Family Living on Purpose (FLOP?): Erika Shupe pt. 10

[scoutsadie]

15 minutes ago, JillyO said:

Is it true/normal that Erika's kids do not have a mid-morning break to have a snack in PS? In Germany, we have two snack breaks, one around 9:30 and one around 11. It seems less than ideal to have kids go without food for so long.

The fact that Erika doesn't trust her kids to eat any veggies she packs them for their lunch says sooooo much about her parenting. If only she realized that. *chuckle*

It may vary around the U.S., but when I was growing up in Florida, we never had snack breaks in public school (at any grade level).

[usmcmom]

22 minutes ago, JillyO said:

Is it true/normal that Erika's kids do not have a mid-morning break to have a snack in PS? In Germany, we have two snack breaks, one around 9:30 and one around 11. It seems less than ideal to have kids go without food for so long.

The fact that Erika doesn't trust her kids to eat any veggies she packs them for their lunch says sooooo much about her parenting. If only she realized that. *chuckle*

We are in the Midwestern U.S. It's been a few years for us, but my kids had a mid-morning snack at school through grade six. We had to send the snack, so I usually filled a large Tupperware with approved items with each of my kids. They kept it in their locker and would grab a snack to take to their class each morning. When the Tupperware was running low, they would bring it home and I'd fill it again. 

Even in high school, my son was struggling in one of his math classes and he told he was "starving" during that class. I talked to the teacher and she simply said "Oh have him bring a granola bar. I don't mind if the kids have a snack in here. I get hungry too."  

I also had the same thought about Erika's parenting. She, like most of the families we discuss, seems to have no confidence in what she has instilled in her children. My mother used to say "If I haven't raised you right to this point; there is no reason to start now." 

ETA: my kids were also encouraged to have a water bottle at their desk, even through high school. "A hydrated brain is a stronger brain" - or something like that- is what the administration told us. It was a nice little perk for the students. 

[Chocolatedefrauded]

Our school had either snack mid morning if regular lunch time or afternoon snack if kids had early lunch- think 10:30 or 11. But this is only for grades k-3 generally. Older kids are expected to wait until lunch or home to eat. If there is an issue with a kid, like low-bloood sugar, I'm sure the teachers would accommodate them if there was a doctor's note.

High school is different. Some don't have room in their schedule for lunch, which is crazy, but it happens. Then teachers are ok with a quiet snack in class/between classes.

[Georgiana]

I live near-ish to the Shupes, and while I have no experience with their particular school district (though my cousins do!), I believe all the high schools run similarly.

Generally, they do a block schedule, starting between 7-9 (depending on the school) and out by 1:30-3:00, generally more on the early side. The high school right by me (and just south of Erica) lets out around 2:00 PM.   Most of the high schools finish up around the same time for athletics scheduling reasons   At any case, unless they do extra-curriculars, they are home WELL before any healthy high-schooler should NEED a snack from lunch.

The passing periods between block classes tend to be pretty robust as well.  Some schools do 5 minute passing periods with one 15 minute break, some do all 10 minute passes, and some do all 15 minute passes.  Either way, there IS time for kids to grab a snack in the mid morning between classes.  Yes, sometimes that means carrying it with you to eat while heading to the next class, but it's not like kids don't do that anyway.   

As for lunch, I think it can depend on the schedule of the kid.  We always had a lunch at my high school, but I know with the block schedule some high schools structure it more like college, so a kid COULD schedule in a lunch or they could choose to have a shorter day.  

[keen23]

We have too many kids, in too small of a building. My middle kid (6th grade) has late lunch and doesn't get to eat until 1 PM. She brings granola bars, cereal bars, things like that, and eats them around 10:30 am. She gets hangry otherwise.

Youngest kid, 4th grade, has early lunch, and goes from recess at 10:30 to lunch at 10:45 am. She has the opposite problem and crashes around 1:30 PM. She also brings in a snack, but the 4th graders get PM recess at 1:30 PM, so she's not the only kid who needs to eat at that time.

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

I'm North of Erica (as in across the border in Canada North.)  Elementary schools here all have a mid morning break (at about 10:30) and a lunch break(at 12:15.)  I have run into a few kindergarten classes where they will also make time for a small snack towards the end of the afternoon (they all go home or to day care at 3,) but that isn't common.  Even when it's not break time, most teachers don't have a problem with kids eating or drinking during class these days-as long as said kids is not being disruptive or making a giant mess. 

I don't know about much about high schools.  When I went, we too had a mid morning break and a lunch hour.  School got out at 4pm every day.   I think schedules have changed around here, judging by the number of kids I see at the bus stop outside the nearest high school at 2 in the afternoon some days. I think they are on a block system and have more choice about how they organize their schedules. 

[lilah]

On 4/16/2017 at 9:50 AM, ViolaSebastian said:

I'm dying at "Blessings on your snacking efforts."  

Can that be a user title?

[countressrascal]

Did she ever give a reason why she is sending her children to ebil public school?

[Hisey]

Erika mentioned that at least some of her kids (probably the youngest four) get snack mid-morning at school.

She doesn't trust her kids to eat their veggies? That's because she's never had a conversation like this with them:

Mom: Do you like carrots In your lunch? And should I put some peanut butter in with it? 

Kid: I'd rather have celery with peanut butter. Is that OK?

Mom: Sure! I'm just glad you want to eat some veggies. 

or 

Mom: I notice you aren't eating the veggies I packed. Is there another kind you like better?

Kid: How about carrots?

Mom: Is three good?

Kid: Just two is good.

[feministxtian]

real conversations about lunch when my kids were little

Do you want celery or carrots?

If I give you an apple AND pop-tarts, you will eat them both, right? (#1 son damn sure did...kid was a walking garbage can)

You can have oatmeal or grits for breakfast

Do you want a drink or do you want to buy milk?

Are you taking lunch or buying lunch today? 

Are you going to eat breakfast at school? 

Afterschool convos:

Will you please get your butt out of the fridge and feed the dogs?

Where's your backpack (folder, planner, etc)? 

Let me see your homework (and don't tell me you don't have any...I will call your teacher RIGHT NOW and find out)

What happened to your gym shorts? 

Do you have wrestling (baseball, dance team, choir, band) practice tonight? 

I could go on and on but I won't. 

[Jellybean]

I love @usmcmom's idea of a container with a selection of snacks. Easy for parents, some control for the kids who get to choose which snack and when. 

In two pages of short posts, you guys have already given me far more advice, information and clever suggestions than Erika could in that entire long blog post. 

Given how coy Erika is being about the reasons for all these recent changes, I can understand why she only seems to talk in generalities, but I think she'd get a better response if she would share specifics. I'd be interested in how they make use of seasonal produce and bulk purchases with limited storage space and lots of people to please. Do they change it up a bit by making a quick guacamole, baba ghanoush or natural yoghurt-tahini dip for vegetables or pitta strips? What lunches does Erika make for herself, and how does she combine that with snack/dinner prep for maximum efficiency? Little things like making hard boiled eggs in the same pan as cooking pasta, for example.

I don't have kids, but I grew up in a large family and leftovers are my friend. Making extra risotto for dinner so there is enough to make arancini for a snack the next day; stuffing leftover tabbouleh into pitta; throwing cooked or raw vegetables into the freezer until there's enough there for a crockpot soup or curry, or to fill Cornish pasties; making a wonderfully hearty pasta sauce from a meat stew that otherwise wouldn't stretch to another meal; making double quantities of pakora, which can be oven cooked from frozen in ten minutes, and provide a quick and nutritious (vegetables, Erika!) warm snack. 

I want to know how they deal with the weather in the PNW. How they use food to be warming and comforting when it's cold and wet, or if they have a plan for portable snacks to take to the park when the weather is nice.

Going back to the question of Erika's need to control versus choice for the kids, couldn't they compromise? How about a 'today' box in the larder cupboard and another in the fridge? Erika can choose what goes in the boxes each day (avoid the nightmare of having no ingredients left for the planned supper because they ended up in the kids after school) but the choice after that is left to the children. Would something like that work, people with kids?

 

[Gobsmacked]

Your snacks and recipes sound wonderful Jellybean. Can you adopt me!!!

[slickcat79]

11 hours ago, Jellybean said:

Given how coy Erika is being about the reasons for all these recent changes, I can understand why she only seems to talk in generalities, but I think she'd get a better response if she would share specifics. I'd be interested in how they make use of seasonal produce and bulk purchases with limited storage space and lots of people to please. Do they change it up a bit by making a quick guacamole, baba ghanoush or natural yoghurt-tahini dip for vegetables or pitta strips? What lunches does Erika make for herself, and how does she combine that with snack/dinner prep for maximum efficiency? Little things like making hard boiled eggs in the same pan as cooking pasta, for example.

I would absolutely love for Erika to make these things, just because I want to watch her spell them 

[mango_fandango]

She's done a "quick and simple" guacamole before. Disappointingly she spelled it correctly. The recipe was snarked on IIRC. 

Copying it over from the old website. I can still access it and the new one takes way too long to load on my laptop.

 

 

Have you ever desired to spontaneously serve up a really yummy appetizer?  Did you receive a last-minute invitation to a Christmas party and need a yummy treat to bring? Or have you purchased guacamole at the store only to discover that the giant container doesn't get eaten in a single sitting, and then gets brown quickly and has to be thrown away?  Here's a recipe for a nice, smaller amount to make, and it can be made in about 4 minutes.  Our family devours this filling snack, and so does our company.  *smile* And our children love to be able to whip some up for company or for themselves easily as well! And you can easily make it in large quantities or small to fit the crowd...

Ingredients:

One large avocado

3 Tbl. salsa

3 Tbl. lite sour cream

Salt & pepper to taste

Mash up the avocado with a fork until creamy, then mix in all the additional ingredients and serve with corn chips!

 

[Howl]

18 hours ago, countressrascal said:

Did she ever give a reason why she is sending her children to ebil public school?

Not that I know.  She slipped up last fall and made a reference along the lines of  "when the kids get home from school" or similar.  But she's not talking about the obvious 180 degrees about face.  

[smittykins]

I think she just said vaguely "homeschooling isn't right for us at this time."

[Jellybean]

@Gobsmackedconsider yourself adopted!

Looking back on that slightly random list, I realised it was almost exactly our meal plans for the last week or so (obviously that's why it came to mind), but I'd love to see Erika's take on any of those dishes, for mangling of the recipe and/or the spelling (though several of them are free to be mangled, as they're transliterated from another alphabet)

Thanks for sharing that recipe @mango_fandango. I've never seen a guacamole recipe with cream in it. Is that a US thing (anyone?), or is that just Erika? I use my brother's recipe - no idea where he got it, but it is just avocado, lime juice, red onion, red chilli, olive oil and coriander (cilantro). Not quite as easy as Erika's version, but pretty close, especially as we keep coriander in the freezer all chopped and ready to go - no defrosting required.

[imokit]

I use cream cheese in my guacamole. It makes it creamy and really works well. I would not use store brought salsa except in the side. I'd use onions and cilantro/coriander and chili.

The big thing is her recipe would not be enough for just me, let alone a group gathering.

[front hugs > duggs]

I've never heard of cream in it. When I make homemade guac, I use avocado, tomato, lime juice, cilantro, SEA salt and pepper (I'm not into spicy foods) but I probably go a little heavy on the cilantro. I love cilantro!

ETA: I'm from the US

[ChunkyBarbie]

One avocado? Seriously? Good gravy, my 4 year old could eat most of that by himself.  I can't stand food stingy people, I have an aunt who is food stingy and the food police. Not surprisingly, she is a control freak bitch.  Both of her girls developed eating disorders and her sons bailed on her in elementary school to go live with their dad. 

I have never heard of sour cream in guacamole.  I asked my dad's wife, she is Mexican, about it, she gave me the polite WTF face. *grin* So, I don't think it is very authentic. *gasp*

[December]

12 hours ago, Jellybean said:

I've never seen a guacamole recipe with cream in it. Is that a US thing (anyone?), or is that just Erika? 

Yeah, I've seen it done before. The sour cream makes the guacamole have a more "whipped" texture. It also stretches out the avocados a bit more, which would probably be the priciest part of this recipe, especially if you're making it for a huge family. Though the way it's written make her recipe sound like 1 avocado split among all of them. I hope it's just poor wording but...

 

[slickcat79]

57 minutes ago, December said:

Yeah, I've seen it done before. The sour cream makes the guacamole have a more "whipped" texture. It also stretches out the avocados a bit more, which would probably be the priciest part of this recipe, especially if you're making it for a huge family. Though the way it's written make her recipe sound like 1 avocado split among all of them. I hope it's just poor wording but...

Probably wishful thinking, considering it's Erika. 

I don't really understand what she's talking about when she's saying you buy a "giant container" that doesn't get eaten. I feel like a regular 12 oz. container could probably be eaten in one sitting by 2-4 people, depending on what else they have to eat. Certainly a Large Family On Purpose shouldn't have an issue finishing it, considering that they're not allowed to decide whether or not they like guac. "Don't buy more food than you can eat before it goes bad" seems pretty common sensible, no?

[elliha]

Avocados are so expensive right now and I am on parental leave and my husband is unemployed so guacamole is not standard food for us but just me and my  husband would easily eat guacamole made from 4 avocados and we have two kids too which would eat at least anothe avocado worth of it. I would use at the very least half an avocado per person and preferably more than that. There is no such thing as too much guacamole... If there would be left overs I would eat them with a spoon right out of the bowl instead of throwing them out. But then again, I am a bit of a pig...

[keen23]

18 minutes ago, elliha said:

Avocados are so expensive right now and I am on parental leave and my husband is unemployed so guacamole is not standard food for us but just me and my  husband would easily eat guacamole made from 4 avocados and we have two kids too which would eat at least anothe avocado worth of it. I would use at the very least half an avocado per person and preferably more than that. There is no such thing as too much guacamole... If there would be left overs I would eat them with a spoon right out of the bowl instead of throwing them out. But then again, I am a bit of a pig...

You need to find yourself a Hispanic market. The avocados (and produce and meat) are cheaper than at regular grocery stores. Food City is our local chain. And guac does NOT have sour cream in it. When I make it, I generally cheat and use premade, fresh pico de gallo (because I don't have time for onion chopping nonsense), avocados, lime, salt, vinegar and cilantro.  There's a tomatillo version too, that my husband makes that's fantastic.

[Bad Wolf]

We had a 12 year old foster kid who'd never had any school whatsoever. He'd also been starved (weighed 30 lbs.) After he was healthy enough he went into 2nd grade. School districts can be flexible if the circumstances call for it. He graduated at 21. There's hope for all.