Dietaries are the food-combinations selected to meet food-needs, as those of an individual or a family group. The foods composing a dietary are distributed into menus as meals.

Distribution of food through the day, week, month, year, as well as the kinds, combination, and quantity needed in different periods of life, at different work, and in varying health are all questions to be answered practically in forming dietaries.

Planned dietaries consider science-knowledge of food and body food-needs, but neither is fixed. Knowledge grows and needs change with altered conditions.

Quantities of food consumed should vary mainly with amount of work done, physical growth occurring and season, rather than be controlled by expense incurred, as is usual with those laboring hardest and longest.

Selection Of Food-Combinations For Different Meals

(At what meals and for which age should the following foods be served?) Milk, pea soup, tomato bouillon, clam broth, oyster stew, bean puree. Milk, tea, coffee, cocoa; oven toast, toast, dry bread, hot breads. Beef, lamb, poultry, eggs; green vegetables, starchy; macaroni, rice. Salads, light, substantial; sauces with oil, with vinegar. Cake plain, cold, warm, rich; baked rice pudding, custard; pastry. Gingerbread or sponge cake is palatable with apple sauce, blueberries, mountain cranberries. Name similar combinations. Ice-cream and cake make a heavy dessert; fruit ices and lady-fingers a light; fruit gelatine or fruit souffle or stewed fruit, a medium. Use one of each of the desserts suggested and make with it a menu for a light dinner, for a moderate, for a heavy. Make a menu for a light, moderate, heavy breakfast and luncheon with each of these dinner-menus. Decide which you would like. Try to have such a meal. Is it palatable?

Write on the basis suggested, different menus of many types, choosing variety of foods from Tables on pp. 190-193.