Soft diet, in addition to the liquid, is composed of gruels,
well cooked cereals, such as oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina,
etc., milk and cream toast, soft cooked eggs, custards, etc.
Light diet contains no meat except breast of chicken,
sweetbreads, brains, fish, oysters ; and for vegetables, baked,
mashed and creamed potatoes, spinach, lettuce, vegetable
souffles containing the pulp but not the fibrous parts of
vegetables, fruits, and most light desserts. Of course, rich
pastry and puddings are excluded absolutely.
The general diet is about the same as the light, except
that the more easily digested meats are included. Never
give pork to a patient. Fried meats also are to be avoided.
While ordinarily the diet of a patient in charge of a phy-
sician will be ordered by the latter, nevertheless the house-
mother should have some idea of what is proper to give.
First of all, keep this fact in mind: that a person sick in
bed needs little food, and that in most cases if the stomach
is given a rest convalescence soon follows. Also remember
that during illness all the organs are necessarily weakened
to a certain extent so that very easily digested food should
be given, thus requiring the minimum amount of work for
assimilation.
Serving — the Tray
Have the tray covered with a snowy napkin and every-
thing about it as dainty, clean and attractive as possible,
remembering always that with a patient appearance counts
for a great deal. Whenever one can, without harm to the
invalid, give such foods as he likes and wants. Serve in
small quantities, in an attractive way and with a harmoniz-
ing color scheme. For instance, one might have a light
diet tray consisting of chicken broth, a small piece of breast
of chicken, mashed potato, cranberry jelly, bread and butter
and baked custard. Pour the soup into a hot soup bowl and
set in the center of the front of the tray, with the knife and
two spoons on the right and the fork on the left. Have
314 LESSONS IN COOKING
the soup spoon the first of the spoons, beginning at the
right. Over the soup bowl set the hot plate containing
the chicken garnished with a sprig of parsley, a small mound
of creamy mashed potato, and two or three cones of cran-
berry jelly laid on a lettuce leaf. The cones may be made
by cutting the jelly with a wet teaspoon inserted point down-
ward and turned in the hand. The dark green of the pars-
ley and red of the jelly contrast very prettily and make an
attractive looking plate.
At the right of the plate set a cup of tea or cocoa, or
coffee, if allowed. At the left place the bread and butter
plate with two small sandwiches made of very thin slices of
bread from which the crusts have been removed, spread
with butter and cut in diamond, circular or triangular
shapes. Above the bread plate set the sauce dish with the
mould of baked custard, above the soup bowl the small
sugar bowl, creamer, and salt shaker — do not give pepper
because of its irritating effects — and above the cup of tea
set a glass of water. If the patient will drink milk, so much
the better. Place the fresh napkin wherever there is a
space for it. Cover the entire tray with a clean cloth and
serve at once. When the appetite is poor, small portions
are very much more tempting than large ones, which have
a discouraging effect.
Page 173
Presented as published in 1912. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Soft diet, in addition to the liquid, is composed of gruels, well cooked cereals, such as oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina, etc., milk and cream toast, soft cooked eggs, custards, etc.
Light diet contains no meat except breast of chicken, sweetbreads, brains, fish, oysters ; and for vegetables, baked, mashed and creamed potatoes, spinach, lettuce, vegetable souffles containing the pulp but not the fibrous parts of vegetables, fruits, and most light desserts. Of course, rich pastry and puddings are excluded absolutely.
The general diet is about the same as the light, except that the more easily digested meats are included. Never give pork to a patient. Fried meats also are to be avoided.
While ordinarily the diet of a patient in charge of a physician will be ordered by the latter, nevertheless the housemother should have some idea of what is proper to give. First of all, keep this fact in mind: that a person sick in bed needs little food, and that in most cases if the stomach is given a rest convalescence soon follows. Also remember that during illness all the organs are necessarily weakened to a certain extent so that very easily digested food should be given, thus requiring the minimum amount of work for assimilation.
Serving — the Tray
Have the tray covered with a snowy napkin and everything about it as dainty, clean and attractive as possible, remembering always that with a patient appearance counts for a great deal. Whenever one can, without harm to the invalid, give such foods as he likes and wants. Serve in small quantities, in an attractive way and with a harmonizing color scheme. For instance, one might have a light diet tray consisting of chicken broth, a small piece of breast of chicken, mashed potato, cranberry jelly, bread and butter and baked custard. Pour the soup into a hot soup bowl and set in the center of the front of the tray, with the knife and two spoons on the right and the fork on the left. Have
the soup spoon the first of the spoons, beginning at the right. Over the soup bowl set the hot plate containing the chicken garnished with a sprig of parsley, a small mound of creamy mashed potato, and two or three cones of cranberry jelly laid on a lettuce leaf. The cones may be made by cutting the jelly with a wet teaspoon inserted point downward and turned in the hand. The dark green of the parsley and red of the jelly contrast very prettily and make an attractive looking plate.
At the right of the plate set a cup of tea or cocoa, or coffee, if allowed. At the left place the bread and butter plate with two small sandwiches made of very thin slices of bread from which the crusts have been removed, spread with butter and cut in diamond, circular or triangular shapes. Above the bread plate set the sauce dish with the mould of baked custard, above the soup bowl the small sugar bowl, creamer, and salt shaker — do not give pepper because of its irritating effects — and above the cup of tea set a glass of water. If the patient will drink milk, so much the better. Place the fresh napkin wherever there is a space for it. Cover the entire tray with a clean cloth and serve at once. When the appetite is poor, small portions are very much more tempting than large ones, which have a discouraging effect.