HOW TO LIVE WELL AND CHEAPLY.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16520, 12 May 1919, Page 10

HOW TO LIVE WELL AND CHEAPLY.

» ■■ LESSONS FROM BELGIAN PEASANTS. A Belgian lady, writing in "Outlook" on the good living of the Belgians, says that they are among the [healthiest and strongest in tho world, especially tho peasant class. In conI trast with the Belgians the British I working classes are badly nourished, and are certainly not nearly so strong nor so healthy, notwithstanding that the average British family spends tar more money on food than their North Sea neighbours. What is the secret of this superior standard • 0f... living, combined with greater cheapness ! J The answer will be found in tho better methods of preparing and cooking food prevailing :n Belgian homes. Belgians eat a great deal of vegetables. Among the peasants it is tho great staple food. Soup is eaten once a day in every home, anu in many homes at least twice, and is tho most nutritious of all foods, but our methods of preparing soups are quite different from that employed in tho average British kitchen. I have seen English cooks boil cabbages and similar vegetables for a very considerable time, and then throw away the liquid and servo the vegetables alone, which is very much like the way in.which tea was first served in tliis country in the tinle of Queen Elizabeth. When tea was first brewed, the liquid was thrown out and the leaves served hot! The most nourishing portion of vegetables resides in the soluble salts which, when boiled, dissolve in water, and when the water is thrown away the most, nutritious part of the vegetables is wasted.- It would be far better to drink the vegetable liquid and throw away-the solid matter-than to eat the boiled vegetables and waste the water. One : reason why vegetable soups are so nourishing when properly prepared is that these salts are preserved. [ The best way to cook vegetables is | to either steam or stew them. If they are boiled, comparatively little water should be used, and should bo served with the vegetables. Belgians—particularly the country people—eat a great quantity of milk and cheese, which contains similar properties to the famous preparation "Yaghourt" recommended by the great Dr. Mechnikoff for increasing longevity, as well as a cure for indigestion. But-ter-milk is also an important beverage on the Continent, and is used as a soup for supper in manv workmen's homes. I am convinced that the craving for drink 3, tobacco, as well as sweets, which is so pronounced in this country—is due in * very great measure to the lack of nourishing food, and' the imperfect di-> gestion from which millions of British people suffer, is solely through the bad cooking and ignorance of the. housewives in not knowing how to prepare fo"d. Good, well-prepared food is the foundation of a strong and healthy nation, whilst badly prepared, ill-ecofeed focd is the cause of untold evils and misery. Take, for example, the condition of tho average person's teeth in Great Britain arid compare them with the Belgians. I have never seen so many per.-ons wearing false teeth as during my few years' residenre in 'England. Instead of the strong, liMlthy teeth conspicuous among

my country people in _ England ■ one''ts 1 appalled at the shocking condition- - oi*; the poorer classes. In no other eotin-i; try is the business of artificial tcetlv prosperous as in the British Isles. J ho.. root of the evil is undoubtedly duo' lack of nutritious food, as."well as,.to,, lack of variety, to which is also traco-v,-able anaimia and poor blood generally,'• although, aruemia is often attributed- to insufficiency of fresh air. Since ppo l *;'. , country children,' who spend most, of , . their days out of _ doors, are with this dread disease, it is • evident that fresh air alone is not a proventiyc. • • The custom of feeding children with' ; sweetmeats and candies is also ■' sibl© for the early decay t of the teeth,.;.; and whilst sugar is a nutritious.food'iu v v • moderate quantities suitably prepared* . the wholesale .distribution of. sweet-. moats which is made, not only among ' • children, but consumed in largo quantities by grown-ups, has a very prejud!-.; cial effect on the system. The effect*-, ... are not only bad on the teeth, -but'-hr-..'.; gravate and in somo. cases, cause skin - troubles. Plenty of properly prepared / vegetables and vegetable soup® purity the blood and tend to keep the skill;ill a healthy condition. ..... There* is one thing , which foreigners cannot understand, and that is the .difficulty of getting a good cup of coffeo . at the average British restaurant. Here, is a- simple and stimulating beverage which, when properly prepared, is''far less injurious than any of the ordinary, beverages , offered in the shape <of tea or . other stimulating. ,l>ut non-mutrrtious drinks, the preparation of .coffee, is one of the simplest things in tho" world. The water wliich is used for preparing the coffee should, of course, be foiled arid as hot as possible, but tho ooffao pot in which the coffee is made should! not be allowed to stand (sufficientlywealth e stove or fire to allow the contents to boil; and yet at most of the railway station restaurants one can see. hngo. kettles in which coffee is kept boiling' with the ooffee grounds, hour after hour, the result ljeing that.the 60-called [coffee becomes almost poisonous.