one of the most easily digested and simplest sources of
protein in our diet and the most valuable of our foods, is discussed
in Chapter VII.

_Nuts_ are usually thought of as a luxury, but the amount of protein
and fat they contain makes them really an important food. Peanuts are
usually classed with the nuts and are considered the most valuable
nut-crop of the United States. They are growing so fast in importance
that the acreage was increased 60 per cent in 1917. They are used for
oil and for fodder as well as for human food. Peanut-butter or a bag
of peanuts is a good investment, but it should be counted as part of
the necessary food, not eaten as an extra. The occasional indigestion
following injudicious eating of cheese and nuts is probably often due
to forgetting that they are very substantial foods and eating them at
the end of an already sufficient meal.

_Peas and Beans_ are taken up with the other vegetables in Chapter
VIII.

Why do not the Allies use these substitutes? Mainly because they
haven't them. Dairy products are as scarce as meat. All the fish and
beans and peas that they can get are being used. But it is not enough.
THEIR SMALL MEAT RATION MUST BE MAINTAINED, AND THEIR ARMIES AS WELL
AS OURS MUST HAVE MEAT. KEEP IT GOING OVER!

CHAPTER V

FATS

To a person who has been in Europe since the war began the question of
the importance of fats is no longer debatable. Having practically gone
without them, he knows they are important. In Germany it is the lack
of fat that is the cause, perhaps, of the most discomfort and makes
the German most dissatisfied with his rations. Even when the diet was
sufficient, it was not satisfactory if low in fat.

This dependence on fat in the diet is due to several reasons, both
physiological and psychological. Some people, the Japanese for
example, habitually eat but little. But it is the habit of both
Europeans and Americans to use considerable fat both on the table and
in cooking. The taste of food is not so pleasing without it. Their
recipes almost all use fat in one form or another, so that when little
or none is available, a change must be made in most of the methods of
cooking. Practically all food must be boiled, and is lacking in the
flavor and texture to which we are accustomed. The food, no matter how
nutritious it may be, will not taste good.

Fats are very concentrated food, a fact which gives them added value
in war-time, making them the mos