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Show j. J fA Doctor in the Kitchen' by Laurence M. Hursh, M.D. Consultant, National Dairy Council BIRTHDAY PARTY FOODS Birthday parties today are far more elaborate than when I grew up, but the ultimate enjoyment of a birthday party still is food. Ice cream and cake are without a doubt still the leaders. But before I get around to talking about how you can vary the birthday party menu, it is interesting to note the variety of things people do nowadays to give the party extra interest. Party Activities A birthday party today has come to resemble, in many respects, re-spects, the field trip one expects in school. A trip to the zoo, a ball game, an ice skating party, a swimming gala, a picnic, a theatre party, tobogganing in the wintertime or a visit to one of the many amusement parks all these kinds of things may be involved in-volved in a birthday party whether wheth-er the celebrant and guests are city or suburban dwellers. This doesn't rule out yard games, or indoor games if enough space is available, or as we used to be able to do, hire a pony for pony rides around the back yard. But the biggest trend is the field trip type of party, with other mothers helping you handle the youngsters safely and effectively, effective-ly, if necessary. Refreshments Most Important Ultimately, though, you get back home and the refreshments are the climax of the affair. Well, you're going to want to plan it so that things are pretty well prepared before you go out, and fast to fix when you get back. Obviously you can have all the utensils, paper plates, cups, bal loons and so forth set up in advance. ad-vance. With plastic spoons and forks the whole business is disposable, dis-posable, eliminating vast clean up afterwards. As for food, besides ice cream and cake with candles, you should try to give the children foods that will contribute to their daily nutrition needs and at the same time be fun. This is the only way to beat the rap of otherwise risking the spoiling of appetites for regular meals but only feeding the kids "junk". It won't matter if appetites ap-petites are thrown off a bit or dinner consumption cut down somewhat if the children have already had some of the food their mothers would have wanted want-ed them to have for dinner. Four Food Groups So this brings up the four food groups. Consider the fun your guests can have with' bite-size bite-size fresh fruit in season. Set out in bowls for the children to help themselves, grapes, strawberries, cut-up watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, pears, peaches, plums will be a hit. And for vegetables, remember carrot, celery, and cu-cumber cu-cumber sticks and sliced tomatoes. toma-toes. If you want to get into a meat course, hamburgers and cheeseburgers cheese-burgers with piping hot buns are always a favorite. Smaller bites suggest cubes of cheese, little cocktail sausages, or small chunks of beef, the latter perhaps cooked over a hibachi. With milk as the beverage, all this can be very festive and at the same time excellent nutrition. |
