Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Cold Hearted Lunch

So I was over at Regarding Annie, whom I adore, and she was talking about school lunches. It made me think back to my childhood days when I had lunch. Except I didn't get to buy lunch at school, like EVER. My mom made us lunch, in a nice brown paper bag (I HATE those bags), she was a healthy mom and so in our lunch were pretty much the same things every day. A sandwich, an apple or orange, a treetop juice (she couldn't even get good juice like Caprisun or anything!), maybe at some point there was chips (but not even like bagged chips, like she took a sandwich bag and put some chips in there), and one cookie (homemade).

I hated those stupid lunches.

After sitting in your backpack all day, your sandwich is smashed. The peanut butter is crystallizing, the juice is warm (and its 100% healthy--blech), the chips are all smashed up and the only good thing in there is the cookie. So thats about all I would eat and throw the rest away.

I THREW IT AWAY--EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I can't even imagine the amount of money I wasted over the years, its just too horrible to think about...

So one time, I shoved my lunch in the bottom of my locker (this is in junior high now) and I left it there (since I obviously wasn't going to eat it), and I left it and I left it and...I left it. Until the orange that was in there was totally rotten. And not only rotten, but STINKING. I was too embarrassed to take it out, because what if someone saw it?! It finally got so bad that I snuck it out one day, but seriously that is how bad I hated lunch time.

Were you one of the cool kids that got to buy lunch? (I hate you.)

15 comments:

  1. I bought lunch but that was only coz my mom was lazy

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  2. No, no I was not. There was this kid in school, who was one of the rish kids, I guess you could say, who had those cans of squeezy cheese and crackers, everyday. Oh how I envied her.

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  3. Uh, Mom wasn't lazy, Chief. She worked. And I'm sure you would totally have your kids buy school lunch if your school OFFERED such a thing. P.S. I'm telling mom you said that.

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  4. This sounds exactly like the lunches I quit making for my son after three years when I realized he never ate his either. Now he happily buys his lunch each day and I totally feel like loser mom.

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  5. I only got to buy lunch once a week. And in high school, not at all, because I had to pay for it. So I took an orange or an apple every day--and that was it. Because I was too lazy to actually make myself lunch in the morning.

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  6. I remember getting school lunch rarely. I was so picky though I was always afraid I wouldn't like it. My mom always had crap in our house to eat though so I got junk food in my lunches too. I didnt mind that much at all. :)

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  7. I don't know for sure- a little of both I guess. Of course, back then, they made fresh food daily for the kids. Now they just reheat junk food.

    My MIL managed a school district bakery for 20 years. She makes those big, super soft lunch lady rolls. My mouth waters just thinking of them. I'm sure she's made 10s of thousands of those suckers in her life. They're amazing.

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  8. I must be old because I don't even remember capri suns being around when I was in school.
    At my Jr High school, lunches weren't very good so I brought lunch every day, however, my mom made me chicken salad sandwiches and included a can of soda pop.
    In high school, even though the school lunches were actually pretty good, I would usually just eat a bag of chips and a can of pop from the vending machines.

    As of now my kids prefer my lunches from home. Of course, the alternative is to not eat because our school doesn't have a lunch program.

    Once in high school, the girl with the locker next to mine left her lunch there for weeks. It smelled so awful, and then the fruit flies started flying into my locker from hers.

    Where did you say you went to high school?

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  9. My family was so poor that most of my life I got school lunches for free. And then for only 40 cents. And because of that...sometimes I wish I did bring my lunch from home. The grass is always greener on the other side, right?

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  10. Nope I wasn't one of the cool kids. I don't even remember getting a juice box, so your luckier then me

    I do remember throwing so much of it away so that I could get to recess sooner.

    But I did love my lunch box!!

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  11. In elementary I brought my lunch everyday - but my friend was a rich kid who's mom gave her money. So she would buy milk, chips and ice cream to share with me and I'd share my lunch with her - total win - win situation!

    Seriously - what elementary school would sell chips and ice cream...it was L.A. in the 70's - I guess that explains it!

    My mom used to make a bunch of pb&j sandwiches at once and put them in the freezer and we'd grab one out and throw it in our lunch...and you thought your sandwiches were bad!

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  12. We grew up in the same house, so I threw my lunch away every day too.

    In junior high I would bum change off everyone to buy an ice cream almost EVERY day, and that's what I would eat for lunch.

    In high school one of my friends (that sat through junior high lunch with me as well) asked why I threw my lunch away, and then asked if she could have it instead. So mom made a homemade lunch every day for my friends, and I happily surrendered it:)

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  13. Nope, never got to buy lunch except for once in 1st grade when I forgot my lunch box. That's the only time I can remember having a "hot" lunch. But have you seen the menu items they sell in public school lunches (@ least here in Las Vegas)? They aren't haute cuisine, either. I tell my kids it's crap, like McDonalds. ;)

    So I *try* & make homemade lunches appealing for my kids: either homemade tortilla pizzas (cream cheese, turkey lunch meat & cheese), or Top Ramen, or sandwich of their choice. I try & change their treat every few days, too, and have it be a surprise. And I put their sandwiches in little plastic containers so they aren't the mushed pancakes I ate as a kid. Ahh, the beauty of school lunch evolution!

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  14. Your school lunches sound exactly like mine. However, I was hungry enough to eat them. Every single day. This continued on through high school. It's amazing what you can eat when you get used to it. Love you!

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  15. Cool kids don't eat. I did get to buy my lunch, McFly makes her own lunch everyday, she likes it that way. I shudder to think what is in there, I don't even check. It's best I don't know...

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