Tiffin

Time lag! I thought this went up yesterday but it didnt, so here goes!

School reopens tomorrow. The next five years will be all about 0530 AM wake up calls. It means having a good, healthy breakfast ready for the Munchkin at that unearthly hour. And packing her Brunch and her Lunch to go.

I'm already exhausted and school hasn't even begun yet!

I have dutifully sat and made a list of the most do-able and healthy items I can think of. In the end, I know it will boil down to regular doses of palak Parathas and dahi. And when panic hits, there's the convenient school lunch.

I am very sceptical about the school caterer. I am terrified Alekhya's evolved palate will be forced to endure indifferent and greasy portions of rajma and chhole ( school staples), gobi Manchurian floating in cornflour and insipid dal-roti. I shall venture in the Lunch Hall determinedly this year and taste everything.

Her previous school has very simple, freshly made, wholesome, vegetarian lunch. Made by the resident Malyali Protestants, the menu was posted on the wall for the month. It never varied but was different each day and had plenty of specials for the kids, including Chinese and pizzas, apart from a wholesome veg thaali. There was dahi and bananas and hand-cranked Ice cream if you finished everything on your plate. A wonderful gentleman would hover over the children and make sure no one cheated or starved. The girls learned to line up and be served, to eat and clear up behind them, and they would leave their plates at the sink. Ah! the benefits of convent schools!

Which brings me to Jamie Oliver and his quest to change how kids in Britain eat. What are we doing about how our kids eat in school here? I cringe when I hear of parents packing, I kid you not,            " chicken 65 " and "palak paneer" for school lunch. This is the other extreme of the sandwich lunch. And then we send the kids to the gym! More and more international schools just hire the services of an industrial caterer. How good are these large industrial caterers anyway?Adults can make a choice about what they eat and how much. Kids end up having no choice with what they re served. The option is to pick at it or starve.

I remember when my brother was studying in Campion School, Mumbai. The mothers had a committee and each did rotation kitchen duty to make and serve fresh hot food. A lot of schools still do so, ever since security risks have spelled the demise of the dabbawalla. These are schools that have an active PTA. Which I find absent here in Pune.

I am determined to serve Alekhya a healthy lunch. As long as its home-made.

Tomorrow's menu is fruit and dahi for brunch ( Thank God for Danone), salad and chicken wraps for lunch.

If all else fails, there 's always palak parathas ( grate some cheese and add some pepper for extra zing).