Uncle Sam’s Food Rules
Rule 1: Milk and Milk Products—at least a pint of milk for everyone, more for children, or use cheese, evaporated or dried milk in cooked dishes.
Rule 2: Oranges, Tomatoes and Grapefruit—at least one of these or substitute raw cabbage or salad greens.
Rule 3: Green or Yellow Vegetables—at least a big helping or more, some fresh, some canned, or quick frozen.
Rule 4: Other Vegetables, Fruits—potatoes, other vegetables, or fruits in season, fresh, dried, canned, or quick-frozen.
Rule 5: Bread and Cereals—whole grain products or enriched cereals, white bread, and flour.
Rule 6: Meat, Poultry, or Fish—as available, substitute dried beans, peas, or nuts occasionally.
Rule 7: Eggs—at least 3 or 4 a week, cooked as you choose or in recipes.
Rule 8: Butter and Other Spreads—including “vitaminized” margarine, vitamin-rich fats, peanut butter, and similar spreads.
Then eat other foods you also like.
Moms have always been concerned about good nutrition; it’s part of their job. But the years of the Great Depression made it very difficult for many families to get the healthy foods they needed. As America’s entry into World War II became imminent, newspapers editorialized about the poorly nourished men who did not qualify for the armed services and about the high percentage of the population that was underfed, thereby affecting the nation’s defense efforts. Government food economists estimated that “one-third of America’s families are below the safety line of nutrition.” Slogans such as “Eat the Right Food, U.S. Needs US Strong,” “Nutrition Lessons Mean Nothing Unless You Take Them to the Table,” “First Aid to Nutrition—Your Refrigerator,” “Quick-frozen Foods for Quick, Nutritious Meals,” and “Vitamins Vital for Victory” reflected these concerns. They had a ready audience in America’s homemakers. A healthy nation was crucial to winning the war and the kitchen was declared the first line of defense. New developments in the field of nutrition made it a “hot” topic and articles containing recipes high in vitamins and protein were the rage.
As the nation’s needs and wartime programs changed, the government’s food-related guidelines changed. By close interaction with magazine editors and through joint publicity programs with the Advertising Council, the government’s concerns quickly appeared in both editorial and advertising pages. In 1942, the eight-category daily food plan entitled “Our Government Recommends—Every Day, Eat This Way” and often called “Uncle Sam’s Food Rules” defined the national nutrition program of the Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services (opposite page). It appeared in both editorial and advertising pages promoting home-front health through better nutrition. By 1943, the system was pared down to 7 categories. The pamphlet, “Eating for Fitness,” explained, “Your Government with the help of food experts and nutritionists has prepared a simple, easy-to-understand chart of foods to eat for fitness. This chart condenses all the essential requirements of good nutrition into a simple set of food rules, the “Daily Seven” (see here). The new system was at first presented in the same format as the old one, but soon the easier to read “Basic Seven” wheel appeared everywhere promoting “The Right Food—Plenty of It.”
After years of worrying about having enough to eat, there was no thought of cutting back just yet. The government clearly noted that you could have anything you wanted in addition to the foods listed in its recommendations. In looking at recipe portion sizes, it’s worth noting that servings of 6 or even 8 ounces of meat per person were not unusual and that when a recipe called for the 4 ounces per serving we consider average today, it was called a “meat-stretcher.” A variety of ingredients were added to recipes to increase the protein they supplied. Cooked soybeans and soy flour played a prominent part in adding enrichment to recipes as did evaporated milk. Whole articles were devoted to suggestions for sneaking nutrients into daily meals in order to trick husbands and children into eating properly. This chapter contains those recipes with added “high nutrient” ingredients. Peanut butter is the high-protein addition to Peanut Butter Date Bread, Peanut Butter Popcorn Balls, and Peanut Gems. “Soya” products lend enrichment to Soybean Chili, Soy Rocks, Meatloaf with Soy, and Meat Pie with Soy Biscuit Crust. Condensed milk is the secret ingredient in Cheese Custards with Chives and Corned Beef Puffs. Whole-grain and liver dishes, always high on Mothers’ good-for-you list, are here too.
The Daily Seven
Group One: Green and Yellow Vegetables
Group Two: Oranges, Tomatoes, Grapefruit
Group Three: Potatoes and Other Vegetables and Fruits
Group Four: Milk and Milk Products
Group Five: Meat, Poultry, Fish, or Eggs
Group Six: Bread, Flour, and Cereals
Group Seven: Butter and Fortified Margarine
In addition to the basic seven … eat any other food you want.
