Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1920 — KINDS OF FOOD CHILDREN NEED TO MAKE THEM GROW INTO HEALTHY MEN AND WOMEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KINDS OF FOOD CHILDREN NEED TO MAKE THEM GROW INTO HEALTHY MEN AND WOMEN

(Prepared by the United States Department pf Agriculture.) Some people tell us a great deal about what children ought not to eat but forget to tell us what they ought to have. The kinds of food that children need to make them grow into healthy men and women is being studied by home economics experts. The most important of these foods is milk. It supplies something for making muscles; something for making bones and teeth ; and something that makes children grow. No child will grow as fast as he should or as well without milk. - He may get, fat, but fatness is not the same as strength. Unless he has milk, some part of him will almost surely be weak. ; Every little child should have at least three glasses of whole milk every day, and if possible, four. If he has this amount of milk, and particularly if he can be given one egg yolk a day, he does not need meat. Some mothers worry because they cannot afford to buy meat, fish, chicken or other flesh foods for their children, but this is quite unnecessary if they are able to get milk, and milk is almost always cheaper than these other foods.

How to Serve Eggs. — Some one will probably ask how the yolk of an egg should be served to a child. One good way is to add it to milk gravy. Another way is to cook it hard, salt and mash it and spread it on bread. The mother may just as well use the white of the egg for cake or for puddings. It is the yolk that the child needs most. All of the iron of the egg is in the yolk. There Is something in the yolk, too. as there is in the milk that makes children grow. Every mother wants her children to have straight, strong legs. Both milk and eggs help to make the bones Strong. Children who do not get these foods are almost sure to have a disease called “rickets.” Their bones, being weak, bend under them and get very much out of shape. Milk gets dirty easily and it is very hard to make it clean after it has become dirty. It is different from such foods asapples —and oranges fromwhich the dirt can be wiped. If milk is left uncovered and dust or other kinds of dirt fall on it, or if it IS put into a dirty dish the dirt sinks to the bottom and it is impossible to get it out. Dirty milk is almost sure to make children sick and so the greatest pains should be taken to keep it clean. The barn where the cow\ is kept should be so, the pails and the milker’s hands. After the milk comes into the house it should be kept carefully covered in a cool place. Use of Clean Skim Milk. Whole milk is far better for children than skim milk, but clean skim milk is better than dirty whole milk. If the mother cannot get clean whole milk, she had better use clean skim milk and give the child a little extra butter to make up for the fat that was taken oft when the milk was skimmed. The “something” in milk that makes children grow comes from the grass and other green things that the cow eats. The same “something” in eggs comes from the green food that every good chicken raiser provides for his chickens. From the green food it gets into the milk and the egg yolks. This substance, so much needed by all young animals, is also in lettuce, spinach, and other greens. For this reason these vegetables are good for children, particularly when milk and eggs are scarce. Some children do not like vegetables and it does little good to try to persuade them to eat them. A better way Is to put them into soups or gravies without saying anything about it. For example, make milk stews or gravies and put into them any small amounts of cooked vegetables that may be left over or some fresh vegetables cooked for the purpose. Here is a recipe for a milk stew. With plenty of bread, a large bowl of It makes a good dinner for a child. Milk Stew With Vegetables.

1 Quart milk, whole or skim. 1 cupful raw potatoes cut In small leaves lettuce, spinach or other greens cut into small pieces or chopped. A small piece of onion. g twwwpoanfnla butter or bacon tat. SajL'-' ■ { - . 801 l the potatoes till soft and drain. Cook the other vegetables in so little water that they do not need to be drained. Add to the milk. Heat add

the fat and season with salt. Serve hot. Almost any vegetable can be used for flavoring milk §tews. Or a little fish or chopped dried beef may be used. In the case of very little children care should be taken not to serve any tough foods like large pieces of dried beef unless the mother has time to watch and see that they are well chewed. , Another way to is in simple puddings. Rice Pudding. 1 quart milk, whole % teaspoonful of or skim. ground nutmeg, or 1-3 cupful rice. cinnamon, or the 1-3 cupful sugar. grated rind of % of % teaspoonful salt. a lemon. Wash the rice thoroughly, mix the Ingredients, and bake three hours or more in a very slow oven, stirring occasionally at first. Any kind Qf cereal, oatmeal, cornmeal, or cracked wheat can be used in place of the rice and molasses, or brown sugar can be used for sweetening and flavoring. To say that a child does not need flesh foods like meat, chicken, and fish if he has plenty of milk does not mean that these foods are not good for him. The chief point is that they are not needed and when used in addition to are extravagant. So far as health is concerned some of the tenderer flesh foods, like fish or chicken, may be given in small amounts even to very young children. No child, however, should be given tough meat that is likely to be swallowed in large pieces. Fried meat is particularly harmful. ?

Use Fresh or Dried Fruits. Fruit once n day is a good rule. It you cannot afford fresh fruit, get dried fruits. Soak them well and cook then* until soft. If the child is delicate give only the juice or pulp. Very young children who are just beginning to eat other things than milk should be given the juice only of the fruits. A little later they may be given the pulp. A healthy child of school age can eat apples, peaches and plums, skin and all. Every child should have plenty of good bread. There Is no dangerog him eating too much of It unless it Is covered with sugar or jam. A hungry child will eat plain bread without either butter or sugar between meals. Save the sweets for dessert. Whole wheat or graham bread helps to prevent constipation. So, too. do vegetables and fruits. Mothers who cannot afford vegetables and fruits should give coarse bread occasionally. Cereal mushes, like oatmeal, cornmeal or cracked wheat, are good food for children; they have just as much nourishment in them as the ready-to-eat cereals and cost very much less. Hardness and crispness in food is not the same as toughness. In fact, hard brdad or toast is good food for children. Bread that has been dried and slightly browned in the oven can be broken into small pieces and served with milk as cereal mushes are. As to sweets, save them for dessert when the child is not hungry enough to eat too much of them. One of the simple puddings mentioned above makes a good dessert. So, too, do plain cake or cookies. ' One of the cheapest sweets is bread spread with butter and sugar, white or brown. Lump sugar is usually far cheaper than candy. . Breakfast may consist always of fruit, fresh or dried, with a cereal mush, milk, bread and butter. Bread and milk or rice and milk are enough for supper. The chief meal phould come in the middle of the day. Here are a few suggestions for it: Suggested Dinners. ' Baked Potatoes. Milk Gravy, made with bacon or salt pork fat. Greens. ~ Stew. Egg on Toast Rice Pudding. Milk Toast. Stewed Celery or Cabbage. Boiled Rice with Sirup. Potato Soup. Bread and Butter. • Baked Apples.

Poached Egg on Toast, Baked Potato, Bread and Butter, Milk and Rice Pudding Make an Excellent Dinner for a Three-Year-Old.