Health for life

A few months ago, I fell into possession of The Quick Cook Book by Lois S. Kellogg, a 1961 paperback filled with hundreds of convenient and occasionally jaw-dropping recipes.


There are Mayonnaise Mounds. There are Corned Beef Cobblers. Theres even Prune Whip. And Im pretty sure we can trace Americas obesity problems directly to the Canned Chicken section.

To be fair to Lois, she seems to specialize in baking. The cake and cookie recipes look tasty and are mostly made from scratch. Some arent, but ... well get to that later.

First, lets pretend were hosting a party on Mad Men. And what better way to kick off a soiree than Cholives?



Of course, if youre not fond of olive and cheddar finger foods, deep-fried whole chicken sandwiches make an excellent light appetizer.



The meal really begins with soup. Tomatoes and pineapples are delicious, inexpensive, and come in cans. They should be lovely together.



Side dishes are vital to the success of any meal. I like to make a lot of them, since theyre less expensive than meat.



Id love to serve macaroni and cheese, but I find the garish yellow hue too distressing. How do I cope?



Of course, the most distressing part of hosting a party is that I never know what to serve for the main course. Jellied Meat Loaf? Corned Beef Corn Ring? Ham Wheel Pie? Corned Beef Cobbler? So many options, and all on the same page...



I know! Well do breakfast for dinner! With a twist!



Its important to end the meal with a wholesome, appealing dessert. Since I believe halitosis is a myth, (like morally upright socialists), this should fit the bill!



You know, Onion Ice Cream is definitely going on the menu, but Bob really pers treats that keep him regular. Maybe this would please him?



As for my son ... be caul, Danny. This peach pie is "Different" from all the other peach pies. Youre such a good student. Dont let it ruin your future.



And to cap it all off, coffee. But drinking it just seems so ... pedestrian. Isnt there a better way to get that caffeine fix?


Mmm ... delicious. I bet the Jell-O company will pay me at least one hundred dollars for this recipe.

Cheers, everyone!

~~~
If you like this article, you might also like:

• 11 Things Dwight K. Schrute Taught Me About Food and Frugality
• The Argument for Spending More on Food
• The Dos and Donts of Buying a Cookbook 

(All photos from The Quick Cook Book by Lois S. Kellogg)

It thought the fundamental purpose of teachers was to teach. Yet, when it considers that the hours that a child spends in school is an opportunity to catch problems that may be missed by parents and docs alike, the idea that schools can be a first line of defense in the early detection of mental illness has some merit.

 For your consideration when youre grappling with your local school taxes:

Tim is the son of Paul Gionfriddo, who is a former Connecticut politician and current mental health advocate.  As the parent of a child with schizophrenia, he knows what hes writing about.

When Mr. Gionfriddo was starting out as a legislator, he was only just becoming aware of Tims difficulties in school. What followed was heartbreaking tale of inflexible school officials arranging for the wrong evaluations, wrong diagnoses, inadequate care and wasted attempts to help a deeply troubled child. Teachers were unable to cope, the parents were often blamed and Tim got shuffled around an unresponsive school system.  Despite "good" insurance, coverage fell short and many services involved onerous co-pays and limitations. And once he reached adulthood, an unwillingness to accept services moved Tim to the margins of society, leading to repeated hospitalizations and incarcerations. He now lives in squalor somewhere in San Francisco.

Tims story is not unique. According to Mr. Gionfriddo, a well meaning policy that moved hundreds of thousands of mentally ill out of decaying inpatient psychiatric hospitals in the 1980s was followed by

1) schools being unable to handle children with mental illness,

2) underfunding of community agencies, and

3) the siloing of the resources that did exist, resulting in little collaboration among physicians, law enforcement, community services or the mental health community.

Among Mr. Gionfriddos recommendations?  In addition to better screening by pediatricians during the well child visit, insurance orm and better housing options, state legislators should support the following:
 
1. The U.S. public school system should be prepared to offer mental health services in addition to basic education;

2. Every teacher should receive training in recognizing mental illness and how to handle it;

4. Once mental illness is  discovered, meaningful support should be included in a childs individualized education planning.

Image from Wikipedia

Your doctor will see you now!

If only the U.S. health care system had the democracy of the French, the efficiency of the Germans, the primary care of the Brits and the common sense of the Swiss. Then wed be able to see our beret-wearing PCPs ad lib, receive care in 9 minute aliquots, mutter "bullocks!" when were told were too old for dialysis and then die old and quietly at home.

Victor Fuchs, writing in the Jan 2 edition of JAMA, has a slightly different perspective.  He notes that American history is dominated by waves of immigrants who came here to escape oppression. We are far more distrustful of government.  We are also less likely to support redistributive public policies. That may be partly due to a more heterogeneous population that is less sympathetic to the less fortunate when they fall outside the right social or demographic class. Last but not least, our system of government is quite inefficient compared, say, to a parliamentary system.

Thats why:

1. Government spending on health care is comparatively lower: 46% in the U.S. vs. 75% in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.  As a result, a) administrative costs are fragmented, and b) there is less ability to negotiate prices with providers and suppliers

2. There is a different mix of services: in the U.S., less top-down control means more high tech, specialists and amenities with relatively less reliance on physicians and hospitals to render health care services.

What is the way forward?  Dr. Fuchs recommends that future health orm efforts not be modeled on Europe.  Instead, Americans should scale back their expectations and focus on what is necessary, not desireable.

If government is to assume a greater share of health care costs beyond the current 46% level, it should probably worry about funding basic care, not all care.  In addition, Americans are less likely to support total equality; they want to preserve the option of "buying up" when they can afford it.  Last but not least, future orm is going to have to find a middle ground between all the advocacy groups, stakeholders and special interests that dominate the mix of services.

Image from Wikipedia