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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1990)
The Battalion Tht-- LIFESTYLES Thursday, March 22,1990 Lifestyles Editor Mary-Lynne Rice Microwav By »it 1 » lues mania i ■ CtJ 1' I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 COOK TIME d nti len Se pan love >lui Jes: voril )sc nar Photo illustration by Mike C. Mulvey lerm are I lion. By PATRICK HAYS Of The Battalion Staff Microwave cooking has become as much a part of American life as hot and dogs and apple pie. The ovens can be found in restaurants, houses, apartments and dorm rooms from coast to coast. For many people, two- minute meals are daily events, and eating in extremely short time peri ods is second nature. The microwave cooking explosion has raised some interesting ques tions, leaving consumers and indus try people pondering over their pizza. One of the most common ques tions surrounding the phenomenon is that of nutrition. Many people be lieve that since little preparation goes into microwave cooking, it is not healthy, but nutritionists tell us differently. Linda Kapusniak, director of nu tritional services at HCA Greenleaf Hospital in College Station, says a diet consisting of mostly microwaved food is just as nutritious as one con sisting of conventionally cooked foods. “You can get just as balanced a diet with microwaved foods,” Kapus niak said. No vitamins are lost in cooking, and some foods, such as vegetables, are more nutritious when microwaved because fewer nu trients are lost than in conventional cooking methods. The actual cooking which takes place in a microwave is a result of a molecular process. A magnetron, ot small microwave transmitter, shapes electromagnetic energy into micro- waves, which are reflected to the food by a stirrer The microwaves excite watei molecules within the food, thus heating it Kapusniak .says a good rule of thumb to go by when selecting fro zen entrees is to choose items with fewer than 10 grams of fat per 300 calories. She also advises choosing foods with 800 milligrams or less of •sodium. The maximum recom mended amount of sodium per meal is 1000 milligrams. Kapusniak says, however, that most microwave foods exceed that sodium level, because sodium acts as a preservative. She says the only real drawback to microwave foods is that they lack fiber, but that can be supplemented easily. She warns about buying foods marked with the “lite” label. Use of the term “lite” is not regulated, and it could mean anything, she says. “It could be lighter in color. It could be lighter in salt,” Kapusniak says. HCA Greenleaf nutrition consul tant Celeste Thornton says, “It’s such a widely used marketing tool, not to the benefit of the consumer.” Thornton offers a tip for produc ing well-balanced meals. She recom mends eating foods such as fruit or bread with microwaved foods to get a proper balance of nutrients. Many students depend on micro- wave foods for a significant part of their diets. She says she has followed this type of diet for four years, and does not anticipate changing her habits when she leaves school. nng “I’ll probably stick with microwa- iff,” she savs. Another question raised by the microwave cooking phenomenon is fffect on the gro- Melissa Peffers, a senior civil engi neering major from San Antonio, says her diet consists of about 40 percent microwave foods. She says she eats a lot of frozen entrees, vege tables and potatoes, and that conve nience is the main factor in her choices. that of its potential el eery foods market. Ben Mazow, media spokesman for Skaggs Alhpa Beta, says customers like Peffers' increasing demand for microwave foods is an inconvenience stores do not mind. He says stores have to shuffle or increase freezer space to accomodate the wide selec tion of microwave foods, but says it is a welcome task. have the complication, because would have had the conipli anyway,” Mazow says. Another favorable effect of (In crease in microwave cooking is til allows more people to eat at he says. Many people stop and up an entree or two on the home from work, instead of s«| ping at a fast food restaurani adds that many peojile are tired! last food, and that microwavefj trees are attractive because thev fer better selection in single semi Mazow says that on the wl stores are pleased with the mi wave craze. II recei tludi joi ( |“Shi dau 11 ess Ugc I'My pon i i tor If lion, lour “I don’t call microwaving coo king,” Peffers says. He adds that even if microwave foods were not competing for space, some other type of food would be. “Given the benefit, we’re happy to “Basically, it adds to customer Jesse riety and choice ... which wel«'|f 0 | , he says. . K.Ui Judging from the continued! each cess of the microwave indusBHou' Americans love it, too. Ev hiarf foil! N< Mormon students seek links with ancient Indian cultures By M. ELAINE HORN Of The Battalion Staff During spring break, many students flock to the beaches of Mexico to enjoy the surf and sand and to visit the many bars with cheap margaritas. This year, however, a group of Texas A&M students from the Latter Day Saints Students Asso ciation staged a new twist to this traditional scenario. They used the spring break opportunity to explore some of their basic beliefs of the Mormon religion. The highlights of their trip were the pyramids of the sun and the moon and the ancient ruins. Andrew Speckhard, LDSSA pres ident, says the ruins and the pyr amids relate to the Book of Mor mon. Speckhard, a graduate student in business, says the Book of Mormon discusses an ancient civilization which was the ances tor of the Incas and the Mayans. “For us to see the Pyramids ... was evidence to testify to the Book of Mormon,” Speckhard says. “Especially since I was a con vert to the church, I was real ex cited to see the places in the Book of Mormon.” Speckhard con verted to the Mormon faith ten years ago when he was in high school. Marianne Matis, vice-president of LDSSA, says that her main purpose for going was to see the ruins. “It was the best part for me ... something we couldn’t see any where else.” The Mormon religion has many churches, but it has only 42 temples worldwide. In these temples. Mormons can perform “ordinances,” which are consid ered service work. One such temple exists in Mexico City, and the group spent a day of their trip performing ordinances in the temple. Speckhard says three major types of ordinances exist — seal ings, baptisms for the dead, and endowments. Sealings are a cere mony in which couples can be married for “time and all eterni ty” instead of the traditional “un til death do we part.” Baptisms for the dead are bap tisms performed on behalf of de- ■ or us to see the Pyramids... was evidence to testify to the Book of Mormon,” —Andrew Speckhard, LDSSA president ceased people by proxy. Speck hard says they are usually performed for ancestors who did not have the chance to be bap tized before their death. In heaven, he says, they can accept or reject the baptism. They are not forced to be saved, Speckhard says. Sixteen of the 45-member group performed the baptismal ordinance, and Speckhard says that each of them did about 20 baptisms each. Speckhard says that a special feature of performing the ordi nances in the Mexico temple was that the ordinances were con ducted entirely in Spanish. “It was neat to perform ordi nances in the language we learned on our missions,” he says. The Mormon church strongly suggests that men at age 19 and women at age 21 go on a mission, Speckhard says. Many of the stu dents on the trip had spent their missions in Spanish-speaking countries. Speckhard says the ordinances are service work because they are helping people who did not have the chance to hear “the message.” In addition to visiting the pyr amid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon, they visited the mu seum of anthropology and at tended the national Ballet Folklo- rico in Mexico City. The group planned their trip for seven months. Much of the planning went towards financing the trip. Each person paid $115, but the remaining $7800 needed for the trip was collected through fundraisers and donations. To raise money for the trip, students sold parking passes at football games in the fall. The church owns two parking lots near the Former Students Center which are popular during game days. They also held an auction and a yard sale. Additional money was raised through t-shirt sales and donations. Matis says the trip lived up to her expectations, but she was sur prised by how much of the ruins actually remained standing. “In Rome, much of it is destro yed,” she says. “In Mexico ... there is more than just a few little stones. There are actual complete buildings.” It was rewarding to discover more about his religion, Speck hard says. He enjoyed being able to spend spring break with peo ple who shared his beliefs and wanted to learn more about them. “The trip helped me to have a greater appreciation for the Book of Mormon,” Speckhard says. “I saw evidence of great civilizations ... they had to be great to build structures like that.” After the many months of wait ing for the trip, Matis says, it has been difficult to go back to a reg ular schedule. “I’m still dazed that it’s all over.” Texas wildflowers near full bloom nes \ trip goer educ natio By HELEN WOLFE Of The Battalion Staff Spring finally has arrived, and what better time than now to see the unlimited viewing of Texas wildf- lower trails?. Texas wildflowers can be found along highways, in residential dis tricts, along self-guided trails and in country meadows. With more than 5,000 wildflower species in Texas —more than in any other state — the sights can seem endless. Dr. Douglas F. Welsh, Texas A&M extension service horticultur ist, said wildflowers bloom from around mid-March until October. “Indian Paintbrush is blooming up a storm,” he said. Texas bluebonnet, the state’s offi cial flower, verbenas and wild phlox also are blooming, Welsh said. Geography can he credited for the great abundance of Texas' plants, according a State Department of Highways and Public Transporta tion pamphlet, “Flowers of Texas.” Welsh said climate diversity and long blooming seasons are why wild flowers bloom so well in Texas. “Washington County has some of the best wildflowers in the state,” Welsh said. Fayettville, LaGrange and Bren- ham are also good areas to see wildf lowers, he said. Many of the wildflower species can be found along Texas highways. The Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transporta tion has planted and preserved wild flowers for more than 40 years. The Department is the nation’s largest “landscape gardner,” with more than 800,000 acres to care for. “The general focus of wildflower trails is by highways,” Welsh said. “Texas A&M mows too much to en courage any wildflowers.” However, Rudy’s Exxon Service Station at 815 S. Texas has a wildf lower trail of bluebonnets. Owner Rudy Prigge said he started cultivating in early Septem ber of last year and planted the first seeds last September. For more informational Whether or not any of these wildf- Texas wildflower trails, write P lowers can he picked is a question Box 5064, Austin, Texas 781 Welsh could not answer definitively. 5064, for a free copy of the High “I would not encourage it, but it’s Department’s “Flowers of. Tefl fun to take pictures,” he said. brochure. Th B Be Photo by Frederick Dj‘ x Indian paintbrushes are blooming well along Texas highways Wildflowers cannot be picked in all areas, however.