FOODS AND DIETARIES 287 



The tables show the proportion of protein, fat, and carbohydrate 

 in each food, so that it is a simple matter by using such a table 

 to estimate the proportions of the various nutrients in our dietary. 

 We may depend upon taking somewhere near the proper amount 

 of food if we take a diet based upon either Atwater's, Chittenden's, 

 or Voit's standard. One of the most interesting and useful 

 pieces of home work that you can do is to estimate your own 

 personal dietary, using the tables giving the 100-Calorie portion 

 to see if you have a properly balanced diet. From the table on 

 page 286 make out a simple dietary for yourself for one day, 

 estimating your own needs in Calories and then picking out 100- 

 Calorie portions of food which will give you the proper propor- 

 tions of protein, fat, and carbohydrate. 



From the preceding table plan a well-balanced and cheap dietary 

 for one day for a family of five, two adults and three children. 

 Make a second dietary for the same time and same number of 

 people which shall give approximately the same amount of tissue 

 and energy producing food from more expensive materials. 



Food Waste in the Kitchen. Much loss occurs in the im- 

 proper cooking of foods. Meats especially, when overdone, 

 lose much of their flavor and are far less easily digested than when 

 they are cooked rare. The chief reasons for cooking meats are 

 that the muscle fibers may be loosened and softened, and that the 

 bacteria or other parasites in the meat may be killed by the heat. 

 The common method of frying makes foods less digestible. Stew- 

 ing is an economical as well as healthful method. A good way to 

 prepare meat, either for stew or soup, is to place the meat, cut in 

 small pieces, in cold water, and allow it to simmer for several 

 hours. Rapid boiling toughens the muscle fibers by the too rapid 

 coagulation of the albuminous matter in them, just as the white 

 of egg becomes tough when boiled too long. Boiling and roasting 

 are excellent methods of cooking meat. In order to prevent the 

 loss of the nutrients in roasting, it is well to baste the meat fre- 

 quently ; thus a crust is formed on the outer surface of the meat, 

 which prevents the escape of the juices from the inside. 



Vegetables are cooked in order that the cells containing starch 

 grains may be burst open, thus allowing the starch to be more 



