One quart of cocoa can be made from two ounces, or eight tablespoonfuls of cocoa shells, (which cost two cents,) with half a pint of milk, and an ounce of sugar, (at four cents more;) we have a quart of good, nutritious drink at six cents. It is all the better if the shells are boiled gently two or three hours. Of course the nibs, or crushed cocoa, and chocolate, will both produce a correspondingly nutritious beverage.
Beer.—Very poor families sometimes spend every day for beer enough to buy them a good, wholesome meal, because they think it makes them strong. Beer, like all other liquors, is of no value whatever in making strength; it only nerves you up to spend all you can muster under the excitement it causes, and then leaves you weaker than before. What you need when you crave liquor is a good, warm meal. The best doctors say that a man cannot drink more than about a pint and a half of beer a day without injuring his health; and that healthy people, during youth and middle age, do not need it at all. Let it, and all other liquors alone entirely, and you will be better off in health and purse.
Beer for Nursing Women.—It is generally believed that women who drink malt liquor are able to nurse children to greater advantage than those who do not use it. The fact is that while the quantity of milk may be increased, its nourishing quality will be impaired. There may be more milk for the child, but it will be poor. The effect of all malt liquors is to promote the secretion of the fluids of the body, but not to enrich them. Do not drink beer for the sake of your child, but try milk, or milk and water instead, and see if after a fair trial you do not have plenty for the baby, and if it does not grow strong and fat. If milk does not agree with you, or you cannot afford it, use barley water; it will not only give you plenty of milk, but it will nourish you as well as the baby. You will get from it all the nourishment that you may fancy you get from malt liquor, with this advantage: in the barley water you will get all the nutriment of the grain unchanged, while in the form of beer the fermentation has destroyed part of it. The following is a good receipt:
Barley Water.—Thoroughly wash two ounces of pearl barley, (which costs less than two cents,) to remove any musty or bad flavor, put it over the fire in two quarts of cold water, and boil it until it is reduced to one quart; then strain it, cool it, and drink it whenever you are thirsty. A little sugar can be used without hurting the baby.
Milk.—I have already said that milk is the most perfect food; we will now see what it is made of, and how it nourishes the body; and then we can understand how necessary it is to have it pure. The elements of milk which strengthen the whole body are the solid parts that separate in the form of curd when it begins to turn sour; the whey contains the salts and phosphates which strengthen the brain, bones, and digestive organs; the cream is the part which makes us fat. When we remember that cheese is made from the curd of milk we can see why it is so valuable as food, and why a meal of black or brown bread and cheese will satisfy a hungry man.
Try to afford at least a quart of good milk every day. It can be bought in New York now for seven or eight cents a quart; and if the children have plenty of seconds bread, or oatmeal porridge, and a cup of milk, at meal times, they will be strong and rosy.
Skim-milk, butter-milk, and whey, are all excellent foods, and far better drinks than beer or whiskey. Make a plain pudding now and then, with skim-milk, adding an ounce of suet to restore its richness. If the milk has turned a little sour add lime water to it, in the proportion of four tablespoonfuls of the lime water to a quart. If the lime water is added before the milk begins to turn it will help keep it fresh. The following is a good receipt for making lime water:
Lime Water.—Slack four ounces of quick lime with a little water, and gradually add enough water to make a gallon in all; let it stand three hours, then bottle it in glass-stoppered bottles, putting a portion of the undissolved lime in each bottle; when you want to use some, pour off the clear fluid from the top.
Children should never have tea, coffee, or liquor; all these drinks hurt them; give them milk, or milk and water; or pure water, if you cannot afford milk. But you had better scant their clothes than their supply of milk. If you have to limit the supply of food, deny them something else, but give them plenty of bread and scalded milk, and you can keep them healthy.