Food for the Sick by Mrs. Edith E. Bruce

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 31, 1908

Food for the Sick

By Mrs. Edith E. Bruce

MRS. EDITH E. BRUCE

“I HAVE been thinking,” said Aunt Mary, thoughtfully, as she opened the meeting of the Good Housekeeping and Cooking Club, “that it might be well for us to-day to consider the subject of food for the sick.

“Oftentimes it is our privilege to visit the sick. Many times we find people in perplexity concerning the feeding of their sick, or find them giving foods that tend to intensify the illness. If we are able to prepare a wholesome diet for the sick, we certainly can be a great blessing to our families and neighbors.

“Of course there are many conditions to be taken into consideration, which would cover many lessons, and which we have not time to take up in detail; but I think we may be able to consider a few general principles that will be helpful to us and to them.

“First, we must remember that a person who is ill (in most cases at least) is without appetite, and can not relish food as when well; so the utmost care should be taken to have everything dainty and appetizing. The tray should be set with the cleanest, whitest linen and the daintiest dishes that the house can afford. A sprig of fresh flowers or a small bouquet laid on the side of the tray will often cheer the heart of the patient, and will actually stimulate an appetite. Only the freshest flowers should ever be left in the sick-room, and only the ripest fresh fruits chosen when fruit is used.

“Foods that are to be served hot, such as gruels, eggs, cream toast, etc., should not be allowed to cool before being served. To this end have all dishes that are to contain these foods thoroughly warmed, and have warm dishes to turn over them. Have the patient ready for the food, and everything ready on the tray except the hot foods, so that no delay may occur. By taking these precautions, the patient will have no occasion to turn in disgust from lukewarm, insipid food.

“Where there is fever to any extent, the food should be liquid, grape-juice, orange-juice, barley-water, plain cereals, and egg albumen being about the best. Grains prepared for gruels should be well cooked and strained, and may be seasoned with two tablespoonfuls of cream to the half-pint to make them more palatable, using care not to make them too thick. A good gruel should be as thin as thin cream. Rice, barley, oatmeal, cream of wheat, and gluten, also granose flakes or any wheat flakes, make excellent gruels if well cooked and seasoned. Eggs, too, are very nourishing, and if rightly prepared, can easily be digested.

“Before closing, I will give you a few simple recipes for preparing eggs for the sick:—

Curdled Eggs

“Eggs prepared in this way are easily digested. Take perfectly fresh eggs, and drop into a vessel of boiling water removed from the stove, and let them stand about five or six minutes.

Poached Eggs

“Poached eggs are very wholesome if nicely done. Many cooks keep the water boiling when poaching eggs. This is a great mistake. Carefully drop the eggs into hot water (use plenty of water), and move the vessel to one side of the stove to prevent boiling. When done, remove with a skimmer.

Egg-Nog

“Beat the yolk and white of the egg separately. To the well-beaten yolk add the juice of one large orange, a little sugar, a little lemon-juice, and a spoonful of the white of the egg. Mix, place in a glass, and put the white, which has been beaten to a stiff froth, on top. Other fruit juices may be used instead of orange-juice, or milk may be used; in the latter case a little vanilla may be added to flavor. This is very palatable, and also nourishing and easily digested.

“These are only a few recipes for eggs. Perhaps next week we will again take up this subject, and talk of some other foods for the sick.”

Mussoorie, India.