Foods and home making

If desired, a pinch of powdered cinnamon or nutmeg may be sprinkled on top of the rennet when it is ready to serve. Cooked and strained fruit sauces such as apple sauce may be included in a soft diet. What is a light diet ? A light diet is somewhat like a whole- some normal diet. However, it must contain no food that is difficult to digest. No organ of the body should be overtaxed in digesting food when the patient is recovering from sickness. Usually not so much food should be eaten by a person who is convalescing as by one who is well. The average sick person does not exercise actively and does not need so many calories as a well person. In addition to those foods included in a liquid diet and a soft diet, a light diet includes : RENNET CUSTARD ^ rennet tablet 1 teaspoon cold water 2 teaspoons sugar \ teaspoon vanilla £ cup milk Caring for the Sick in the Home 485 1. Easily digested meats. Roast or broiled lean beef, chopped or scraped lean beef, chopped liver, chicken, mutton, lamb, or fish are suitable meats. 2. Cooked vegetables. Those vegetables especially rich in vitamins and mineral matter are desirable. 3. Cooked fruits. Baked fruits such as apples and bananas are good. Stewed prunes and pears also are desirable. It is well to use some easily digested uncooked fruit such as orange juice or sliced oranges or grape- fruit. How should foods be served to a sick person ? It is especially necessary to make food not only taste good but look good to a sick person. For this reason, care should be taken in arrang- ing the food on the serving dishes and in carrying them to the sick room. For one who is too ill to come to the dining table, food must be arranged on a tray. The following may prove helpful in arranging a tray attractively. (See Figure 143.) 1. Put a clean napkin or doily on the tray. 2. Put the food in dainty dishes. 3. Serve small portions of food. A patient may eat two small serv- ings of a food. A large serving is apt to disgust him so he will eat none of it. 4. Use deep dishes for holding liquid foods so that they do not spill when you carry them to the sick room. 5. Cover hot foods, using dishes with covers, or plates or saucers as covers. Make every effort to keep the food from cooling while it is being taken to the patient. 6. Provide one or more clean napkins. A warmed napkin or towel may be used to cover the dishes on the tray. If the patient is in bed, a large napkin may be needed to protect the bed clothes. 7. Garnish foods attractively. Think of different ways of arranging food. Place a flower or a bud vase containing a single flower on the tray. Never use a bud vase unless the tray can be placed on a bedside table. 8. If possible, have no medicine bottles or other sick-room accessories in sight when food is being eaten. What special care should be taken in feeding a contagious- disease patient? The linens used in serving a patient having 486 Health and Child Care a contagious disease should be boiled to destroy any disease bacteria which may be on them. If paper doilies and napkins are used, these should be burned immediately after they are used. Bits of food left from the meal should be burned. Figure 143. An Invalid’s Tray