Even Way Back When

I was up early this morning with my husband as he got ready for work and I sat on the sofa and picked up my The New Laurel's Kitchen (which my husband got for me back in 1992) which this edition was from 1986, so it tells you how old this book is. As much as I am in love with Sarah Kramer's How it all Vegan, this book is more like a well worn sweater, like something you would save if you could only save one thing from a fire. It is comforting to hold it, read eat and cook from it. That is not to say that other cookbooks do have love poured into them. But I guess you would have to see it to understand what I am talking about.

But in browsing around the book for thee umpteenth time I came across some tid-bits that are strewn in the borders of the pages throughout the book. This is from the Food Guide Section.

The Top 10 Sources Of Calories In The U.S. Diet:
1. White bread, rolls, crackers
2. Doughnuts, cookies, cakes
3. Alcoholic beverages
4. Whole milk (cows)
5. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc.
6. Beef steaks, roasts
7. Soft drinks
8. Hotdogs, ham, lunchmeat
9. Eggs
10 French fries, potato chips
**Taken from G. Block et al. 1985 American Journal of Epidemiology 122:13-40**

Another little tidbit I knew of but did not have the numbers to support my knowledge.

Vitamins Lost When Whole Wheat Is Refined
86% Vitamin E lost
81 Niacin*
80 Riboflavin*
77 Thiaman*
70 Vitamin B-6
67 Folic acid
50 Panothenic acid
*Replaced commercially after refinement.
Source: H.A. Schroder 1973, The Trace Elements and Man (Old Greenwich, Conn.: Devin-Adair), p. 57

There is tons of this information scattered throughout the book. So I will be looking through it, shaking my head and then posting about these things. And guess what, most of this stuff was being put out over 25 years ago. I guess some folks were already clued in, to bad so many of us took so long to catch up with them.