Here's a Throwback Thursday tribute to Thruston Elementary School and the school lunches we had there.  While we typically enjoyed what we got to eat at Thurston, not everyday was rainbows and rectangular pizza.  No!  Some days were just horrifying.  About once a month, we were served one of the nastiest combinations in the history of the food pyramid.  I think every single student who attended Thruston in the 70's and early 80's remembers this bizarre combination.

Who remembers Spinach and Pink Rice?

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images & How To Make Sushi via YouTube
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images & How To Make Sushi via YouTube
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What in the heck was THAT about?  Now, if you didn't go to Thruston, you're probably reading this and thinking it was one dish.  It wasn't.  It was actually two separate dishes on the same cafeteria tray.  Cooked spinach in one compartment of the tray; and a freakishly-hued pink rice in another.  And, don't forget, a carton of milk to wash that crap down.

To this day, I don't understand how anyone thought that food combo was going to be appealing or satisfying to a group of elementary school children.  LOL!  We were trapped in an episode of Fear Factor decades before Fear Factor ever appeared on TV!

Now, as an adult, I now fully understand the appreciate the glory of the spinach leaf.  I happen to love spinach now  But I have to admit, I wasn't feeling it . . . at all . . . when I was at Thruston.  And I certainly wasn't feeling it when Ms. Sholar was standing over me making me at "at least try one bite of it" when I was in the first grade.

But pink rice?  At 45-years-old, I still don't have a clue what that was or is.  I did some research online to see if I could find a recipe that somewhat resembles it and I can't.  The only thing I have found that's close is a "pink" Mexican rice that has tomatoes in it.  The rice at Thruston didn't (at least to my knowledge).  It was just (ironically) Pepto Bismol pink.  And, to my recollection, it didn't have much of a taste.  And I don't recall our lunch ladies making it like this . . .

But then again, with a spoonful of pink rice situated next to a big heaping serving of cooked spinach, I'm not sure I ever felt compelled to really eat it or get to know its secret ingredients. In fact, I think we all felt more compelled to get just grab a fork and stab ourselves in the tongue.

Does anyone else remember this?  And does anyone . . . anyone . . . have a clue why we were served that?  And can someone please answer this disturbing life question once and for all.  What on Earth is pink rice?

 

 

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