The Battalion
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LIFESTYLES
Thursday, March 22,1990
Lifestyles Editor Mary-Lynne Rice
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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.
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“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.
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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
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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.