A week or so ago, I wrote about this stew that I royally botched, made from blackeyed peas. Beans grow, of course, when they're soaked so I ended up with TONS of it! I froze most of it, and was eating the rest a little each day. So one day last week, I took it to school. And funny thing--turns out my friend Betsy loves blackeyed peas! I brought her some the following day, she fixed me lunch the next day, and a collaboration was born.
Our idea has grown to include the whole 5th grade team now. There are 5 of us who work together, and our lunchtimes are scheduled every 3 minutes, so we spend most of our break together. When the other 5th grade teachers saw Betsy enjoying the blackeyed pea mishap, they wanted some, too! (See, Eric? I knew SOMEONE would see the health benefits in my gray hash! lol) I didn't have any more of that, but I had some leftover chili that I made for our choir dinner, so I shared that. The next day, Lisa brought in some homemade squash soup for all of us to share. A seed was planted.
Each of us had been working to bring in healthy food for lunch. Finally, we've gotten smart! Now, one night a week it's my turn to fix some soup for everyone. As I type this, there's spaghetti squash roasting in the oven. Then, we bring in the recipe, divide the pot, and nix the cafeteria pizza together. Yes, those of you who know me, I realize this is like some kind of "Bizarro-Amy" speaking, but I'm lovin' this! Every time I fix soup for our family there's so much left over anyway that I usually send some to a neighbor...now, we enjoy a family-style healthy lunch every day in our 22.5 minutes! Maybe this is just fanciful thinking, too, but it seems like the whole "lunch experience" is a little warmer and cozier with the addition of a picnic basket and gingham napkins to our table. It's a thoughtful & personal thing to consider others' dietary preferences when you prepare food. Yes, there's always the din of chattering 10-year olds in the background, and the bulbs still glare flourescent...but it's not bad these days. It's actually really nice.
Wonder what would happen if we spent 15 minutes of our planning time on Dance, Dance Revolution! in the gym each day? :)
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