1528 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



If one member of the family be obliged to carry his noon meal with him, 

 what care should be taken to make it a fit substitute for the nourishing 

 home meal that he must do without ! Instead of requiring less thought, 

 the substitute requires more than is given to other meals. 



Usually the luncheon must be cold, and hence somewhat unappetizing. 

 Very often it must be eaten in solitude or amidst dreary surroundings, 

 and therefore it may not be heartily relished. For these reasons the food 

 should be especially tempting and nourishing. The luncheon of the 

 school boy and girl should be planned with particular care in order to 

 satisfy the demand for good taste and at the same time to insure the 

 right kind of nourishment. 



The factors to be considered in planning the box luncheon fall natu- 

 rally under three heads — selection of food, preparation of food, and pack- 

 ing the luncheon. 



SELECTION OF FOOD 



The most important consideration in planning for any meal is the 

 selection of food. Suggestions with regard to this problem have been 

 given in Farm Home Reading-Course Lesson No. 41, in which emphasis 

 is laid on the value and the use of various types of food : for example, the 

 importance of fruit in the diet; the place of meat substitutes; the advan- 

 tage of products made from the entire grain, as whole wheat bread; the 

 judicious use of sweets; the changes demanded by the age and the occu- 

 pation of the person ; the facts that food for the growing boy or girl should 

 differ from that of the working man, and that food for all members of the 

 family should differ in winter and in summer. The same considerations 

 have to be observed when the box luncheon is planned. 



In addition to the dietetic problem common to all meals, the box 

 luncheon introduces in the choice of foods the following peculiar diffi- 

 culties : 



Many foods are inconvenient to pack or do not taste good when cold ; 



hence the choice is necessarily limited. 

 The box should contain no more food than is needed, and yet must 

 hold sufficient to satisfy the appetite; therefore the choice must be 

 very exact. 

 The meal is to be eaten away from the pleasant family circle; there- 

 fore the choice needs specially to include such foods as stimulate 

 the appetite by giving daintiness and variety. 

 The above difficulties give rise to the question, "How may I, from the 

 few foods available for lunches and in the limited space afforded by the 

 luncheon box, combine nourishment and variety?" The following outline 

 may serve to indicate both the essential features of the luncheon and the 

 possibilities of variety: 



