WOMEN’S INTERESTS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 56, Issue 4041, 29 April 1938, Page 6

WOMEN’S INTERESTS

CURVES IN FASHION. For the past three years, fashion has decreed straight lines, but, now, for 1938, she has, all of a sudden, decided that curves are beautiful. Curves, however, take building up, and here indeed is a problem for the woman who has reduced her figure to almost straight lines. To be underweight now is both unfashionable and mortifying. There are many ways of cutting down poundage, but the building up is not so easy. To Build Up Weight. It is not always necessary to increase the food intake; it is more essential to increase the richness and variety of food. This usually means a more expensive menu. It is quality, rather than quantity, which is needed, foodstuffs which will build up reserves of energy; rich soups, milks, cheese and sardines, and other olive oil foods. Food and exercise combined, though not overdone, should soon help tlie underweight person to become normal. Sleep and relaxation are also necessary„ Lie down lor a few minutes before each meal and you will soon reap the benefit. Your appetite will be increased, and you will sit at the table with a more contented mind. In the matter of food, the diet must be well balanced. Plenty of mHk, eggs, butter and vegetables should form its basis. Instead of three heavy meals a day, it would be far more satisfactory if numerous small meals were taken. This will not overtax the stomach, and will allow the digestive organs to assimilate the food. Foods to Build Weight. Breakfast:—A glass of milk or tea or coffee with cream. Fruit: Bananas, figs, dates, or prunes are excellent. Wheatmeal or wholemeal biscuits with cream and sugar. Bacon and eggs or scrambled eggs, or kidneys and bacon, or fish. 11 a.m.: —A glass of beaten-up egg and milk or chocolate. Luncheon:—Meat or fish or eggs. Vegetables or salad. Milk pudding. Glass of milk. 3 p.m.:—Tea with milk and sugar. Bread and butter or biscuits with jam or honey. Dinner:—Soup, meat or fish, with potatoes and vegetables. Sweets. Biscuits and cheese. Tea or coffee with milk and sugar. Supper:—A glass of malted milk or chocolate or cocoa. Exercise Must Be Light. A good exercise is to lie flat on the back and raise the head as far as it will go. Now place the left hand’ on the left cheek, and try to lower the head to the left, all the time resisting with the hand. Relax and repeat with the other han ! and the cheek. Carry out these movements six times. This exercise v. ill strengthen the muscles of the th •'•oat. Every morning spend five minutes with the skipping- rope. After the skipping exercise the following tonic should be taken: Mix together the juice of an orange, the beaten-up yolk of an egg, and a pinch of brown sugar. Whip the whole together until it forms a thin custard and then eat or drink the mixture. And last, but not least, take thjngs easily. The average thin person is far too energetic, and much valuable body-building energy is needlessly consumed. DIET’S IMPORTANT PART. HEALTH OF MOTHER AND BABY. As baby is dependent on the mother for sustenance for the first nine months of life, as well as for all the pre-natal days, it is necessary that nothing harmful should be added to the infant system. Few mothers realise the importance of diet before baby arrives. Apart from attending to her own health, a mother should understand that her own diet is responsible for the foundation of her baby’s mental and bodily health. The expectant mother must not be considered a semi-invalid. Aches and pains that may occur can frequently be traced to indigestion. First of all, teeth must be attended to. Suitable diet taken, siu. ficient sleep, ample rest, regular and pleasing outdoor exercises, as much fresh air and sunlight as possible, clothing, comfortable footwear, and regular body hygiene will ensure the maintenance of good health for both mother and child. The Harmful Cigarette. The fallacy that the expectant or nursing mother must “eat for two” is responsible for a great deal of indigestion and discomfort. She should have an ordinary helping of fresh meat or fish once a day. preferably at mid-day. Milk, butter, cream, matured cheese, lettuce, vegetables (particularly green), fresh fruit, wholemeal bread, an egg, meat or fish, and at least four glasses of water should constitute the general dietary each day.

There are other articles of diet that must be definitely excluded: new and white bread, rich cakes, hot scones, twice-cooked and fried meats and dishes, over-seasoned, highlyflavoured food, sauces and gravies, all condiments, pickles, pastries, pork, coffee, and strong tea, all of which will be harmful to her. She will have to stop smoking. Alcohol Not Advised. Wines, cocktails, whisky, any form of alcohol, being only false stimulants, are definitely harmful. Wine tonics or cups of strong tea should not be taken. Rest and fresh air, the correct diet, and an iron tonic prescribed by the doctor should remedy that weariness of body and mind. Coffee, black or white, is not conducive to good nursing powers, and is recommended to the young mother only to be taken at weaning time. While baby is being fed naturally, the mother will need extra sustenance to maintain strength. A cup of groats may usefully be taken at bedtime in the form of gi uel. SPARE MOMENTS IN THE HOME. Amateur carpenters often find it difficult to bore a clean hole through a piece of soft wood without splintering the edges. This is overcome by drilling the wood until the point of the drill just emerges on the other side. Reverse the wood and complete 'he hole from the other face. Then no splintering will result. Bricks around the fireplace inevitably become smoke-stained, soiled and smudgy-looking, so that periodical cleaning is necessary. Caustic soda can be used, although it must be handled with care, because it is ruinous to the hands. Washing soda or plain soap and water often prove effective; but probably the best cleaner and reviver is spirits of salts that have been thoroughly diluted. The salts need careful handling, as they will damage the carpet or woodwork if splashed about. The salts can be brushed on with an old paintbrush, using gloves to protect the hands. Dust can be removed from wallpaper by wrapping a clean cloth over the head of a long-handled broom and gently sweeping the walls down from ceiling to floor, constantly removing the duster and shaking it or renewing it, if necessary. The old lustre comes 'oack after going- over the walls with a lump of dough made with flour and water, to which a few drops of ammonia have been added. Stale bread, a quantity of bran in a muslin bag, or some fresh sawdust enclosed in a clean duster are just as good; but they must be applied lightly and evenly or else they may scratch or smear the surface and do more harm than good. Grease stains often yield to a hot iron over brown paper. If that is not effective, cover the spot with French chalk and water made into a paste. Let it remain overnight, and brush off with a stiff whisk in the morning. Dents and hammer marks inadvertently made in wood can easily be removed as long as they are attended to at once. Wet the surface of the wood in and around the dent, and the hollow will swell out and leave a flush surface. The mark made by the hammer compresses the wood and the water swells it out more freely than the surrounding wood in which the grain is in its natural state of equilibrium. If more drastic measures are required, soak a piece of blotting paper in water and place the pad on the dent. Apply a hot iron to the pad and directly over the damaged wood. The steam draws up the wood. Otherwise the dent will have to be filled with plastic wood, which should bo applied quickly and left so that it is a little above the surface. The plastic wood shrinks somewhat on setting. Any irregularities can be removed with fine sandpaper. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. When slicing pineapple, do not put the knife through the core, as is usually done, but slice up and down against the grain. There should be a marked difference in the tenderness of the fruit. If you wish to test your oven when baking bread, hold your hand in the oven while you count thirty. If you find that you can hold your hand in all the time you are counting-, the oven is just the right heat. Old tea stains can be removed effectually from white fabrics by dabbing- on several applications of fullstrength peroxide of hydrogen while the article is wet and exposed to strong- sunlight. When making banana sandwiches, add a little golden syrup. It changes the sandwich to a dainty delicacy for children’s lunches. Black frocks which have become marked with powder may be cleaned successfully by being rubbed with stale, dry breadcrumbs. When making a covered coathanger, it is an excellent idea to add a small pocket in the centre of the hanger. This can be used for the small accessories of each individual frock.