Sira-sira
store: ‘Margatlog’
Friday, June 14, 2013
AFTER what seemed like an eternity, school break is finally
over. No one can actually give a sigh of relief because another stretch of
eternity is waiting up ahead. The new school year carries with it new
experiences and new challenges.
Rushing to school, saluting to the Philippine flag at the campus
quadrangle, opening books and notebooks, passing assignments “from left to
right, class”—all these things will be the routine for all students in the next
couple of months.
Maybe there are schools that do away with paper and pencil, and
instead use electronic means. But the general face of Philippine education is
still very much “please get your paper and pencil, class.” This is not to
downgrade or degrade Philippine education. It is the reality that most parents
and students have to deal with.
Student life can be tiring. No wonder students automatically
elect recess time as their favorite “subject.”
The bell that signals recess time is not known to create
conditioning in people (i.e. a reaction to stimuli). Or at least I have not
read about a study being made on the effect of school bells on students. Maybe
there is no research yet on whether ringing bells get to be associated with
food. Or whether school children who daily are exposed to recess time bells
turn out to be good citizens who quickly respond to emergencies (a kind of
ringing bell), or who display generosity when facing someone in need (another
kind of ringing bell).
Food being the focus of recess, I thought that I would give
parents tips on how to make nutritious snacks for their children. Nutritionists
have been drumming it in our ears that children should have healthy snacks.
This is fine if the family has money to spare, but what about
the laborer’s capacity to allocate money just for snacks? If the washerwoman or
brick-layer sets aside money for nutritious snacks, would an equal and opposite
reaction happen to the other parts of the family’s needs—like food for the
evening?
So how can my sari-sari store help people who often do without
lunch, short of donating all the income from this tiny business of mine?
I thought that I would teach parents the art of brown-bagging.
For example, the nanay or tatay can make margatlog sandwich (margarine and
itlog or egg sandwich). Scramble one egg and thinly spread in a skillet to make
an omelet, then slice it into pieces to share with the children. Save three
strips to use as filling for a piece of bread spread with a thin layer of Star
margarine. Place in a plastic bag along with one banana and homemade lemonsito
juice.
I know of a nanay who makes turon for a living—deep-fried
plantain in lumpia wrapper—that she sometimes tweaks by slipping slivers of
jackfruit just before she wraps the bananas. She packs two pieces for her
daughter. It is simple, filling and nutritious.
Just get the drift of these tips and invent your own. I feel so
much better now that I have contributed to society. Maybe I was a child exposed
to recess time bells, so now I am responding to this nutrition emergency.
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