"What They Eat"

    I will be baking a cake tonight but now let's focus on a fun little pamphlet I have, called "Happy, Healthy 4-H Club Members: What They Eat". 
    This is a 4-H circular dated December 1933. The booklet includes, 
"Health Goals For 4-H Club Members": 
"A 4-H club member is expected to know all the good qualities to be looked for in the products made, but even more important than the recognition of the good points of a perfect loaf of bread, a suitable dress, or a calf, are the good points of the members themselves. What are these qualities we should look for and try to attain? 
Some Signs Of Good Health:

A well-formed and well-developed body with: 
Straight back and legs 
Well-formed knee and ankle joints 
Clear, firm skin 
Bright, clear, mucous membranes 
Firm muscles 
Clear, bright eyes 
Glossy hair 
A broad, deep chest 
Well-formed, even teeth that fit together 
A happy, cheerful disposition." 

    Wow! These are tough standards! I'm thinking of asking my aunt to put me through this test every morning before I leave for work. I'm sure she wouldn't mind checking out my mucous membranes and testing my dental symmetry. And what's more I know she would do it with "a happy cheerful disposition". 
    Our 4-H friends give us fine advice about the ingredients of healthful meals: 
    "Milk- One quart a day for each child and one pint a day for adults 
    Potatoes- Once or twice a day 
    Vegetables- At least two good servings 
    Fruit- At least two servings, one of which should be citrus or tomato 
    Whole grain cereal or bread- Once or twice a day 
    Meat, egg, fish, or cheese- Once or twice daily. 
    An egg a day is advisable." (Ha! Take that, cholesterol Nazis!)  

Other random advice:

• Substantial meals should only be taken by those doing hard work or vigorous exercise (Does this mean I should serve myself an "insubstantial" meal?)
• When having two vegetables with dinner, one should be cooked, the other raw (Salad, I guess.)
• Children under 8 years should not eat salad.
• A simple dinner may easily be expanded to include meat or a meat-like dish. (Meat-like? What's that...Spam? Just kidding, Mom, Spam is fab!)
• Beverages at meals should be hot for elderly persons (for better digestion, perhaps?)
• Only food planned for the meal should appear on the table. (Please remove the Cheerio box from the table at dinner-time!)
• If a food is left over it is more appreciated if it does not appear again on the same day. (Or the next day, either, in my opinion- absence makes the stomach grow fonder.)

Next we move on to the kitchen and some advice about maintaining your appliances. Here is some timely advice: "A sink strainer is a very useful article in keeping particles of refuse from escaping down the pipe and clogging it." (As for me, I have to go home tonight and stick my arm down the garbage disposal and try to find the pop can tab my aunt lost down there!) 
    Here is a little poem about washing dishes (which I loathe!): (Note: I loathe washing dishes, not the poem) 

        The Art of Dish Washing
When we on simple rations sup, 
How easy is the washing up. 
But heavy feeding complicates 
The task by soiling many plates. -- Christopher Morley 

    And lastly, I will throw in a very important rule regarding making good coffee:  
    Do Not reheat cold coffee! (That one's for you, Mom!)