Table of Food Materials
Arranged according to cost per 100 Calories
| Group I | Group II | Group III | Group IV |
| Less than 1¢ per 100 Calories | 1-2¢ per 100 Calories | 21⁄2-5¢ per 100 Calories | Over 5¢ per 100 Calories |
| Apples, dried | Almonds | Beans, canned | Asparagus |
| Bacon (all fat eaten) | Apricots, dried | Limas | Beans, canned, string |
| Beans, dried | Bananas | Beans, string, fresh | Celery |
| Bread | Butter, over, 32¢ per pound | Beets, fresh | Chicken |
| Butter under 32¢ per pound | Cabbage | Cauliflower | Cod, fresh |
| Corned beef | Carrots, old | Codfish, salt | Cucumbers |
| Cornmeal | Cheese | Corn, canned | Lettuce |
| Cornflakes | Chestnuts | Eggs, 25-36¢ per doz. | Olives |
| Cornstarch | Chocolate | Haddock | Oysters |
| Cottonseed oil | Cocoa | Halibut | Peaches, canned |
| Crackers, soda | Cream | Ham | Pears, canned |
| Dates | Eggs under 25¢ per doz. | Lamb chops | Salmon, canned |
| Farina | Figs | Onions (city prices) | Sardines, canned |
| Flour | Grapes | Oranges | Scallops |
| Grapenuts | Milk, 7 to 13¢ per qt. | Round steak | Steak, choice cuts |
| Lard | Olive oil | Rump of beef | Spinach |
| Lentils | Peaches, dried | Tomatoes | Veal, loin |
| Macaroni | Peanuts | Veal, leg | |
| Milk at 6¢ or less per qt. | Peanut butter | ||
| Molasses | Pork sausage | ||
| Oatmeal | Puffed cereals | ||
| Oleomargarine | Sweet potatoes | ||
| Rolled oats | Turnips | ||
| Peas, dried | Walnuts | ||
| Potatoes | |||
| Raisins | |||
| Pork, salt fat | |||
| Prunes | |||
| Rice | |||
| Suet | |||
| Sugar | |||
| Tapioca |
Inspection of this table shows that if we can afford only one cent per 100 Calories for food, we must get a large share from Group I, and a few from Group II; if we wish to use foods in Group III, we shall have to do so sparingly, or offset them with some of the very cheapest in Group I, to keep the average as we wish it.
When we plan an attractive menu and find it is too expensive for us, we may often carry out our plan by substituting cheaper foods of the same sort. Thus in the dietary on page [313] we may substitute as follows:
Bananas for oranges. Top milk for cream. Oleomargarine for a part of the butter. Bean loaf with tomato sauce for creamed salmon and peas. Stewed apricots for pears. Rump roast instead of rib roast.
Doing this, omitting the soup and crackers and the salad for dinner, and increasing bread and potatoes, flaked wheat, and other cheaper foods to prevent any deficiency in fuel, we can still prepare palatable and digestible meals with the right food values, and save perhaps 25 per cent on the total cost for the day.
Feeding the sick.—When illness is serious enough for a physician to be consulted, he will give directions concerning the diet, and these should be scrupulously followed. If the case is so severe as to demand a trained nurse, she will have charge of the feeding, under the physician’s guidance.
Many times, however, a member of the family is temporarily indisposed and needs food different from the ordinary family bill of fare. It is well to remember that in the first day or two of illness, fasting or taking of very little food does no harm, and may be an excellent help toward recovery, as it gives the digestive tract a chance to rest, if it has been disturbed.
Nevertheless, the internal work of the body goes on, 0.4 Calorie per pound per hour being expended during sleep, and about 0.6 Calorie per pound per hour during waking hours in bed. A person in bed for twenty-four hours will require about 0.5 Calorie per pound per hour to prevent use of body material for fuel. A man of average weight, lying in bed, will thus need about 1850 calories per day. Hence we must see to it, that after a person has been sick for more than a few days (during which he can afford to burn body fat) enough fuel is given to satisfy his energy requirements if he can possibly digest it.
Food for an invalid must always be given in its most digestible forms. Milk is one of the most valuable foods in sickness, not only because it supplies so many body needs, but because it can be used in so many ways,—hot, or cold, flavored or plain, made into junkets or sherbets, combined with eggs in eggnogs and custards, fermented as in kumyss or soured as in buttermilk or zoolak. In some form or other milk can almost always be made digestible. Eggs are also of great value, not only poached or dropped and served on toast, but as dainty omelets, or in beverages, as eggnog, egg lemonade, and orangeade. Mild fruit juices, as orange, grape, or pineapple, are not only refreshing but of considerable fuel value. If there is no fever, chicken, lamb chops, tender broiled steak or roast beef may serve to add variety to the menu. Broths stimulate the appetite and help digestion,