r it in our
conventional bills of fare. On the face of things the potato is a bland
mealy food which blends well with the high flavor and the firm texture of
meat and the softness of many other cooked vegetables. Gastronomically,
rice or hominy comes about as near to having the same qualities, with hot
bread, macaroni, sweet potatoes, and baked bananas (underripe so as not to
be too juicy and sweet) close rivals. These are not so easy to cook and
serve as the potato and are not likely to supplant it when it is
plentiful. It might be worth while, however, to substitute these for
potatoes rather often. The latter will be appreciated all the more if not
served every day in the week, or at least not more than once a day. We
might extend the fashion of baked beans and brown bread to roast pork with
rice, ham with baked bananas, roast beef with hominy, and broiled steak
with macaroni. Why not? You, Madam Housewife, are always sighing for
variety, but does it never occur to you that the greatest secret of
variety lies in new combinations?

CHAPTER V

ARE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES LUXURIES?

In the house of diet fruits and vegetables may be likened to windows and
doors, fire-places and chimneys; we could dispense with them, we could
board up our windows and make a fire on a big stone in the middle of the
room, letting the smoke escape through a hole in the roof, but such a
course would not mean comfort year in and year out. So we may exist
without fruits and vegetables, but it is worth while to stop and consider
what we gain by their use.

We shall have to admit at the outset that if we have to spend money or
labor for them, fruits and vegetables are not the cheapest source of fuel
for the human machine. Some of them are cheaper fuel than butter, eggs, or
meat, but not as cheap as cereals, sugar, molasses, syrups, and some of
our cheapest fats. This is true of potatoes, parsnips, carrots, dried peas
and beans, and such fruits as bananas, prunes, raisins, dates, figs, and
possibly a few other dried fruits, but we cannot justify our investment in
most fruits and vegetables solely on the plea that they are "filling" in
the sense of being of high fuel value; on this ground lettuce, celery,
cabbage, tomatoes, lemons, rhubarb, cranberries, and many others would
find no place in our domestic economy.

Remembering that man does not live by fuel alone, we may find ample
reasons for spending some of our food money upon things wh