Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 130, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1916 — BEST DIET FOR CHILD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BEST DIET FOR CHILD

ADVICE OF BPECIALIBTB OF BUREAU AT WASHINGTON. Preparations of Meat, Fish, Eggs, and Meat Substitutes Recommended — Almost Innumerable Variety of Btews Is Possible.

The following directions for the use of meat, fish, eggs, and meat substitutes in the diet of a child three to six years of age are taken from Farmers’ Bulletin No. 717, “Foots for Young Children," prepared by specialists of the office of home economics. United Btates department of agriculture. __ Broiling and roasting are the best methods of preparing tender meat. Tough meat should be stewed or prepared in a fireless cooker, or first chopped and then broiled. It is very important to teach the very young child to chew meat properly. Fried meats, particularly those which are pan fried or cooked in a small amount of fat, should not be given to young children. One reason for this is that they are likely to be overcooked and tough, at least on the outside, and so are likely not to be properly chewed and to be swallowed In large pieces. Another reason is that the fat used In frying and also that which tries out of the meat is likely to be scorched and changed In composition. When this is the case, it is almost certain to be harmful. Some recipes for cooking meat for children follow:

Many cuts of meat too tough to be broiled whole may be prepared very satisfactorily by being chopped, salted and broiled. Allow about one-half teaspoonful of salt to a pound of meat. For very little Children the meat should be scraped Instead of being chopped, for in this way the connective tissue is taken out. An egg or a little milk may also be added. The most important point is careful handling, for if the meat is pressed together it becomes tough and hard. If a wire broiler is used, the cakes should not be squeezed between the two sides. To avoid this, lay them on top of the broiler and turn them with a knife and fork. Stews made out of meat and vegetables offer a very great variety of dishes good in themselves and good

also because they encourage the eating of bread. The meat used should, of course, be in good condition but need not be from a tender cut. The lower-priced-efits may be used with good results, provided they are made tender by long, slow cooking. Any vegetable may be added, including the tougher parts of lettuce, and the leaves of celery. Rice, barley, macaroni, or even crusts of stale bread may be used in the stew to give variety. A stew containing a little meat, with one or more vegetables, and a cereal comes near to supplying all the needed foods, other than milk. Cut the meat into Bmall pieces, cover with boiling water, boil for five minutes, and then cook at a lower temperature until the meat is tender. This will require about three hours on the stove or five hours in the fireless cooker. Add carrots, turnips, onions, pepper and salt during the last hour of cooking, and the potatoes 20 minutes before serving. Thicken with the flour diluted with cold water. If the dish is made in the fireless cooker, the mixture must be reheated when the vegetables are put in. There is much to be said in favor of keeping a soup pot on the stove all the time, provided great care is taken not to allow the contents to grow stale. Into this pot can go clean portions of uncooked food and also clean foods left from the table, such as meat, mflk, mashed potatoes or other vegetables, crusts, cold cereal mushes, and even fruits. Soups made from such materials may not have great nutritive value, but, like those made out of materials bought for the purpose, they encourage the use of a large amount of bread, particularly if carefully seasoned. Chicken or turkey can be used for variety in children’s diets. It is palatable stewed and served with rice. If roast chicken is used, select portions which are tender. It is well not to give a young child either highly seasoned stuffing (dressing) or rich gravy.

The use of cured fish, fresh fish and oysters in stews has been spoken of above. Boiled or stewed fi3h is also good for variety. Eggs are especially useful food for young children. The chief point to remember in preparing them for children is that they must not be overcooked or they are likely to- cause indigestion, as experience has shown. Everyone know# hew the heat of cooking hardens the egg, and it is easy to understand why the digestive Juices might have difficulty in penetrating such hard substance as the white of a hard-boiled egg. Overcooked yolks also thought to be hard to digest. However, when eggs are cooked in the

shell, the heat reaches the white b» fore it does the yolk, and so there is more danger of the white being overcooked than of the yolk. The best ways of serving eggs for children are poached, soft-boiled, or coddled, though they may be scrambled for a change if one is careful not to scorch tjie fat used or to overcook the egg. One of the most satisfactory ways of cooking eggs is by coddling and is done as follows: Allow a cupful of water to each egg, bring the water to the boiling point, remove it from the fire, put In the eggs, eover the dish closely, and leave the eggs in the water for about seven minutes. Milk and eggs, as stated above, are common meat substitutes. Among vegetable foods, dried beans, peas, lentils, and cowpeas, which are often classed together and called legumes, are the best substitutes for meat in the diet of older people, chiefly because they have large amounts of nitrogen needed for muscle building. In this respect they have some advantage, though not a great one, over cereals. Beans and the other legumes are not to be recommended for young children except when milk, meat, eggs, fish, and poultry are not to be obtained. When used they should be cooked until they are reduced to a mush. Since the skins are likely to be tough, it is well to put the cooked legumes through a sieve.

Ideal Dinner for Child—Lamb Chop, Baked Potato, Spinach (Cut Fine), Rice and Milk, Bread and Butter.