Poetry Jam: Jammin' at School

I was invited to read poetry at school today, even though poetry month ended yesterday.  The class was amazing--attentive and engaged through 25 whole minutes of verse!  Choosing from the Random House Book of Poetry for Children and The 20th-Century Children's Poetry Treasury, I started with rain poems because it's raining here today (we've already gotten more than an inch, which is a lot for us), then did some spring poems and one about the wind.  And back to rain.  I did a few about school, particularly recess, and ended with several from Jack Prelutsky's Awful Ogre Running Wild.  I gave out Dr. Seuss bookmarks for everyone and topped the whole thing with lunch with Mama and the kids in the cafeteria.

Not "My Plate"

The  kids, despite lovingly packed lunches of noodle soup or macaroni and cheese with meatballs, have been enviously eyeing the hot school lunch.  Sis saw chicken tenders, her favorite, on the first day, and Bud knows there is pizza, his favorite, every Friday.  And so when I got the handout on school lunches in their folders, I looked.

Prominently displayed on the corporate food service brochure was the new USDA "My Plate," the government's updated food pyramid.  "My Plate" prominently displays 50% fruits and vegetables to 25% each grains and proteins.  So, hoping this company practiced what they preached, I looked over the weekly menus:

• Grilled cheese, tater tots, and pears
• Pizza, fries, and fruit cup
• Nachos with meat and cheese with corn

Hmmmm, I haven't had elementary math in a long time but those school lunches just don't add up.  Especially if you don't count corn as a vegetable!

And that's saying nothing about how it's all overly processed, preservative- and salt-laden, canned or frozen not fresh food.

But I know from experience that the kids would probably love it.  Because I loved school lunch.  Cheesy, salty, carbs, dessert!  But that was long before people really talked about or understood seasonal, local, fresh, organic.  And I am not so simple that I would say school lunch made me fat; mainly because I gained most of my weight after 12 years of public school lunch.  Though, it might have contributed to my poor food habits.  

Suffice it to say, I'm not jazzed about school lunch, almost more from the chemicals than the calories.  But I also don't want to make that cafeteria tray the Holy Grail.  So, with gentle prodding from Mama Hungry, whose small Catholic school didn't even have food service except on hot dog Fridays (it was NY after all--and the fish requirement, though culturally still prevalent, officially went out with Vatican II, as I understand it), I've relented and they can have school lunch occasionally, pre-approved.  Though, secretly I'm hoping they'll run back to my homemade lunches.  Even if I know better.

We did, however, have a great conversation about food this morning.  They like to hear the story about why I became a vegetarian, as if it were a family fairy tale.  They don't remember my eating meat, even though I've only been veg for 4 years.  And so Bud was talking about wonton soup and I agreed that it was good, "How do you know, Mom?  The dumplings have meatballs."  And I reminded him that I used to eat meat.  

"Why not now?"

Once upon a time . . . And so I told them again that I didn't like the idea of eating dead animals.  They followed along that eggs, milk, and honey were okay to me because the animals didn't die.  And then I told them that even though they ate meat, we tried to choose the happiest chicken and cows who ate the best food and lived the best lives and died the best way.   

"And the food at school is made from unhappy cows!"

As Gommie commented later on the phone, "You'll probably need to put some money in the therapy jar."*

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The "therapy jar" was an early, entertaining concept Mama and I originated.  Every time we did something we figured would screw up the kids somehow, we said we needed to put money away for their future therapists.  

I think, if we'd been diligent, we'd have enough saved for college (and therapy) by now!

Packin'

No, not that.

School lunch.

It's Sis and Bud's first year of school lunch. And it won't be coming from the hot food line (don't get me started on the quality of school lunches! Even if I loved them as a kid).

But they aren't really sandwich eaters or even much for cold lunches so we've been researching and brainstorming on what they will eat. Thanks to Feeding the Whole Family, I came up with a chart to organize what will go in their lunch, including categories for "growing food" (that's from the book, another name for protein sources), "foods that grow" (like fruits and vegetables), and then the utilitarian "other" category. I have lists of each that they like or would be willing to try, from old stand-by macaroni and cheese or ham and cheese roll-ups to new or new-at-school foods like broccoli noodle soup or corn chowder (if I figure out how to add a pdf here, I will soon; until then, see below.)

Yep, my secret for school lunch is a hot thermos. Special Clone Wars ones. Which means I can send warm leftovers, their favorite pastas, and other tasty things that will make lunch-line soggy pizza and limp chicken tenders look unappetizing. We've already got all of next week planned out, including fruits and "other"--I intend to make a celebratory batch of cookies to have on hand for next week (it also means I know some of what's for dinner, since a couple choices are leftovers).

And in case (or when) I run out of ideas and they run out of enthusiasm, there are these following resources for more ideas:

• Melissa Clark's take on sandwiches in the NYTimes
• Beauty That Moves "The Lunch Box Post"
• The Vegan Lunchbox
• Laptop Lunches--great safe-plastic bento boxes (pictured above) and recipe ideas
• Family Fun ideas and here
• Lunch in a Box
• ideas from Nava Atlas
• the handy chart and recipe round-up at Whole Life Nutrition
• Mothering recipes from "Peggy's Kitchen" and mymothering.com
• lots of ideas from Kiwi magazine
• EWG's lunch tips
• Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair, the book with the "growing food" concept
• Kid-friendly recipes (though not just for lunch): Laurie David's Family Dinner and Eat! Play! Move! (from Weight Watchers)

But the best part? I can't wait to be their special guest at lunchtime.

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“Growing Food” (Protein)

macaroni and cheese

pasta and meatballs

chicken and rice

cheese sandwich

chicken noodle soup

“Ponyo noodles”

fried rice

“Food that Grows” (Fruits, Vegetables)

vegetable soup

broccoli noodle soup

corn chowder

broccoli and soy sauce

baby carrots

apples

mandarin oranges

bananas

berries

pears

fruit leather

applesauce

Other

cookie

crackers/goldfish

corn chips

yogurt

cereal