I always heard the old saying that an apple a day keeps that doctor away, so I was surprised to see a “new’ version of the saying in a hundred-year-old cookbook. According to the cookbook, “a salad a day keeps the doctor away.”
Salads
Salad is to the human being what sunshine and air is to the plant. Just as the plant draws its color and freshness from the earth, so do you and I get the color in our cheeks and brightness in our eyes from the plants we eat. The very best way to get all of the good of the plant is to eat it in its crisp, delicious raw state.
Whenever it is possible, I do not remove the skin from the plants or fruits used in a salad, for the mineral salts and vitamins lie close to the skin and we cannot afford to miss them. I simply wash the vegetable or fruit very clean and chop it fine. The skin too often adds an attractive color which gives pleasure, as does the red skin of an apple.
The new adage says, “A salad a day keeps the doctor away.”
Mrs. Peterson’s Simplified Cooking (1926)
Apples. . . salads. . . perhaps the bottom line is that healthy eating keeps the doctor away.
The larger point is exactly right. On the other hand, there seems to be some agreement today that the nutritional value of certain veggies and fruits actually increases with cooking: tomatoes and carrots come to mind. This quiz in the New York Times is interesting. Of course, having lived through the cycles of coffee (eggs, butter, etc.) are good/bad/good/bad/good, I always add a dash of salt to such advice!
And a dash of salt in whatever your making!
I didn’t realize that 100 years ago, salads were considered so important. I love the description of how important salads are.
We can never eat too many salads!
Dinner just doesn’t seem complete without a salad.
Well, both sayings are completely right! Mrs. Peterson was quite wise.
Good advice that is true today.