Evening star., 1926-04-07
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

Whatever else we, do when plan
ming our daily and weekly meals. the
Fates Intend that we do not forget the
! Importance of right choice and COM
bination of food as TO texture, flavor
| and color.
Up to certain point 1t is undoubt-
| edly true that attention to these items
may be said to relate to the acces.
| sories of the diet. Social enjoyment
of meal is decidedly enchanced if
| the hostess has taken pains to set
what is known as an attractive table
| This principle, by the way applies
equally to the simple home meal and
the more elaborate festivity planned
| for the purpose of entertaining
| friends.
But there is an even deeper sig
nificance attaching to the question OF
| food texture. color and flavor. Prac
tically every housewife who studies
| her field knows that attractive service
| has very real effect on the general
satisfactoriness of a dietary. Appe
| tite appeal is acknowledged to be
something with which to reckon when
one is thinking of the food value of
a meal But even yet, one has not
arrived at the most important element
of all. That is, the literal and i'm
mediate effect on the power of the
meal in question to contribute its
utmost in the way of building and
regulating the bodily cells and proc
esSes.
To quote Caroline r. Hunt and
Ruth Van Deman of the Bureau of
Home Economies, I'VE are more likely
to eat the right foods if they please
eye and nose and tongue as we'll"
Instinct is guide here, but instinct
alone is not sufficient. Instinct may
l1o tn
play an important part in planning
good combinations. If this is done.
the housewife will be surprised to see
how many possibilities present them
selves.
Beginning with texture, crispness is
wonderfully appetning, but when
crisp food such as toasted biscuit
is combined with one that is decided
ly soft and concentrated or liquid, the
crispness is very important. In the
case of the soft and concentrated
foods the crispness of the toasted bis
cult helps to break up the particles of
the soft food, cheese for example, and
render it more nearly ready for the
action of the gastric and other diges-
tive juices. AS for the liquid foods,
like soups, it is quite possible to swal.
low them so fast as 10 distend the
stomach muscles and thus interfere
with the secretion of digestive juices.
On the other hand, If bit of cracker.
biscuit or other crisp and ''crunchy"
food is eaten with the soup, one can
almost chew il. too, Many cases of
weak digestion caused by insufficient
gastric juice are helped by this simple
practice of combining liquid foods
with crisp.
Finally. in the matter of texture.
see that there is a reasonable supply
of juicy foods to go with those that
are dry. Not only do the juices of
fruits and vegetables provide in them
selves valuable elements, but they also
help to produce this very result for
which we are striving-an attractive
balance between dry, soft, crisp and
moist foods.
Flavor comes next: Careful extend
ing" of the flavor of highly favored
foods has long been known to house
wives. When meats are expensive or
when some member OF the family
must have his meat consumption linn
tied, the appetiZing flavor of meat
may be extended through a substan-
tial dish of rice or macaroni or potato.
these grain foods has mild and neu-
tral flavor and the meat is utilized to
its fullest capacity.
Color is an element more frequently
discussed because of it's esthetic value
and possibilities. Add dash of pa
prika to a white baked potato and
see if the appetite appeal is not en-
HANGED. tgs-