224. Diet for Invalids. There are three alimentary conditions in illness; the first prevails where the system suffers from the reaction consequent upon over-taxation, when rest is the first demand; then only palliative foods meet the calls of nature, those which give repletion to the sense of hunger, and tide the system over a certain period of relaxation and recuperation; gelatinous soups, and gruels of arrowroot, sago, and tapioca, will do very well at this stage. The second condition, when the body, failing under the pressure of disease, needs an excess of nutrition, is serious enough to demand the interposition of the physician the doctor is the proper person to decide what shall be eaten; we will offer only a few suggestions concerning refreshing drinks. At the third point, when the patient is beyond the reach of danger, when foods are ordered which shall yield the greatest possible amount of nutrition, the culinary skill of the nurse may be displayed. It is here that we would give the paragraphs concerning highly nutritive foods. The reader will please to note that the quantities in this chapter are calculated for the use of one person.

225. Gruels. We have already said that in certain physical conditions the lack of nutrition is what the body requires, a period of comparative inaction, combined with repletion; in such a condition the following aliments will suffice.

226. Arrowroot Gruel. Mix one ounce of arrowroot with sufficient cold water to make a smooth paste; into this pour a gill or more of boiling water, stirring the mixture until it is quite clear; sweeten it with a little sugar, and use it at once.

227. Arrowroot Jelly. Dissolve two teaspoonfuls of Bermuda arrowroot in just enough cold water to mix it to a smooth liquid paste, stir it into a quarter of a pint of water boiling upon the fire, with two tablespoonfuls of white sugar; continue stirring until the mixture becomes clear, then remove from the fire and stir in one teaspoonful of lemon-juice, put into a mould wet with cold water until it is cold. If the patient’s condition will permit, cream and sugar may be eaten with it.

228. Arrowroot Wine Jelly. Following the above process, make a jelly of one cup of boiling water, two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one tablespoonful of brandy or three tablespoonfuls of wine. This jelly is more stimulating than the gruel, and may meet some especial cases; but, unless used with brandy, for impaired digestive powers, we do not believe it to be of permanent value.

229. Calf’s Foot Jelly. Thoroughly clean a calf’s foot; put it into an earthen jar, with half the rind of a fresh lemon, two gills of sweet milk, and one pint of cold water; close the jar tightly, put it into a moderate oven, and slowly bake it for three hours; then strain and cool it, and remove all fat, before using; it is bland and harmless.

230. Sago Gruel. Soak one ounce of sago, after washing it well in a pint of tepid water for two hours; then simmer it in the same water for fifteen minutes, stirring it occasionally; then sweeten and flavor it to taste, and use at once.

231. Sago Milk. Prepare the sago as in previous receipt, but boil it in milk instead of water; and when it has cooked for two hours it is ready for use.

232. Tapioca Jelly. Wash one ounce of tapioca, soak it over night in cold water, and then simmer it with a bit of lemon peel until it is thoroughly dissolved; sweeten it to taste, and let it cool before using.

233. Rice Candle. Mix an ounce of ground rice smoothly with a little cold water, and stir it into a pint of boiling water; boil it for fifteen minutes, and then sweeten it to taste and flavor it with nutmeg. Use it warm or cold.

234. Isinglass Milk. Soak quarter of an ounce of clear shreds of isinglass in a pint of cold milk for two hours; then reduce it by boiling to half a pint, and sweeten to taste. Cool it before using.

235. Refreshing Drinks. In feverish conditions cooling drinks, that is beverages which are in themselves refrigerant, such as lemonade, and those which are made from aromatic herbs, are grateful and helpful to the patient, but pure, distilled or filtered water, is the best for invalids. Hot drinks lower the temperature of the body by evaporation; excessively cold drinks check perspiration, and endanger congestion of some vital part; but water of a moderate temperature is innocuous. Even in dangerous fevers the burning thirst of the sufferer can safely be assuaged by the frequent administration of small bits of ice. In cases of incomplete nutrition, cocoa, chocolate, and other preparations of the fruit of the cocoa-palm, are invaluable adjuncts; the active principle of all these is identical, and the chief nutritive element is oil. A very small quantity of cocoa will sustain life a long time.

236. Filtered Water. Put a quart of clear water over the fire, and just bring it to a boil; remove it, and strain it three or four times through flannel; then cool it in a covered jar or pitcher, and give it to the patient in small quantities as the condition requires.

237. Jelly Water. Mix one large teaspoonful of wild-cherry or blackberry jelly in a glass of cool water; drink moderately, and at intervals.

238. Flaxseed Lemonade. Pour one quart of boiling water over four tablespoonfuls of whole flaxseed, and steep three hours covered. Then sweeten to taste, and add the juice of two lemons, using a little more water if the liquid seems too thick to be palatable. This beverage is very soothing to the irritated membranes in cases of severe cold.

239. Barley Water. Wash two ounces of pearl barley in cold water until it does not cloud the water; boil it for five minutes in half a pint of water; drain that off, put the barley into two quarts of clean water, and boil it down to one quart. Cool, strain, and use. Pearl barley largely contains starch and mucilage, and makes an excellent soothing and refreshing draught in fevers and gastric inflammations.

NOURISHING DRINKS. These are useful when liquid nourishment is better suited to the invalid’s condition than solid food.

240. Iceland Moss Chocolate. Dissolve one ounce of Iceland moss in one pint of boiling milk; boil one ounce of chocolate for five minutes in one pint of boiling water; thoroughly mix the two; and give it to the invalid night and morning. This is a highly nutritive drink for convalescents.

241. Egg Broth. Beat an egg until it is frothy, stir into it a pint of boiling hot meat broth, free from fat, season it with a saltspoonful of salt, and eat it hot, with thin slices of dry toast; it may be given to assist the patient in gaining strength.

242. Egg Tea. Beat the yolk of an egg in a cup of tea, and let the sick person drink it warm; the yolk is more readily digested than the white, and has a better flavor; and the tea is a powerful respiratory excitant, while it promotes perspiration, and aids the assimilation of more nourishing foods.

243. Very strong Beef Tea. (This tea contains every nutritious element of the beef.) Cut two pounds of lean beef into small dice, put it into a covered jar without water, and place it in a moderate oven for four hours, then strain off the gravy, and dilute it to the desired strength with boiling water.

244. Beef Tea. (A quick preparation for immediate use.) Chop one pound of lean beef fine, put it into a bowl, and cover it with cold water; let it stand for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then pour both beef and liquid into a sauce-pan, and place them over the fire to boil from fifteen to thirty minutes as time will permit; then strain off the liquid, season it slightly, and serve it at once.

245. Farina Gruel. Stir one ounce of farina into one pint of boiling water, and boil it down one half, using a farina kettle, or stirring occasionally to prevent burning, then add half a pint of milk, boil up once, and sweeten to taste. Use warm. Farina is a preparation of the inner portion of the finest wheat, freed from bran, and floury dust; it contains an excess of nitrogenous, or flesh-forming material, readily absorbs milk or water in the process of cooking, is quickly affected by the action of the gastric juices; and is far superior as a food to sago, arrowroot, tapioca, and corn starch.

246. Nutritious Foods. We have called attention to the fact that the nurse’s most important office is exercised when the invalid begins to regain health; the task of rebuilding exhausted vitality demands a thoughtful care that only a tender hearted woman can bestow; and lacking which the skill of the most enlightened physician is often set at naught. Happy the woman who can here assist the restoration of the vital powers; she holds in her own hands a force which wealth cannot buy. To such ministering angels we dedicate this portion of our little work, in the hope that countless sick beds will be comforted thereby.

247. Bread Jelly. Remove the crust from a roll, slice the crumb, and toast it; put the slices in one quart of water, and set it over the fire to simmer until it jellies; then strain it through a cloth, sweeten it, and flavor it with lemon juice; put it into a mould and cool it upon the ice before using.

248. Crackers and Marmalade. Toast three soda crackers, dip them for one minute in boiling water, spread them with a little sweet butter, and put between them layers of orange marmalade, or any other preserve or jelly; put plenty upon the top cracker, and set them in the oven for two or three minutes before serving. This makes a delicate and inviting lunch for convalescents.

249. Chicken Jelly. Skin a chicken, removing all fat, and break up the meat and bones by pounding; cover them with cold water, heat them slowly in a steam-tight kettle, and simmer them to a pulp; then strain through a sieve or cloth, season to taste, and return to the fire without the cover, to simmer until the liquid is reduced one half, skimming off all fat. Cool to form a jelly. If you have no steam-tight kettle, put a cloth between the lid and any kettle, and the purpose will be served.

250. Chicken Broth. Dress a chicken or fowl, cut it in joints, put them in a chopping bowl, and chop them into small pieces, using flesh, bones, and skin. To every pound of the chicken thus prepared put one pint of cold water and one level teaspoonful of salt; if pepper is desired it should be either enough cayenne to lie on the point of a small pen-knife blade, or a half saltspoonful of ground white pepper. Put all these ingredients over the fire in a porcelain lined sauce-pan, bring them slowly to a boil, remove the pan to the side of the fire, where it will simmer slowly, the heat striking it on one side; simmer it in this way for two hours, and then strain it through a napkin, set it to cool; if any fat rises to the surface in cooling remove it entirely. Eat it either cold, say half a teacupful when a little nourishment is required; or warm a pint, and eat it with graham crackers at meal time.

251. Beefsteak Juice. Quickly broil a juicy steak, and after laying it on a hot platter, cut and press it to extract all the juice; season this with a very little salt, and pour it over a slice of delicately browned toast; serve it at once.

252. Salmon Steak. Choose a slice of salmon nearly an inch thick, remove the scales, wipe with a dry cloth, roll it first in cracker dust, then dip it very lightly in melted butter, and season with a dust of white pepper and a pinch of salt; then roll it again in cracker dust, and put it over a clear fire on a greased gridiron, to broil slowly, taking care that it does not burn before the flakes separate; serve it with some fresh watercresses and plain boiled potatoes. (Any red-blooded fish may be used in the same way.)

253. Broiled Oysters. Dry some large oysters on a napkin; roll them in cracker dust, dip them in melted butter as for salmon steaks, again in cracker dust, dust over them a very little salt and white pepper, or cayenne, and broil them on a buttered wire gridiron, over a clear fire. They will be done as soon as they are light brown. They make a very delicate and digestible meal.