5 DAYS OF SCHOOL DINNERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

[@MS-19]

It's interesting that the Chinese dishes you seemed to enjoy most of all were, incidentally, vegetarian. It shows that meat is not essential to make a balanced meal, in school or elsewhere. It also shows that vegetarian cooking is at its best when it doesn't try to imitate meat or compensate for the lack of it, but rather when it just happens not to include any.

[@cazza158]

also cheaper, of course

[@zaftra]

Except you need meat in a balanced diet, they might not eat meat on in that meal, but others they will.

[@zaftra]

@@cazza158 no it isn't, fruit and berries in particular are very expensive, you can get an whole chicken for less than 3 pound, which could last three or 4 meals.

[@MS-19]

@@zaftra That's true enough, though I was careful to say "balanced meal" rather than "balanced diet" - for vegetarians and vegans, the challenge is actually in compensating for what meat would otherwise provide, such as zinc. I know of a couple comprising one carnivore and one vegan, both of whom contracted a certain disease about which we have heard much in the last two years.... The carnivore got over the worst of the symptoms quite quickly and recovered his senses of smell and taste, but the vegan has had a much longer recovery and is still unable to smell or taste. The vegan diet needs supplementing with plenty of zinc, it would seem!

[@zaftra]

@@MS-19 Wonder if that's a trend, or coincidental with your friends.

[@Patterrz]

damn some school kids are eating GOOD, I remember getting a stale pizza slice but the sheet pan cakes with custard were banging

[@stefancoban59]

I didn't get anything and I wasn't even poor or sth. Junk food from a mini store that was what I got (no relation with the school). No cafeteria whatsoever. And we ate what we bought inside the classroom, the smell wasn't pleasant

[@natashaj4113]

So relatable 😅 or an old tuna sandwich 😭

[@benm5141]

The pizza always tasted like the cardboard plate it was on

[@AsteriasASMR]

Yeah I miss vanilla sheet pan cakes with strawberry custard😋

[@itskatiek26]

Am I the only one who actually loves pak choi? 🤔 its so versatile and yummy!

[@rapa2894]

I like it but stir fried with garlic. I don't think I'd enjoy it as much in a soup.

[@Anna-fb6hl]

i made a ramen with it and found it was super tasty in that ^_^

[@insideself1471]

Me love too! Tastes kind of creamy to me, cooked (boiled), and I adore it raw too!

[@amymclaughlin3063]

it's one of the best vegetables!!!

[@laur14826]

Not gonna lie I ate it and hated it😂 I should probably try it stir fried though cause that would be good 😛

[@Italiana911]

Papa Booth - “it’s just leaves innit”. 😂🤣😂🤣

[@Grackle]

he speaks the truth

[@harmonyhope1709]

Hilarious 😂

[@LifeOfLiana]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2rIp4JuepyKY8k winter vlog ;)

[@sarahmckenzie847]

Curious where the New Zealand person went to school, because it’s super uncommon for “school lunches” to be served. More common is for most students to bring their lunch from home and for the school to have a tuck shop where small individual items like sandwiches, pies, chips, maybe pizza slices are available to buy! That croissant did look good though!

[@brybry98]

Yeah i was quite surprised to see NZ too! Though the person may attend boarding school

[@ChristianDeHadleigh]

They get free school lunches at primary school now

[@Bessieboo5]

@@ChristianDeHadleigh only a few very low decile schools.Also the lunches are small and basic I worked at MOE catering facility that makes the lunches it was a bit depressing

[@sarahmckenzie847]

@@brybry98 Yeah, now that I think about it I've heard of some private schools essentially having in-school cafes

[@sarahmckenzie847]

@@Bessieboo5 great to see programs like this initiated, even if as you say the meals aren't the greatest

[@laurafoley8462]

I'm from New Zealand and can confirm...everywhere is different! We take lunch boxes as opposed to having a hot lunch (usually) :) Thanks for featuring our little country!

[@daisywillis2186]

I came here to say this hehe, but like once a month I was allowed to get a 'lunch order' for a pie and cookie time biscuit or something lol

[@creativechik]

I'm from New Zealand too. I'm from Hawkes Bay but I live in Whakatane now. My school was nothing like that with lunch. We had a canteen you could buy stuff from if you wanted to.

[@Narutoczfan]

Your edition of the Czech meal cracks me up so much, the side is actually potato dumplings, not just potatoes and they elevate the meal so much. It is a very typical school meal here, schools offer hot lunches every day and you can usually choose from a couple of options, very often it's a meat + carb + veggie combo, or sauce + dumplings + meat combo.

[@claudiag2325]

It cracked me up too, such a shame as it’s actually such a nice meal and she would love the original I reckon 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣

[@hlavataj31]

The spinach 😅 I agree she'd love the real thing

[@kbanana99]

From the USA: that nacho photo took me back 😂 the ones you made are probably much fresher, the cheese we normally had was super processed like velvetta and we would drink the chocolate milk as we ate the nachos, which seeing you eat it does seem a bit strange

[@LifeOfLiana]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2rIp4JuepyKY8k im new !!

[@sarahjanefrost]

Hi Grace, as a Type 1 diabetic I've always envied you all the sweet food you can eat with impunity, and that gave me a video idea for you. What if you spent a week eating like a Type 1 diabetic - as little sugar as possible (no lollies unless they're made with sugar alternatives like aspartame or isomaltose which you have to be careful of as they will cause diarrhoea if eaten in excess), counting your carbs, and if you're totally craving something sweet maybe you could bake a sugarfree cake/biscuit/etc? If you have any questions regarding the eating life of a Type 1 diabetic I'm happy to help.

[@pablovandyck]

We never had school meals growing up. We carried lunches from home in a brown bag, or a lunch pail. Roast beef sandwich on Monday (after Sunday dinner roast), then ham & cheese, or peanut butter & jam sandwich the rest of the week. My brother once complained about boring lunches. Next day: he opened his lunch pail & found a hot dog bun with ketchup & mustard on it. He cursed our mom and ate his bun. Next, he opened his Thermos and poured his drink. In the Thermos was a hot dog. But he had already eaten the bun, so he cursed himself and ate his wiener. He never complained again. Our mom was an angel who tried her best.

[@harmonyhope1709]

Aww bless you. Such a lovely recollection of school days and realising that your mum did her best with what she had ❤️

[@Hollyglitter]

When I was in school (in Ireland) we didn’t have school provided lunches. Now I’m a teacher and there’s a school canteen but its for the students to purchase. Options include- baguettes, chicken curry, pasta, cereal bars etc. A majority of students bring lunches from home and a lot of schools don’t have canteens.

[@rosie-xw6fe]

that is my irish schools canteen to a tee, baguettes, curries, stir fry, sandwiches or pasta

[@Emma-vd6zf]

That’s crazy that you didn’t have canteens at all!! We do still pay for school lunches in England, it’s not free unless you qualify for free school meals x

[@bethwilliams8748]

The same in Australia. All schools have canteens but you have to buy the foods and pretty much every kid brings their lunch. Canteen is just an occasional treat.

[@carrie-leehurzeler7413]

The same in the area of Canada where I grew up. Most kids brought lunch from home and only used the cafeteria once in a while as a treat.

[@ruthx895]

in my school there’s different dinners every day, proper meals. and of course chicken rolls

[@TheLittlealice16]

Oh my gosh I have never seen anyone feature the tomato and scrambled egg before - I grew up on it and its my absolute favourite!! 😍 also completely off topic but I LOVE that shirt and gold hoop earrings combo on you - just looks so effortlessly classy and *chefs kiss*

[@harmonyhope1709]

It looks like a yummy recipe!

[@kellygreenwood7519]

Agree with the NZ comments made so far regarding kiwi school lunch. Lunches were not provided in my day, you bought your lunch most days except when you were allowed to take some money to school and purchase food from the tuckshop/canteen. And then the choices were not healthy, they were generally carb-loaded such as pies, sausage rolls, there were sandwiches, and then lots of snacks, chips, chocolate, pastries, ice-creams and cans of soda etc. I'm assuming the person that sent through their lunch was bought from home.

[@breakfastattiffanys741]

It was quite obviously a home packed lunch from a great parent 😂🥐

[@leadylim5954]

Literally shock when indonesia got mentions, i am from indonesia and i've gone through phase when i just ate mie bakso EVERY LUNCH for two years. Y'all asian gonna eat that shit up i swear!!! Don't forget the chilli sauce too, highly recommended 🎉

[@fryle416]

It’s been over 10 years since I was in school in NZ, but we never had school dinners at my schools, just a canteen where you could buy a bunch of different things (or the older kids would sneak out to the petrol station down the road)! The quintessential kiwi canteen lunch was a mince and cheese pie and a Primo milk (or a V when you got older), maybe an apple as well if you were trying to be healthier. Other classics were a Cookie Time cookie from on top of the pie warmer so the chocolate was melted, Juicies, Paddle Pops, and Cyclone ice blocks, and sausage rolls. You could also order made-to-order sandwiches in the mornings to be ready to pick up at lunch time. At primary school if you wanted to order lunch you would write what you wanted on a brown paper bag and put the money inside and every morning someone from each class would take all the orders to the canteen and pick them up at lunch time. For me that was a treat though and normally I’d take my own lunch from home, which usually consisted of a sandwich, some chips (crisps), a piece of fruit, and some home baking if we were lucky.

[@brybry98]

Im from NZ too and everything you’ve said is spot on! Don’t forget the school sausage sizzles where you’d get a juicy too. Or breakfast club with weetbix or toast with milo.

[@victorial7861]

Omg yes! Like in primary, it was mince and cheese pies midweek and fish and chips on Fridays (for the rich families who could fork out for them). Otherwise, my school lunch was like a mince and cheese sandwich, potato chips wrapped in glad wrap and if I was SUUUUUPER lucky, a roll up! Otherwise it was fruit. In high school, it was things like moosies, coke, chips, instant noodles lol

[@annayates395]

I graduated 2 years ago and I'm the same. No schools do school lunches or dinners unless its a boarding school, but canteen or petrol station for the win

[@caitsimpson7185]

This is the exact same I had at school in Australia :)

[@valentinavirciglio6135]

When I was in elementary school we had a fixed menu and we got a main course (carbs usually) a second course (usually a protein and a side dish) and then dessert and fruit served at the table, like in a restaurant. We start fancy dining at a really young age here in Italy 😂

[@lauraguijarro]

Same in Spain hhahah i can't imagine having just a sandwich for lunch 😅

[@hussainkhaled3227]

Speaking of potato salad , here’s a recipe you have to try: Mayo Mustard Vinegar Pickle juice Dill Green onions Paprika Mustard powder Salt pepper Sugar Boiled potatoes LOVE FROM EGYPT ❤️❤️

[@mar-fb6ij]

thank you

[@Aimee.Victoria]

So good!! Also, if you want to add more protein you can add some chopped boiled eggs. Mixed with the Mayo it’s basically just potato egg salad

[@marianna3253]

I always put cornichons (mini pickles/gherkins) in potato salad in addition to the juice

[@hussainkhaled3227]

@@marianna3253 oh yeah I forgot about that, it would make it even better

[@rapa2894]

As a southern American, I totally approve. This is my potato salad recipe! My grandmother made it this way but with bacon. I'm vegetarian so none for me but it's good alone.

[@iesie3]

I'm from the netherlands and I've never had a school lunch. We just brought our own sandwiches to school and some kids went home at noon to have lunch because our schoolday was cut into two parts (morning and afternoon). And in secundary school we had a school canteen where you could buy a cup of soup or a sandwich or something but never lunches like you see in the movies. I was always so jealous of other countries because they got warm lunch at school.😂

[@ryanneschonewille1656]

Yess I as a fellow dutchie relate to this so much. Most of the time, students would go to the supermarket to buy food, because the prices in the canteen aren't okay hahah

[@iesie3]

@@ryanneschonewille1656 yesss, frikandelbroodjes elke pauze!!

[@lalalaAli]

Same in Ireland, we just brought our own 🤷‍♀️ in all the schools I’ve ever come across anyway!

[@emmy.vosper]

Same here is Australia lol

[@itsalwayshalloweenexceptwh5118]

I was in high school during the 1990's and I've never heard of any dutch school serving school lunch for elementary or high school. I'm sure they exist though. The large majority of people here just brought their own lunches. Typical dutch food during that time; breakfast was porridge or brown bread sandwiches, lunch was taking sandwiches to school, dinner was the typical vegetables-meat-potatoes most of the time. Pretty boring if you ask me. People are a lot more adventurous now. I ate a lot of brown bread sandwiches with gouda cheese or cold cuts. Eating felt like a chore, something to cross off the to-do list.

[@socksnslides7021]

I love the vids where you try foods from around the world !! Grace is my fave KZbinr I love her sm

[@Grackle]

AHHHH ILY

[@crtnyp]

Being 40, I’m sure school lunches have changed a lot since I was in school. In elementary, that square cardboard pizza with the cube pepperoni was EVERYTHING. Didn’t even notice what other choices they had. Came with some wack ass French fries. Killed those too 😂. This is in the southern US.

[@MaRam1024]

Although i think US school lunches are basically all crap, those pizza squares will go down in history. Those were IT.

[@AmyCoggins]

You honestly improve my mental health so positively. As someone who had filled you for years and really struggles with their brain you help me find the want for helping myself and a healthier mindset. Never stop being you x

[@fryle416]

I went to school for a year in France as an exchange student (From NZ) and the lunch there was banging. There was always a little salad, a main, fruit, bread and cheese, and a little dessert! It was my only experience with school dinners.

[@anszz]

I loved seeing you make the Chinese school lunch. I used to work in a school in China and this brought back so many memories!!

[@alexandrarix3573]

I grew up in China and when I tell you that I think about the scrambled eggs and tomato on a weekly basis. I don't even like tomato but oh my GOD. One of the nicest things I have ever eaten in my life.

[@emily2381]

let me just say that as an american EVERY single person thought having a choco milk w your food was gross. i never understood why they couldn’t just give us water? also i remember we always were required to take a veg, a fruit, a milk, and the main dish. you weren’t allowed to take just the main & veg or just the fruit you had to pick from every single category which seemed like a waste. overall i think every american student can agree that school lunches were always very bland, boring, and often times random.

[@morganmckeon3838]

I agree. And for some reason I remember my elementary school lunches being pretty balanced and varied but then once I went to Middle School and High School it was just nasty options. Videos like this remind me why so many people came with lunch from home!

[@KellyElizabeth0929]

I now teach at an elementary school and it’s still the same. The kids have to get a main, a fruit, a vegetable, & a milk. They waste so much food every day

[@jaminwaite3867]

Me & my cousin got food poisoning several times...general pain to vomiting 🙃

[@FunSizeSpamberguesa]

And the milk was always either one percent or skim, which to me were absolutely disgusting (I grew up drinking whole milk in my mom's mistaken belief it would help me grow). We used to joke that the mac and cheese was actually made of melted-down parking cones, because it was about the right texture and it tasted weirdly plastic. I once peeked in the trash after lunch and saw that the lunch ladies had dumped what was left of it, and it was still in the shape of the pot. School lunches didn't become decent until I was in high school; until then, you only ate the hot lunch if you were desperate and couldn't afford to bring your own. This was the mid-80s through 90s, so maybe it's better now.

[@eloisedemir3881]

Maybe I missed it, but where was the last meal from ? I feel like you did not tell us and now I am curious haha thanks x

[@marineg1931]

yes I came to the comment section to see if I’ve missed it too! X

[@eloisedemir3881]

@@marineg1931 hopefully someone knows or she responds :)

[@Grackle]

oh I’m so sorry!!! Silly me, it’s from Czech Republic! Xxx

[@eloisedemir3881]

@@Grackle thank you!!! x

[@karensimpson6080]

Phew I'm so glad you asked, rushed to the comments cos it was driving me crazy not knowing. Appreciate your curiosity. X

[@harmonyhope1709]

Wow I actually requested this video AGES ago!! You probably never saw it but I am happy to see you're doing this video as I'm so curious! ❤️ I also suggested hospital meals from around the world... Would you consider doing that as a video?!

[@sarahcorke4252]

These types of videos are probably my faves, I love them! You might already know her but Beryl Shereshewskey makes similar ones (comfort foods from around the world, potato dishes from around the world etc) 🥰 I felt bad for the pak choy getting a bashing, it’s one of my favourite vegetables! It looked a bit soggy though, I think it’s best when it’s still crisp, we usually stir fry it for a couple of minutes with some ginger, soy sauce, and mirin

[@friendshipae2404]

I love that you did new Zealand it made my day, not many KZbinrs do countrys That are not well known like new Zealand so a big thanks from over here in NZ🌏🌏

[@fadiyah_nblh]

Woahh you made mie bakso, I didn't expect that to come. Love eating that for lunch, and really happy that you enjoyed the food as well. Oh btw the meatballs are usually not just meat, we mixed it with tapioca and it has a kinda bouncy texture.

[@hamkitty2346]

In NZ there are only school-provided lunches at some primary schools and it's a very new thing! They contract out to different companies in the area by the school which is why they're all different.

[@ratuestherkelvin9159]

Hi! I'm Indonesian. For section @2:28 for day 2 food, its pronounced bak-so (short uh pronounciation of the a), not back-so , and you're supposed to boil the meatballs with the broth and noodles, not airfry them like for pasta. Meatballs in noodle soups are actually really common in asia, especially since hotpot is more popular too ( even pho can have meatballs sometimes). Also in the context of homecooking, the bok choy ( said pak choy in this video) is usually boiled in WITH the broth at the end rather than steamed separately and added into the bowl at the end because it can make the bokchoy more flavourful and it avoids the bokchoy from being overcooked ( esp the leafy part of it, hence why you may have found it slimey - or you could just cut the leaf and stem separate from eachother and cook them at different times to account for the density differences). Love the fact that you've included indonesian cuisine in this video tho! I did find it slightly upsetting that the meatballs were air fried haha ( I've never seen bakso airfried in my entire life before, even in the indonesian restaurants and street vendors its always boiled), but glad you did enjoy the dish. :))

[@natalieconvey5782]

LOVE the new video Grace. In Canada, at my children's school they don't have a cafeteria or hot lunch daily. They bring their own lunches, but once a week(usually on a Friday) they offer a hot take out lunch such as pizza, pasta or subway.

[@BBC600]

Yeah that's how it was when I attended smaller schools. "Hot Lunch Day" we called it. This year I have been granted the opportunity to attend a city school and they have a cafeteria. I haven't used it yet (I go home for lunch as I'm in a unique situation where I attend only a science class at school and do the rest via online learning) but as my class is the one just before lunch I'd like to buy lunch there at least once between now and January.

[@katelawrence7445]

In Australia I attended a 2 teacher primary school so everyone brought a packed lunch but during winter the local baker drove his van to the school 2 days a week to sell hot meat pies. We were allowed to have a pie on Mondays which was great as the bread at home was 3 days old and pretty stale by then!

[@gingergamer3270]

The creamed spinach actually looked like my favourite type of meal, but I love spinach, I have it with everything

[@Aninija]

alternative for creamed spinach I got a lot growing up; Fry onion on medium heat for a minute or two, Add baby spinach (Unsteamed!) and fresh garlic to taste As soon as the spinach starts to soften, add cookable creme fraishe instead of milk + flour season with salt and pepper (and/or other stuff that you like, but generously!) Let bubble on low-medium heat for just a few minutes Get's very creamy and full of flavour!

[@redhare7789]

I’m living for your Sid the sloth impressions. I literally can’t even look at a watermelon without turning into a dodo and declaring it the last melon

[@renolove3218]

I LOVE watching you chop veggies it’s so satisfying

[@MistressBoleyn]

creamed spinach is basically the only one we eat here. It’s sold like that and I was well in my 20s until i tried plain spinach 😂

[@LifeOfLiana]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2rIp4JuepyKY8k winter vlog !!

[@Doñasonja]

Are you from Germany by chance? :P

[@LindsayKipka]

I have lived in the US my entire life but moved alot. Each school district had its own school lunch plans. I went to some schools with the best home cooked food you could eat with fresh veggies and homemade desserts, some with bountiful salad bars and many choices, and some had barely edible foods that looked scary. It greatly depends on the area you live.

[@aaronamos4472]

One of the biggest problems with the United States school lunches is lobbying! There was a group lobbying to get pizza sauce considered as a vegetable so that they could fit around nutritional standards and sell more of the school lunch pizza. Another problem is bonuses, the federal government subsidizes the school lunch program, when the money gets to the individual school districts a person has to make a call on what to buy, they can cheap out and save the school district money to put in other places. In many states the person in charge of ordering can get a bonus based on how much they saved the district.

[@rapa2894]

Same here. When I went to a rural school in the mid 90s, the lunch ladies were 6 grannies from the community and I would happily let them fix my lunch any day 😂 some city schools I went to honestly no one got the regular school lunch unless they couldn't afford not to. Most schools had separate lines with pizza, nachos, chicken sandwiches, french fries, salads, and cookies. I usually made my own lunches to bring, salads or crackers and cheese 😂 but a couple times a week I'd buy the little garden salad ($1.50) and either a chicken sandwich ($3) or fries ($2). Idk how I got away with that because $5ish for lunch seems like a lot in the 2000s.. but I guess that's why it was only once or twice a week!

[@almavogler]

When I was living in China I had the fried egg and tomato dish a lot. I loved to go to these canteen style places where you would eat rice and you could choose any combination from a variety of different vegetable, fish and meat dishes, it was tasty cheap and quite healthy. I miss China!

[@Anna-fb6hl]

at my school there was always (french school) baguette, then you had a choice of starters so like cold meat, olives, salad and egg etc. the main meal was either rice and fish in sauce, or you had mussels and fries was popular one, the dish from that region was fries with this super thick cheesy sauce ("frites fondue") the pudding i remember having was "creme anglais with ile flottante" the meals varied a lot but those just an example. this was super interesting as a video!! i loved the school meal from indonesia that was so interesting and i really want to make that now it look so so good !!

[@oliviawhitfield6376]

I think a more universal NZ lunch would have been a pie and donut from the school cafe hahaha in my hometown the boys high was known for a pie sandwich - 2 slices of white bread with a mince and cheese pie and tomato sauce in between

[@brybry98]

Yes!!

[@tessac775]

Omg I once witnessed kids from the boys high school in my (Australian) town eat a mashed potato + white bread sandwich. The image haunts me 😂

[@starwarsgeek88ify]

Absolutely!

[@bbmcgee33]

A PIE SANDWICH?!?! 😲

[@bbmcgee33]

@@tessac775 😲 then fairy bread for dessert, right?

[@oceanstgoe1082]

I had the scrambled egg/tomato dish when I visited China a few years ago and it was INCREDIBLE.

[@maddiejaneec]

GRACK ATTACK. Thanks for being my fave KZbinr idol ❤️

[@Grackle]

Ahhhh love you so much 💪🏻

[@friendshipae2404]

Omg the fact that you did new Zealand is amazing it made my day I never hear new Zealand in vids, it's amazing that you do countrys that's not usually in clueded like NZ.💚💚💚💚🌄🌏🌏⭐

[@lorindabagley19]

Omg you included New Zealand!! At first I was like "nah that ain't very nz like", but thinking about it, we're really lazy and I have most definitely had a meal like that before😂 it's a very summer-esk sorta plate! (like I've totally had that for lunch in the sun before omg makes me excited for summer soon)

[@crystalnel5020]

In South Africa, you don't get canteens but you do get tuck shops where you can buy pies, cold drinks, crisps, sweets and chocolates. At some schools you could order a toasted sandwich in the morning and they'd prepare it for you for lunch. Most of the time this would all be a treat. Most children bring their own food from home. My typical lunch was a peanut butter and jam sandwich haha. I love watching these kinds of videos and seeing what people eat in schools around the world, they are so lucky haha.

[@papillionbella]

American here, in highschool we had a salad bar. I moved between my 10th grade & 11th grade. 10th grade my school had open campus at lunch so we could go off campus & eat at restaurants (McDonald's, Sonic, Dairy Queen, etc) my 11th & 12th grade school was in the city & closed campus. We could eat off the menu or an al a carte menu. We also had access to a soft drink machine so by highschool the choc milk wasn't so much the norm for me. Choc milk was more lower school thing. Also, we had the option to pack a lunch from home bc menus were available & if you didn't like the lunch it was best to bring your lunch. In America pizza day was always a big hit. Large rectangular pans of pizza, cut into large rectangular slices. Served with a salad (iceberg lettuce, carrot & purple cabbage) ranch dressing & usually corn. Search KZbin for American school lunch, or cafeteria lady pizza.

[@papillionbella]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4PYd5aeqbujkKc this recreation is fairly typical American pizza.

[@liz3050]

meanwhile i had no school lunch available despite having school until 3-5 (depending on the day). my school had no cafeteria cause it was built in the 70s and apparently school didnt run that late. i would go buy a brezel (pretzel) at the nearby bakery or a laugenecke, which is flaky pastry dough that is put into a hot soda and water mixture called lauge before baking. Like how you would for pretzels or bagels. It was triangular tho and very delicious and flaky. or me and my friends would buy sweets and chips at the nearby supermarket to share. Another good combo is paprika chips with those shitty 1,80€ salads when ur trying to be healthy but you also need carbs to keep existing for 90 minutes of gym class in the afternoon. Idk if this is a normal thing in germany but i know we went on strike for a cafeteria in 6th grade but just now after i graduated (graduated this summer) they moved everyone into containers with a cafeteria. In elementary school i was in like an afterschool supervision thing cause my parents worked long hours and couldnt pick me up at 1pm (it was too far to walk home alone) and i remember the food was so german but bad. We were served spätzle (swabian noodle thing) but not with cheese like they actually do in baden württemberg. With a sugary tomato curry sauce. I am sorry to any swabians here, i went to school in north-rhine westphalia so i guess in their mind they decided to cross the currywurst with spätzle??? UGH... Another gross thing was Hühnerfrikassee. DISGUSTING! it was unseasoned chicken with like cream sauce that was super thin and watery and those freezer peas and carrots. the only edible thing in there was the rice they served it with. pommes freitag (fries-friday) was the best tho. Nuggies and fries are always a safe choice.

[@rapa2894]

I don't have any pics because I went to school in the 90s lol 😂 but my most remembered school lunch was chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and a roll. That was a weekly thing. Another weekly thing was spaghetti with meat sauce, baked with American cheese on top. Admittedly not the height of any cuisine but nostalgic nonetheless. I definitely hear up leftover spaghetti with a slice of American cheese on top once in a blue moon, my little secret 😂 we NEVER got desserts or fresh fruit but occasionally canned peaches or pears were given. I was lactose intolerant so I never drank the milk, I brought a thermos and filled it with water at the water fountain 😂

[@munchkinxmonster]

Different packed lunches would be a good one! You could take it to a park or something and review

[@isobelmcfadyen4625]

Went to primary school in Scotland in the 70's and early 80's. Back then it was proper meals like sausage and mash or mince and potatoes with either school cake (sheet pan with icing on) with custard or semolina and prunes. When I went t high school in the 80's It was more like a canteen. You could get chips a roll and burger, a roll and square sausage or if you opted for a sandwich they used to make the with one slice of white bread and one slice of brown bread - totally weird. All you could get to drink was milk which I still can't stand to this day. I used to go to the local shops and get either a roll and chips or a ham salad roll as the greengrocer had a deli counter and a can of fizzy drink.

[@breab.5863]

When I was in high school, the main drinks we had when at lunch, you had regular, strawberry or chocolate milk. I'm in America, by the way but you could also buy a water bottle, flavored water, soda etc but you had to pay for that separately. The milk was the actual drink that came with your lunch.

[@coolcatx1626]

In Australia we pack our own lunch. There’s a tuckshop/canteen where you can buy lunch but it’s expensive and is only an infrequent treat for most families, except those that are really time poor and perhaps on the wealthier side. I usually had a sandwich (chicken and salad was my favourite, or Vegemite if I felt lazy), a piece of fruit, a muesli bar and yoghurt.

[@kbanana99]

Another big American stable in the South was fried chicken Wednesday’s, with green beans and sometimes cornbread or something

[@TytyKery]

Here in France we've got an entrée which is usually usually crudités, cold salads or charcuterie, then you've got the main course with you're veggies, meat and a starch like pasta or potatoes, and then you've got a dessert like a yogurt or fruit, and unlimited bread (it's a law now, you can't say no to more bread), in elementary school everything is served on the table and in secondary and high school you've got self service.

[@rapa2894]

😱😱😱😱

[@arfriedman4577]

You did a lovely job cooking all meals. They look delicious and I'm a picky eater. In USA we call lunch for noon time.

[@funky640]

In regards to the British school meal video, i think you can find menus for school dinners on most of the school's websites! Idk whether this helps xx

[@Kaspleen]

Yes you can many school websites will have lunch menus for parents, guardians and or carers to see samples of what the child will be eating on a weekly basis

[@arfriedman4577]

American schools are trying to get into more real food and get away from processed food. I also make sausage crumbles, spinach, 4 cheese blend scrambled eggs in a microwave soft tortilla. I love chocolate milk, apple juice, and oceanspray cranraspberry or crranapple juice.

[@gillianhope7742]

School dinners a very long time ago … meat pie with mash and greens , Russian fish pie, which was pretty vile , fish and chips , desserts jelly , sponge and pink custard , gypsy tart yummy 😋

[@jennifercharlotte6203]

Love this style of video! Started watching you in the first lockdown and now watching in my uni house, your videos are so comforting and make me feel at home :)

[@gabmay1682]

Yes to more of these vids … the British mix sounds great too!!! Loved hearing the fam’s thoughts … Mumma, Pappa n Chloe x

[@yoyopo8487]

I remember that when I got asked what my last meal on Earth would be as a kid, I said I would have Chinese tomato fried egg with rice. It's THAT good. So glad that you liked it!!

[@hayleykwok]

I love pak choi though!!! as an international student from Hong Kong (just moved to the UK for 6th form yikes) it makes me so happy to see you so open to trying different cuisines which is something I love to do as well :)

[@ArtySubu]

We grew up in India and none of the (many) schools we attended gave us meals! We brought our own lunches from home.

[@JaniceRafael]

we didn’t have school lunches in my small town in Canada. Only saw school lunches on American TV. Not sure, but perhaps cities in Canada had school lunches in high school??? 🇨🇦. In school - it was always lunches in a lunch box from home. In high school, my mom would occasionally pick me up and we’d go to the A&W drive in next to the school. 🍔

[@heatherchambers1609]

No school lunches in my part of Canada either. There was a caf (cafeteria) but one had to pay for whatever

[@lindsaycoates6778]

We never had school lunches/dinners at my school in Canada. We had to brink our own lunches, but there was a little canteen where we could buy drinks or snacks during the day if we wanted.

[@jaydy1randomz]

Have the notifications turned on & it paid off! Early for Grackle video! Love you Grace :)

[@Grackle]

Ahh thanks so much cutie 🥰

[@lucindajoseph8585]

ahhh that tomato and egg dish from china is one of my faves! I worked in a school in china, a couple hours away from guangzhou, and the days they served that at lunch were the best!! I cook it now really often but it's never quite the same

[@loisadams8852]

The pasta king pots were always 80% water 😭

[@em9776]

In France we have set menus, but like in a self service canteen?? There are a few different options you can choose from each course: entrée (salad, tinned fish, pâté, hard boiled eggs, pamplemousse, radishes...), main (pasta, lentil dish, meat and veggies...), desert and/or cheese (fruit, yogurts, pudding pots, cake, lil individual cheese packets...), and of course bread and water! ((And you're not allowed to bring your own packed lunch unless it's for medical reasons like food allergies))

[@sunfvalley]

indonesia actually don't have school lunches, we have various food stalls in the canteen where we can directly buy the meals or we can just pack our own lunch. you can also sneak outside the school gate to buy foods from street vendors or just order it online

[@SnarkyNarwhal]

I'm pretty sure my favourite videos of yours are the ones where you do a certain food theme for a week!

[@aman8086]

You look really lovely in this video Grace! I love the shirt and hoops ❤️

[@KateS1980]

Grace you gotta watch Beryl Shereshewsky - you'd love her!

[@artofdealing]

Love Beryl! She's one of my faves!

[@KateS1980]

@@artofdealing I just came to Grace's vid after watching Beryl's post from today :)

[@MarkOfTheExalt]

I remember my school(England) had a hot food line, a pasta line and a sandwich/salad line. Pasta King was *chefs kiss*

[@andrea.andrea]

hi grace, just came up with a future video idea; maybe you could film a chinese hotpot restaurant visit or then trying recipes where you make savoury recipes from foods/ingredients normally cooked as a sweet recipe and vice versa, eg sweet potato pie,/brownies, savoury oatmeal etc. hopefully you get my point! lots of love to you!xx

[@almavogler]

I love this idea!

[@maggiefraser2551]

This is bringing back highschool cafeteria meal memories lol EVERYONE always got the giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookie at morning break! Things I remember are poutine, fries & gravy, bagels with way too much cream cheese, chicken burgers ... Jolly Ranchers, SmartPop white cheddar ... I always brought my lunch from home, but I did sometimes get that cookie!

[@Wra8h]

We never had dinner. School ends at 12pm/1pm. We have a breakfast break at ~9pm where we buy from the school's store; packaged croissants and other (packaged) baked goods, lots of chips (as in snack), chocolate, candy, and soft drinks or juice. Too many kids especially in high school would opt for a bag of chips and that's it. I personally had two croissants and some juice. So weird trying to remember the details of something I used to do daily 8 years ago haha.

[@gracebevill]

Omg I love random picky bits meals. One of my favourites I've had (that nobody else understood) was salmon fishcakes, green olives, and peaches!! It was so tasty! 🖤

[@jeradjenkins2110]

In America, chocolate milk is the official beverage of school lunches.

[@Erhnam_Djinn]

With red cartons for full milk and blue cartons for the skim milk.

[@Doñasonja]

I recently found out that it's also normal for Americans to not drink water and I still don't get how those people are even alive!?

[@jeradjenkins2110]

@@Doñasonja Yeah our blood is actually mostly composed of high fructose corn syrup

[@rapa2894]

@@Doñasonja I wouldn't say it's normal. There's not much you can say about Americans that would apply to the majority. Remember there are 330 million+ of them. You wouldn't want people to assume things about you based on less than 1% of your countrymen, would you?

[@frogking4491]

Kids in elementary school used to drink their chocolate milk and then hide their vegetables in the empty carton so they didn’t have to eat them

[@TheBlondiekitten]

The China and the Indonesian ones looked amazing 🤩

[@ameliamae129]

fun fact for the New Zealand lunch - barely any schools (at least the island i was raised on) provide lunch. We just get whatever our parents give us in our lunch boxes - so this is probably just what their parents made them in the morning for lunch :)

[@kitkatpitterpat4498]

I've seen videos similar to this, and they can be misleading. Thank you Grace, for pointing out that school lunches are a widely varied thing in many places, such as the US. I've never had nachos for school lunch, never had microwave food, never chocolate milk. I've been out of school for years, & it was the era where school lunches were cooked from scratch, by mother's & grandmothers of local students. My aunt was a lunch lady. They arrived before anyone else & cooked all morning. Soups were homemade, there was roast turkey dinners, spaghetti & meatballs from scratch, even pizza was homemade..... everybody loved pizza day. By the time my kids went to school, it was frozen chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, pre-packaged cheeseburgers, frozen fries ect. Those nachos Grace made were pretty extravagant compared to the nachos I saw my kids school serve. They literally got a handful of stale chips with processed cheese sauce. Sometimes they'd throw a bit of taco seasoned ground beef on it, but usually not. They DO all get a fruit choice everyday, or are at least supposed to.... Apple or banana usually. I always packed my kids lunch cause the school was crap. It's embarrassing to watch the comparisons.

[@smilebelle]

In my school time I was in Germany and in France and they were so different. In Germany it is not the usual to have school Lunch, but when I was at a private school they Always had 2 Options (one with meat and one meatless) and the meals were very normal German/european food like cassarole with Pasta, potatoes with vegetable and "Bulette" (Mini meat loaf) and so on. We also Had the Option to a salad Bar (Not only Greens, also potato salad...) And there was Always a small dish of Dessert you could Grab. In France IT was also a private school but IT was was tastier but also different. There was a Main dish and Lots and Lots of Options: Like an appetizer (Like a Mini Pizza) And a serving of cheese, and a Dessert and also a salad Bar. But the craziest Thing was Always the huge bucket of Baguette slices, which was at least one Metre tall. And you could Grab AS many slices AS you wanted.

[@smilebelle]

I think there were more Options (and more food) because the school day in France ist until 6 o clock and in Germany school was over at 15:30

[@lindsayhanson2338]

Two or three times a week I make scrambled eggs with cherry tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I sauté the veggies in olive oil then scramble the eggs in. It’s absolutely delicious!

[@harmonyhope1709]

Love the New Zealand lunch! Wow what a fantastic school dinner! Especially when I think back to my school dinner days in the 80's 🤢 The Chinese one looks like the freshest and healthiest though

[@blue656]

omg grace video just what i needed

[@AniGstring]

School dinners at my school (England) used to be so nice. You could have an actual meal like spag bol, curry and rice, chow mein etc. Fish or battered sausage, chips and curry/gravy on Fridays. Pies, pizzas, turkey burgers, beef burgers, turkey dinosaur burgers, jacket potatoes with any topping, sandwiches/baguettes, salads, hotdogs. Homemade cakes/biscuits, any chocolate or sweets you want, any drink (vending machine or fridge) ice lolly/ice cream freezers. Pretty much anything 🤷‍♀️🥰

[@Sloan90]

Oh oh oh grackle! Invest in a rotary drum grater. It’s got a handle you crank to do the grating super quick. Only around $50 aud. It’s been a life changer for me! I hate grating too but now it’s so quick and easy

[@amandatanutama3371]

Thanks for being a ray of sunshine

[@martinemartin4779]

I'm from New Zealand and the random lunch box is a thing, BUT you're far more likely to have a sandwich or salad bun than a croissant. At my school you'll also have things like butter chicken, pasta, nachos, vege burgers, chicken and salad, healthy pizza or quiche, rice and always at least one serving of fruit.

[@kristyrash927]

I’m from California. When I was in school my parents always made my lunch but I saw other kids eating pizza, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese and baby carrots. My 7yo daughter has reported seeing pizza, bean/cheese burrito, sliced turkey or chicken sandwiches and there’s a salad bar with a variety of vegetables. Of course they still have the chocolate milk!

[@adeinthehouse7665]

Grace should have school dinners from each state in the USA to see how they vary obviously it can’t be that accurate as each district has different meal 😀

[@TheSaraldo]

I’ve literally eaten a bagel with cream cheese for lunch before….. and they counted pizza as our vegetables lmaooo

[@Hippolyta.]

As someone who lived and went to school in both America and Canada, crappy nachos are a staple. Those little round chips with a glob of super fake queso dip, so bad but so so good. Other staples include: pizza, chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes, french fries, cookies, etc. All unhealthy, all disgusting but also delicious. I was allowed 1 meal a week so I also chose chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes but would otherwise just back myself a sandwich and goldfish crackers. edit: OH IM ALSO REMEMBERING, Canadian students have a milk break where someone comes to each class with a cart of milk cartons and they have a little "snack time" of milk. North America had a weird fascination with milk for a long time

[@maddiwiser7167]

In the US school I worked in, it was title 1 meaning the majority of students in the school come from families below the poverty line, we would also do a "milk break". Breakfast was free for kids, processed muffins or waffles, some type of egg (hard boiled or scrambled) and a fruit (usually melon). For milk break we would bring veggies and fruits (just small cut up servings of raw produce) with a milk to each classroom. Lunch was comped for most students. Not particularly tasty, breakfast was better, the district was very strict on what could be served for lunch. Cheapest stuff possible still within federal guidelines. I went to school myself in the same district and we only got lunch but I thought it was very sweet that the school I worked in offered breakfast and snack, many of our kiddos only had access to food during school, tough home lives. I think all schools should have a healthy snack time, too long for kids to go without food.

[@daniellaruk]

Top tier school dinner from my high school was fish fingers (which they sprinkled with parsley), creamed potato (which I feel like had pepper in it bcos it had a little bit of a kick) and then buttered sweetcorn. Sounds fancy but was just a normal school. Would usually be with some sort of crumble and custard or a iced sheet cake of some kind. And drinks wise we had those juice burst things or flavoured water. We also had a panini bar thing and they would do these grilled hexagon wraps and the best was always tuna mayo lol

[@littlelune420]

in my experience w American schools, dessert always costs extra except on special occasions like Thanksgiving. we also typically had a green vegetable 😂 and every middle & high school have salad bars. but milk is served every day and you can choose regular, chocolate, or strawberry. (they offered some other drinks too but they were typically 25 cents extra or whatever). also there were options for how to spend your lunch money. for example if you chose the salad bar then you couldn't get a hot lunch. or you could forego both and just buy some little stand alone foods up by the counter like a piece of fruit, a granola bar, chips, ice cream, etc. we also had two lunch lines every day. one would usually serve something "international" (pizza or burritos mostly), and one would serve "american" food (hamburgers, chicken nuggets, salisbury steak, etc). the sides were usually a form of potato (fries for the burgers and nuggets, mashed for steak) and two vegetables. often a green bean or broccoli and something like corn or carrots. it was all fairly normal and yummy food honestly, but there were some weird moments. one year in elementary school the milk was served in plastic bags and they gave us straws with a sharp side and had us stab the bags to drink 😂. there were also these cheese stuffed breadsticks (i think they were called bosco sticks) and they were so good. also lunch was $2.75 in elementary school and $3.25 in middle and high school. sometimes my parents would just give me $5 and I would get a few extra things, usually an extra milk bc i was a thirsty child and a raspberry or lime sorbet which i loved. sorry this was so long but I just went down memory lane for a sec lmfao.

[@littlelune420]

also they had these frozen juice pouches and you could eat them frozen like sorbet or wait for them to thaw and they would just be juice. they were called juice bars and minute maid made them.

[@lynseycobden203]

Haha. Oh Grace! You should have had 90s school lunches in the U.K. There was chocolate, strawberry and regular milk on offer. The puddings were insane. Always served with thick custard. Ask your mum and dad about the puddings. They came in these huge tubes that were steamed.

[@andreastewart8566]

I'm in Canada and we had MASSIVE lunches daily. We had like lasagna with Cesar salad and garlic bread with dessert or a GIANT slice of pizza. I just remember the portions being the size of dinner.

[@tessac775]

This made me nostalgic for my Australian high school tuckshop and their legendary focaccia toasties with chicken cheese and avo. Washed down with an iced coffee… bliss!!!

[@rapa2894]

Damn that's a luxury 😂