Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-05

Inc man who is not content with one or
two dishes at meal may be enormously
rich, but he is not independent. Yet we
need to be attracted. If we have few foods
we must take every pains to have them
pleasantly and properly served
Few Foods and Few Tastes.
III there is any law here it seems to be
that at one meal there should be few foods
and few tastes, however delightful these
tastes may be. Certainly the whole taste
should be preserved and increased by whole
some culinary art. Certainly the whole or
most of the taste should then be extracted
by careful mastication.
The question IS whether we should stick
to two or three kinds of food always. In
favor of the idea is the fact that SOFA we
are able to extract the greatest amount of
benefit and of flavor from these few foods
as our digestive juices get into special
training, and that we are unlikely to eat in
gross excess since the temptation is small
er and the sense of taste and the instinct
OF safety keener. But against it is the dan
ger of becoming slave to a narrow regime
There are some who are simply i'll if they
go out of their small beaten track of diet
or of life. l know of one who does not dare
to wear boots. He Is thus cut off from
much social life. He is regarded as a
crank. Probably it would be the ideal to be
able to enjoy a few foods, and to be
able to digest them thoroughly, but not to
lose the power of digesting many other
foods well.
Times for Meals
The social difficulty also stands in the
way Of taking meals at the times which
might otherwise be best for the Individual
Except in cases where very small meals
should be taken very frequently, when there
Is, as it were, a perpetual nibbling Of tiny
mouthfuls (Which is far the least social Of
all arrangementS), the tendency seems to
be toward two meals a day as the best
plan. A weeks trial must be given before
any verdict can be passed If only because
what is called the hunger habit akin to
the thirst Of the dipsomaniac, may prevail
during that time.
But how we adopt the two-meal plan
without interfering with domestic and other
requirements? Perhaps the evening meal
is that which we can least easily give up
Let us, therefore, retain that, and let us
consider a two-meal plan of which the
evening meal shall form one.
The Two-Meal Plan
We may give up our breakfast or lunch
con, or eat very light breakfast or lunch
eon-for instance, a fruit breakfast or a
biscuit uncheon-according to our individ-
ual needs and temperaments Reformers
underestimate the power of the household
and of society," They do not calculate for
domestic tyranny; they do not realize that
be obtained or else peace may be lost
Otherwise the one-meal plan might be
best.
The One-Meal Plan.
The one-meal plan can be led up to grad
ually through the three-meal and two-meal
plans. The other two meals should become
lighter and lighter by degrees, easy steps
being made by fruit meals or biscuit meals.
or by some other form of small refresh
ment.
When should the one meal be? Is it pos
sible to stay the whole day until the
evening without exhaustion. One cannot
possibly tell till after fair trial. and at
once nearly everybody calls out that fair
trial would not be worth the cost Or shall
we wait till midday, then eat and rest, and
eat nothing again till the next midday? Or
shall we take breakfast only and live the