Foods and home making

Shall we eat meat for luncheon ? One serving of meat a day is believed to be all most persons should eat. Meat is most often eaten for dinner, the heaviest meal of the day. To avoid eating too much meat a hot dish of another sort should be chosen for luncheon. For this hot dish, foods which contain materials similar to those in meat may be used. We shall learn about such foods in the next section. What shall we eat instead of meat ? When we were studying about milk, eggs, and breakfast cereals, we learned that there was a foodstuff in these foods called protein. (See pages 58, 72, and 99.) Meat is one of the foods rich in proteins. The kind of proteins found in meat is very valuable. That is one of the reasons why meat in moderation is believed to be a good food. Besides being found in milk, eggs, meat, and cereals, proteins The Main Luncheon Dish 251 are contained in considerable quantity in peas and beans, espe- cially in dried peas and beans. It is stated on page 266 also, that a small quantity of proteins is contained in vegetables other than peas and beans. Although both animal and vegetable foods contain proteins, not all the proteins found in foods nourish the body in the same degree. As has been mentioned, some proteins are very much more valuable than others. The qualities of proteins contained in protein-rich foods are as follows : 1 Good quality of proteins — in meat, milk, cheese, eggs, peanuts, and some leaves Intermediate quality of proteins — in cereal grains Poor quality of proteins — in peas and beans This information helps us very much when we want to select foods containing proteins of as good quality as those found in meat. The information helps us also to choose foods to take the place of meat. Of the solid foods, cheese and eggs are good meat substitutes. These foods, however, should not be eaten in generous quantity. There are many dishes containing cheese and egg mixed with cereals and other foods which are suitable for a hot luncheon dish. Although peas and beans contain proteins of poor quality, these foods should not be neglected. We can use milk, eggs, or some food containing a good quality of protein with peas or beans and thus have a food complete in nourishing properties. Review the composition of milk. (See Figure 28, page 70, and page 72.) Also review the composition of eggs. (See Figure 32, page 99.) How are souffles made ? Egg dishes are suitable for luncheon as well as breakfast. You have prepared an omelet. (See page 98.) You have learned to make white sauce. (See page 237.) By making an omelet, using instead of plain milk a white sauce, and baking the mixture in the oven, a dish called a 1 See page 36 of Food, Nutrition, and Health by McCollum and Simmonds. 252 Luncheon or Supper souffle (pronounced soo-fla') may be prepared. Thick white sauce is used in souffles. Make thick white sauce of the flour, seasoning, butter, and milk as directed for thin white sauce on page 237. Set aside to cool. Break and separate the eggs. Beat the yolks until lighter in color, and the whites until stiff. Add the white sauce to the yolks ; stir while combining. (Note that in making a souffle, sauce is added to the beaten yolks; in making an omelet, milk or water and seasoning are added to the beaten yolks.)