1 5 14 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



meal-planning 



Although the best type of meal-planning must be based on a thorough 

 knowledge of human nutrition, much may be accomplished by an under- 

 standing of a few simple dietary rides. Although by following these 

 rules it may not be possible to find the pot of gold at the end of the rain- 

 bow, the ' balanced ration," on the other hand it may be entirely 

 possible to do something very practical — to give balance to the daily 

 dietary and to gain a certain freedom from family food customs, neighbor- 

 hood food traditions, and, let us even hope, from personal food likes and 

 dislikes. 



To balance the dietary means: to supply in the meals of each day, in 

 a form best suited to the individual, all the substances needed to build the 

 tissues, bone, muscle, nerve, blood; to provide energy for the day's activities; 

 to keep the body in good working order. 



A dietary may contain ample bone-building material and may lack the 

 substances needed to produce red blood corpuscles. The needs of muscles 

 may be satisfied while bones and nerves remain hungry; or all tissues 

 may be well supplied, but the dietary may be lacking in substances that 

 regulate such processes as the flow of digestive juices, the activity of the 

 intestine and its ability to empty itself, or the purification of the blood 

 through neutralizing harmful compounds produced by the work of the 

 body. The various body needs must therefore be taken into account 

 in the planning of the dietary. 



ADAPTABILITY OF FOODS TO BODY NEEDS 



It is not possible to make an exact grouping of foods according to the 

 definite part that each is capable of playing in the dietary, for most common 

 foods are able to play several parts and therefore may satisfy a variety 

 of needs. In a general way, however, it is possible to indicate which 

 foods best serve a certain body need. 



Foods especially adapted to furnish the foundation substances of all living, 

 active tissues: 



Milk Legumes 



Eggs Nuts 



Cheese Cereals 

 Meat 



While all these foods are nourishing, they cannot replace one another 

 in every respect. For example, either milk or eggs might be chosen for 

 the purpose of muscle-building; but milk is much richer than eggs in 



