Who here has ever packed their kid’s lunch and thought, “is this gonna get them weird looks at school?” Yeah. Been there. Still did it. I packed molokheya.
A while back, I was grabbing coffee with a few Egyptian mama friends, which let me tell you, is a rare treat where we live. There aren’t many of us around, so when we find each other, we hold on tight! Between the sweet coffee, the loud laughter that's right from the heart, and the shared “my kid said/did what at school?” moments, it’s always a good time.
That day, we got to talking about school lunches. Our school doesn't have a cafeteria, so we were commiserating on how difficult it is to think of new and different meals 3 times a day, and we needed to lean on each other for some ideas. Most of my friends shared that they stick to turkey sandwiches, PB&J, and other similarly safe bets. I casually said that “my kids love molokheya, and I send them in with it all the time.”
Pause.
The kind where everyone’s smiling... but also like, “Wait, are you serious?”
And yes...I was. My kids go to school with molokheya mixed with chicken and rice. The iconic green soup. Garlicky. Bold. Healthy. 100% Egyptian.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. I wasn’t even born in Egypt! I’m Egyptian by heritage, but grew up overseas. And when I decided to try living in Egypt for a year after college, I tried really hard to BE Egyptian, but everyone still thought I was an expat. And yet, my love for Egyptian food and culture has never been halfway. It runs deep in my veins, and is apparently...contagious. Because now my kids are obsessed too.
They eat their molokheya with pride. Bonus for me, Soonaboosh just happens to be their favorite thing to wear while doing it :) Their friends? They all know about “the green soup.” Some have courageously tried it. One even asked if we sell it. (We don’t. Yet.)
And just to be clear - I wasn’t judging my mama friends. These women are incredible. They love their kids fiercely and are doing what so many of us try to do: help our kids feel like they belong. And that’s the thing, isn’t it? Whether you're Egyptian, Arab, Desi, East Asian, African - whatever your roots are - there’s always this quiet dance between blending in and standing out. Between wanting your kids to fit and hoping they don’t forget where they came from.
The balancing act of culture and comfort is not for the faint of heart. But maybe the answer isn’t choosing one or the other. Maybe we just keep packing molokheya and turkey sandwiches.
So mamas, let’s talk about this stuff. Let’s laugh about it. And let’s stay proud of the food, the language, and all the little things that make us who we are. This is culture. And I wouldn’t trade it for all the PB&Js in the world (though I do love a good PB&J)!