REDUCING THE FOOD BUDGET

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 62, 30 August 1940, Page 38

REDUCING THE FOOD BUDGET

The Uses Of The Potato

A the present time the attention of all my listeners is focused upon the useful potato, and the valuable part it can play in helping out our food budget by producing excellent meals without the addition of so much meat and other expensive items. It is extraordinary how, of late, people have come to look upon potatoes rather disparagingly, and to think that they are to be used with caution, forgetting that in Scotland and in Ireland at any rate, potatoes have for many years formed the staple article of diet, along with fish and oatmeal. People who wish to reduce their weight seem to think that they must give up potatoes the first thing. Yet potatoes themselves contain only 1% of fat in their whole composition, so that a diet of nothing but potatoes, steamed, boiled or baked in their jackets, will cause the body to call on its resefves of fat, to make up for the lack in the potatoes. Therefore, potatoes,

far from making one fat, may actually be used as a means of "slimming." An Accommodating Vegetable As a matter of fact, potatoes cooked in their jackets contain everything that the body requires to keep it healthy, except fat. It is, however, a fact’ that they can absorb, in cooking, more fat than almost any other article of food; so that by eating potatoes with milk, cream or butter, more fat can be absorbed into the system than in almost any other way. Here, then, is the potato at the other end of the scale, for it thus can be uséd for increasing weight. For instance, an ounce and a-half of butter can be absorbed by 5 ounces of potato, without any consciousness of fatty taste being experienced. Fried potatoes, in fact, can absorb fat in the process of cooking to the extent of nearly 40% ‘of their

own weight! What an accommodating vegetable it is. Potatoes are now cheaper than they have been for many years, and with the present’ need for economy, it is well that we should find out as many ways as we can of using them in our meals. We therefore offered a prize over the ZB Stations for the best letter from a family woman showing how to reduce the food budget by the use of potatoes, without lessening the food value of the meals. I cannot do better than publish for you the winning letter, and for the next week

or so, I will give you as many as possible of the best recipes submitted from the many hundreds which were sent in by listeners. The Winning Letter Dear Aunt Daisy, I am the mother of eight children--all so healthy that I had no doctor’s bills, and as my husband was on a wage, I had to keep down the bills, especially the bread and the meat bill, This I did mostly by the aid of our friend the potato. Vitamins A, B, C, D and E were not so well known then, neither were calories; but we did know that to bring up our children and give them every chance, we must give them plenty of fresh air, sleep, and good plain foodmilk, vegetables, fresh fruit, eggs, butter and a little meat — balanced meals of plain food, but made as interesting as possible, So, Aunt Daisy, we decided that we would live, while they were young, in the country. We always had a garden, a friendly cow, and lots of potatoes. The meat went further, the bread went further, the children were disappointed if I did not serve potatoes in some way at each meal, As the children left for

school in the morning, I would get my instructions — "Mum, do have potato soup," or "Mum, don’t forget to have potato border with the stew," or, as they came in at tea-time, "Chips?" "Fish cakes?" or "Stuffed potatoes! Hooray!" Really, Aunt Daisy, they were the most popular item of food, and I always felt that they were so nutritious and satisfying to children who were running about all day, and needed "energy giving" foods. Often, when I had only a little meat to feed ten, it was only by the use of potatoes that I could give them all plenty -~a hot, nutritious and interesting meal, and so satisfied everybody. I could write a book, Aunt Daisy, on potatoes, but I know you don’t want that, so I will add to this note a list of things for breakfasts, dinners, and teas, and from these we can make our choice, Aunt Daisy! Tell your listeners to buy them by the fon, or half ton if you like, especially if they’ve little children to bring up. There’s nothing better — -or cheaper — this year. If you need recipes, I'll send them too. Wishing you every success, Yours successfully, "Mother of Two Six-Footer Policemen and Six Others Nearly as Big." Breakfast, Dinner and Tea "As I said, I could write a book, but here are a few ideas," continues the letter, "Here is a list, Aunt Daisy. Choose for yourself": BREAKFAST: Porridge first, and plenty of milk. Egg and chips. Rissoles. Trout and chips. Fish cakes, Bacon and eggs and chips, Potato cakes and tomatoes. Raw potato fritters (cooked in batter in boiling fat). Old potato and cabbage, fried crisp and brown. DINNER: Potato puree. Celery and potato puree. Boiled new potatoes and melted butter, with parsley. Stuffed surprise baked potatoes, with cheese, or meat or fish or tomato, With meat, roast potato, boiled, baked, etc. Stews and potato border. Curry and potato border, Vegetable "hot pot" TEA: ) Curried potatoes. Trish stew, | Cottage pie (and rich gravies). / Boiled jacket potatoes, and butter, | Mock whitebait fritters. ' Cold potato salad and dressing, Cold potato salad, and lettuce and : beetroot. | Potato scones. Salmon patties, | Potato balls (fried in boiling fat). | (Continued on next page) A