredients mixed and sifted. Bake twenty-five minutes in buttered, shallow pan in moderate oven.
Custard: Three cups milk; three eggs; one-half cup sugar; one-half teaspoonful vanilla; pinch of salt. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt; then add scalded milk and vanilla; mix well. Pour into cups, place them in a pan of hot water in oven and bake twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve cold.
Custard may also be cooked in double boiler or baked in a large pan.
This is not a cereal dish, but the next one is.
Rice custard: To well cooked rice add a few raisins and a small amount of sugar. The raisins can be cooked with the rice or separately. Place the rice and raisins in a baking dish, pour over an equal amount of raw custard and bake as directed for custard. Bake in either individual cups or pan. When done the layer of custard is on top and the rice and raisins on the bottom.
Macaroni and cheese: Three-fourths cup macaroni broken in pieces; two quarts boiling water; one-half table-spoonful salt. Cook macaroni in salted water twenty minutes, or longer if necessary to make it tender; drain. Put layer of macaroni in buttered baking dish; sprinkle with cheese, and repeat, making the last or top layer of cheese. Pour in milk to almost cover. Put into oven and bake until the top layer of cheese is brown.
Corn bread: Two cups corn meal; one-half cup wheat flour; one tablespoonful sugar; one-half teaspoonful salt; two teaspoonfuls baking powder; two eggs; one and three-fourths cups milk. Sift corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together four or five times; add eggs and milk; stir well, pour into a hot buttered pan; smooth the top with a little melted butter to crisp the crust. Bake a good brown in hot oven.
Another recipe for corn bread is: To one cup of wheat flour, add two cups of corn flour; two eggs; one heaping teaspoonful butter or cottolene; one heaping teaspoonful baking powder; one pinch soda, a scant fourth teaspoonful; one-half teaspoonful salt. Prepare and make into batter with milk and bake as directed in first recipe.
Corn mush: Cook corn meal in plain water until it is done. It may be cooked over the fire, in a fireless cooker or in a double boiler. Serve with rich milk; add a little salt if desired.
Oatmeal: Put into a double boiler and let it cook until it is very tender. It can also be cooked in a fireless cooker over night. It requires several hours cooking before it is fit to eat. All foods of this nature should be thoroughly cooked, and they may all be made into porridge, which is better.
The objection to all mushy foods is that they are hardly ever properly masticated. The result is that they ferment in the alimentary tract, especially when they are eaten with sugar, as they generally are. It is best to take the mushy foods with milk and a little salt or with butter. Eaten in this way there is not such tendency to overeat as when sugar is used. Children especially eat more of these foods than is good for them if they are allowed to take them with sweets. Porridge is more diluted than the mushes and hence the danger of overeating is not so great.
Boiled rice: The best way to cook it is in a double boiler or a fireless cooker. Every grain should be tender. Cook it in plan water. It is not necessary to stir, but if the rice becomes dry add some more water. If rice and milk are desired, warm the milk and add when the rice is done. Serve like oatmeal. Putting sugar on cereals is nonsense. They are very rich in starch and sugar is about the same as starch. Sugar stimulates the appetite, and consequently people who use it on cereals overeat of this concentrated food.
Rice and raisins: This is prepared the same as boiled rice, except that raisins are added to the rice and water when first put on to cook. With milk this makes a good breakfast or lunch.