How to organize food for school children during Lent
No one should believe that food should be delicious and healthy. Nutrition is also especially important for children. Considering that they spend most of their time in kindergarten or school, they should eat whole there too. What if it was a post? Is it possible to respect him and at the same time not only feed the children but also to eat sweet and healthy food for the growing body? To find out, we went to the Nizhny Novgorod Orthodox Gym, named after Radonius St. Sergius.
We arrived at the gym in the middle of breakfast. Fourth graders at the tables. Pasta with vegetables eaten on both cheeks: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. how so? Often children do not really like this kind of cabbage, but here they eat and praise it.
“I always eat at our restaurant,” says Lisa Romashina. – I like buckwheat with sugar, pasta, broccoli, oatmeal during Lent. And I like omelettes when there are no posts. Although before, before the gym, I did not like it.
“But I like red fish, I have never liked it before,” said Lisa’s neighbor at the table. Then the other girls cut each other and started listing their favorite foods in the gym factory.
– Dried sandwiches with pumpkins and tomatoes
– Fried fish;
– Boiled milk with fried milk;
– Squid pieces;
– Pasta with seafood;
– Fruit salad.
– And they give us the sweetest grains from Nemolok, and there is one kind of fruit: bananas, pineapples.
Seafood in a school cafeteria? Pineapple? “Not milk”? Gym director Olga Tiukova smiled and said, “Yes, yes, that’s right!” I shook my head in surprise.
Olga Nikolayevna says: “Before joining the gymnasium, I worked in a girls’ seminary. – When we opened in September, there was no electricity here for a while, and so food was coming from the school thermos. And everything was so delicious that the parents were so surprised and asked that nothing be changed in the diet, even when their own supplement was fully functional. Then, as usual, we decided not to enter into an agreement with any municipal power plant. I understand that I have a big responsibility, but the director is responsible for cleanliness and order. So, every Friday there is a general cleaning in the reference, and I will strictly follow this. As well as quality products, taste of finished food.
Common Thinking and Technology
References for 145 and 110 people were provided in two buildings in the gymnasium. Elementary students eat breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. Middle and high school students eat breakfast and lunch. The kitchens are equipped with modern appliances. Chefs proudly display a huge electric closed frying pan (can fry up to 40 pancakes at a time), a versatile vegetable cutter, a professional grater for slicing large potatoes.
Gymnasium chef Ludmila Tarashkevich shows the amazing grinder “We have fifteen minutes and a whole pot.” Then she went to a machine that looked like a big bakery and took out a loaf of bread filled with meatballs. The pleasant smell of fish is spread throughout the kitchen. – This is our best helper – the Kumbi steam engine. He does everything: bake, bake, fry, boil, steam. It can be cooked without cooking, without the addition of oil.
I remember asking my daughter how she solved this problem, remembering how she explained that she refused to eat in the school cafeteria because the soup and the main course were always cold. It turned out to be very simple. For medium and high levels, fresh food is served in the Iron Tour, keeping the temperature right. In the case of children, they pour the soup into bowls, but the kitchen is within walking distance (from door to door) allowing you to do this a few minutes before the children arrive. So, here it is always not only delicious but also hot.
Cooking little things
Much attention has been paid to the variety of foods, and most importantly, their benefits. Even in the post menu, they form in a way that allows children to get all the necessary proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
“Today, for example, we have vegetable soup with green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers,” said Ludmila Tarashkevich. – On the second – buckwheat with fish ball. Breakfast included vegetables, pasta, fresh fish sandwich, lemon ginger tea and oatmeal cookies. For an afternoon snack, there is a village, pie with potatoes and vinegar.
Fresh fish sandwich? I have never tried this before, but I have never even heard of it. Looks like food cravings. But how sweet is it? I’m trying. The hand immediately reaches the second. so sweet! I ask Ludmila Alexandrovna for the recipe, and at the same time ask her to explain the complexity of making fragrant tea.
“This tea is made with lemon and roasted ginger,” explains the chef. – We also cook rose hips, and in summer, when greens appear in gardens, we add mint and other fragrant herbs. The kids love it. Like a hot sandwich, everything is very simple. I put a lot of onions on a grater, add the canned fish, put it all on the bread and dry it in the oven. Five minutes and it’s ready – refined, delicious. Be sure to add a new Cush Club on top of it.
The unloved will be loved.
According to Olga Tiukova, 92 percent of children today eat at the gym. In public schools, as you know, this figure is only 48-53 percent. As they say, you feel the difference. Of course, a great advantage in this cooking. There are two in this dining room.
“We have been looking for good food for a long time,” said the director of the gymnasium. -It was very important because the school had an extended day. Some children stay here until six o’clock in the evening. And they have to eat. And it should be good food, including fasting. It is common for our children to eat vegetables such as zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. They love fish. We have now started to include “non-dairy” in the menu. Thursday, with the blessing of Metropolitan George, is a day of fasting: dairy products allowed. Everything is done, may God protect us, so that it does not harm the health of the Son. Children fully accept both protein products and vegetables. Also fruits and juices. We wisely replace meat with seafood. On the menu are squid slices, mussels, and shrimp. We prefer seaweed fish, it tastes better and healthier. But we use code. Children will receive enough cake. All you love is our menu. It has been improved over the years, because it was important to teach them to eat fish and vegetables. Of course, giving sausage to children with side dishes is more convenient and easier. Since we are not sure about the quality of the sausage, we have completely abandoned it. And what I see and admire with my own eyes: chicken, meat, on fasting days – fish, seafood – we give.
Of course, sometimes one of the kids refuses this or that food, they simply don’t like it. But this is unusual. Often, seeing how others enjoy eating food they do not like, he also tries. And after tasting it, he changes his mind over time. The unloved will be loved. There were many such stories. Says Olga Nikolayevna:
– At the first meeting, I said that all our children would eat porridge happily. And one day she said, “Mom, go to the kitchen and ask how you can cook this porridge!” He asked.
By the way, this boy was eating pasta with vegetables in front of us. Of course, we could not ask for food at the gym.
“I didn’t eat enough,” Misha replied. – Every day you think: What will happen in the reference today? And every day is so delicious, even during the big fast, there is always something fun.
Oksana Muscovina
In the meantime, a link to the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis website (hyperlink) is required.