NEW YORK, USA: Lunch time woes

by Maman Aya (USA) | Nov 29, 2013 | Communication, Cooking, Education, Family, Health, Kids, Motherhood, Nutrition, Parenting, School, USA, World Motherhood, Younger Children

For the last three years I have had to prepare lunch for my son to take to school with him.  I always sent him a warm meal, in a thermos, usually comprised of leftovers or something that I would cook for him before school in the morning.  I stood in the kitchen lovingly cooking his lunch every day.  The only rules the school had were no nuts or candy.  OK – easy enough, considering I always include fresh fruit and a salad and since I am conscience to buy organic whenever I can, I knew that he was having a balanced meal that was healthy and included some of the vital nutrients that his growing body needed.

This September, he started first grade, and the school rules changed. I am no longer allowed to pack his lunch, and he HAS to eat from the cafeteria.

The first graders need to learn responsibility and proper nutrition, so part of that lesson is allowing them to choose their food themselves.

I wouldn’t mind if they had the same organic, fruit and vegetable laden options that I would provide, but they don’t.  Apparently they get organic “when they can”, and they try to make the parents feel better by saying that there is a “salad bar” available to the kids with baby carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs and such available.  They also have a “sandwich bar” where the kids can have their choice of bread like white sliced bread, bagels, whole wheat sliced bread, etc. (my kids have never had white sandwich bread in their life).  They have cold cuts (I don’t ever buy cold cuts at home, since they are full of nitrates and sodium, if anything I would get fresh cooked chicken or turkey and slice it for a sandwich), and butter and jam available.  They always have some kind of breakfast cereal (non-organic, mind you), and milk, juice, chocolate milk available to drink.  Now to be fair, they have a “hot food bar” available as well, where the kids have a selection of hot foods available usually consisting of some protein, starch, vegetable, a soup, perhaps some pizza or pasta. (more…)

Maman Aya (USA)

Maman Aya is a full-time working mother of 2 beautiful children, a son who is 6 and a daughter who is two. She is raising her children in the high-pressure city of New York within a bilingual and multi-religious home. Aya was born in Canada to a French mother who then swiftly whisked her away to NYC, where she grew up and spent most of her life. She was raised following Jewish traditions and married an Irish Catholic American who doesn’t speak any other language (which did not go over too well with her mother), but who is learning French through his children. Aya enjoys her job but feels “mommy guilt” while at work. She is lucky to have the flexibility to work from home on Thursdays and recently decided to change her schedule to have “mommy Fridays”, but still feels torn about her time away from her babies. Maman Aya is not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but has been drawn in by the mothers who write for World Moms Blog. She looks forward to joining the team and trying her hand at writing!

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