Orange County Register

(Today’s guest post is by Marcie Taylor from the OC blog Suburbanmamas .)

The Lunch Calendar Menu is tacked on the fridge. It stares at me with chicken nuggets and its variations (fingers, o’s, patties), hotdogs, burgers and the weekly pizza treat. No wonder my son prefers the homemade lunches I pack for him.

When I was a kid in the Philippines, lunch meant rice and a hot viand, which was usually whatever was left over from dinner the night before. We couldn’t complain because we didn’t have a choice nor were we given any. (Is it just me or does it seem like we sometimes give our kids too many options?)

Our food was kept warm in TIGER brand thermal lunch boxes, which came in one color – black. (Curiously we all knew whose lunchbox was whose even if they all looked the same.) In each lunch box (bag, really) there were a number of plastic bowls and jars and the distinctive combination fork-spoon, a SPORK.

Sitting down to lunch was almost ceremonial as we unpacked each container, taking a whiff of its contents. Then the tasting and trading began.

It was such a communal experience. I sometimes envied those who “bought” lunch from the cafeteria, which was funny because, those that did often envied those of us who had home-cooked meals.

These days I wonder if kids can share in such a communal experience. Their lunches are usually the same nuggets, sandwiches or pizza. (Sometimes, there’s an apple or baby carrots thrown in for some semblance of nutrition.) Or worse, those over-priced pre-made lunch kits consisting of crackers, cheese and a fruit roll-up. (I suppose to “represent” the different food groups – y’know, carbs, dairy/protein and er, sugar?) Worse yet, kids in school are encouraged “not to share” for fear of allergy contamination (no more PB&Js).

So what’s a parent to do? Me?

I remember my grandmother who made most of my school lunches. She taught me that we should eat to live and not live to eat. She taught me by example that nutritious food could also be delicious. (And also that last night’s steamed rice is tomorrow’s fried rice.) Better yet, perhaps we should all take a cue from Alice Water’s Edible School Yard in Berkeley and teach our children how to grow, cook and love food.

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