As the new year gets underway, we wanted to share a picture of a particular piece of the nourishing curriculum we craft. As a LifeWays program and as a school with a deep respect for the needs of the growing child, one of the areas we focus on each day is how we feed the children here at Rose Rock. As you likely know, we have always cooked with all organic options that are available. This year, we have been working with a mostly vegan menu, something our very kind cook, Ann, has been learning and inventing since early Fall. Some of you may wonder why we have chosen a mostly vegan menu or why we do not opt to have more lunchbox meals alongside a “hot lunch program”, like the typical school offerings.
Our aim is to create a home-like experience for the children–life is the curriculum, home is the model. This means we eat family-style meals, all served from the same dishes of food, just like one would traditionally be served at home. This can become complicated when we need to consider a variety of dietary needs and family preferences.
Yet, we feel strongly that what we provide for the children is nourishing for all on a number of levels.
How do we determine what food is nourishing for all? We are looking out, of course, for those various nutrients that foster strong physical bodies. We cover the basics like filtered water, and a variety of vegetables and fruits daily. We emphasize the whole grain vitamin B sources that promote cognitive function, generate brain cells and healthy skin, and help convert food into energy. We provide proteins that build and replenish basic physiology from plant-based sources and chicken (on Thursdays). We eat plenty of healthy fats that provide long-term energy, support cell growth and hormone production, aid in the absorption of many vitamins and nutrients, and help keep our organs warm. We have an awareness of where the food we eat is sourced from as well, which is in part why we opt to select organic foods and grow a vegetable garden. And we stick to whole foods, eliminating most processed boxed foods, additives, preservatives, processed sugars and unhealthy fats.
Here is a brief breakdown of two days snack and lunch picture:
- Day one
- morning snack of honey-sweetened coconut yogurt with blueberries and granola provides a moderate amount of healthy fats and some protein as well as a significant amount of calcium, vitamin D2 & B12, magnesium and antioxidants.
- Lunch of Pad Thai rice pasta with broccoli and tofu provides a moderate amount of protein, plenty of carbohydrates for fast energy, and significant amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamins K & C, essential amino acids and antioxidants.
- Day two
- morning snack of sprouted multigrain bagel spread with Earth Balance, and served with raisins and a clementine provide a substantial amount of protein, healthy fats, all nine essential amino acids, B vitamins and vitamin C, as well as plenty of fiber.
- Lunch of Wild rice and mushroom soup with peas and carrots on the side provides, again, a substantial amount of protein and carbohydrates for fast and long-term energy, as well as vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin K, dozens of minerals, antioxidants and immune-boosting compounds.
Keeping in mind that the daily protein need for children ages 4 to 9 years of age is 19 grams, from just the 2 meals Rose Rock serves all children, we are able to cover more than half of your child’s protein needs. If your child has an afternoon snack with us, they pull in another 3 to 5 grams of protein on average with items like pumpkin seeds and sunflower butter. Pumpkin seeds also contain a range of other nutrients such as iron, selenium, the B vitamins, beta-carotene, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. Magnesium can help with sleep health. Calcium is busy building bones, of course, but also contributes to neuro-health, along with the healthy fats.
No matter what we are serving, we are constantly considering what is best for the whole child and the whole group. Sometimes we make compromises to our personal family choices, but we never compromise on the children’s well-being.
Furthermore, the importance of a family-style meal reaches beyond the nutritional content of the food. We must consider, too, what gesture we are creating at the table. We want it to be one of gratitude and goodness.
The young child’s perception of the world and each other must be focused on what is good and what unites us. A meal in which the children are eating different things, or too many different versions of the same meal places emphasis instead upon differences. Our time together is quickly monopolized by conversation pieces such as
“Why can’t I eat what she has?”
“He’s allergic”- “No, I’m not, I’m intolerant.”-”What’s intolerant? What’s allergic?”
“Why doesn’t his family eat meat? I want what he is having”
The experience leads children into a cognitive space of discernment they are not yet ready for. It opens the door to judgement and divisiveness.
Sharing the same meal, on the other hand, places the focus on the good things that nourish us all.
Take for example, the applesauce we eat on Wednesday mornings. This applesauce is a collaborative effort: the children chop apples every Monday and Ann cooks them into sauce to serve aside multigrain english muffins with butter and jam. When we eat our applesauce on Wednesdays, the children almost always recall for each other how they worked to chop the apples. They talk about how good it tastes and how it is their favorite morning snack. Our time is filled with sharing and gratitude.
Feeding an entire school of children coming from a wide variety of families and backgrounds, is no small task. It takes consciousness and continual re-evaluation to determine how each meal will contribute to the health and well-being of the child, just as every meaningful task, affectionate squeeze, hour of sleep or moment of play does, too.