Foods and home making

% teaspoon salt § teaspoon butter, melted \ teaspoon mustard ■£■ teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice A stuffed egg (see page 293) eaten with a plain bread-and-butter sand- wich makes a fine lunch-box food. 5. Peanuts. — Use peanut butter or chopped roasted peanuts. The latter are improved by mixing with salad dressing. Lunch at School — The Box Lunch 231 6. Lettuce. — Tear the leaves in pieces. Cover each buttered slice of bread with lettuce. Spread salad dressing on one lettuce-covered slice. 7. Fresh Tomato. — Slice the tomatoes and place on buttered bread. Spread the tomato with salad dressing or season it with salt, pepper, and a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. Lettuce leaves placed between the bread and tomato not only make the sandwich more nourishing, but prevent somewhat the moisture of the tomato from soaking into the bread. 8. Nut and Carrot. \ cup nut meats, chopped \ teaspoon salt 5 cup grated or chopped carrot i§ tablespoons salad oil 2 teaspoons lemon juice Mix these ingredients. Spread between slices of buttered bread. 9. Banana. — Slice the fruit. Place on the bread and add a little lemon juice and a few raisins. 10. Raisins ( or Dates ) and Nuts. — Chop and moisten with fruit juice, such as lemon juice, grape or loganberry juice. 11. Apples, Dates, and Nuts. — Chop and moisten with salad dress- ing. 12. Marmalade, Jelly, or Cooked Dried Fruit. — Prunes, seeded, chopped and mixed with peanut butter or chopped peanuts are delicious. What desserts can be used for the school lunch box? From the standpoint of health, fruits are the best desserts. Cake is often used in the lunch basket. Cookies and small cakes are more easily packed than cut pieces of cake. Sandwiches with sweet fillings make good desserts for the lunch box. Nut, raisin, or date bread is especially desirable for sweet sandwiches. How shall you pack your school lunch? A paper box can usually be used only once or a very few times. Moreover, foods do not keep so moist in it (unless the box is carefully lined with paraffin paper) as in a tin or metal lunch box. Because a metal box is usually tightly covered, the odor of one food in the box will often permeate other foods. A metal box should be emptied every day, washed daily, and scalded often. It should stand un- 232 Luncheon or Supper covered during the night. Folding boxes can be conveniently carried home. Not only sandwiches, but cake and some fruits should be wrapped in paraffin paper. There are at least two things to remember when placing food in a lunch box: (1) heavy foods or foods less easily crushed should be placed in the bottom of the box ; (2) foods should be arranged in the order of eating, those to be eaten last being placed first in the box. The latter suggestion is sometimes impossible to follow since foods that crush most readily are sometimes, eaten last. If foods cannot be arranged in the order of eating, it is well to place them so that not all foods will have to be removed from the box before beginning to eat the luncheon. A paper napkin (or preferably two — one to spread on the table or desk and the other to protect your clothing) should be placed in the top of the box. If a spoon is required, see that it is placed in the box. A drinking cup — either a collapsible one or one of paper — may be needed. SUMMARY Wholesome foods for a school lunch: Soups Vegetables Whole-wheat bread