Relieving Stress and strengthening our bonding through eating

**Hardwork should be rewarded by good food-Ken Follett** Jackfruit is one of my favorite snacks during refreshment time. It is very delicious especially if the ripe fruit is sweet and juicy. Some of the harvested jackfruit is crunchy and tasty. During tree planting, pupils bring jackfruit seedlings from their homes, which is why the school is surrounded by many jackfruit trees. From time to time, we can enjoy eating ripe fruit, as they survive in tropical countries like the Philippines, and our school is abundant in this kind of fruit. Jackfruit is a good source of vitamins and minerals that can boost our immune system and prevent other health issues. I am glad to tell you, my dear Hivers, that I have found a way to relieve my stress at work, especially when there is an urgent report. I cannot avoid feeling tired at work because being a teacher involves multitasking. Teaching in rural areas where there is an abundance of native fruits like bananas, jackfruits, and mangoes is an advantage for us. We rarely find such an advantage in urban areas without spending money. Do you also eat my favorite snacks? What kind of snacks do you have during your refreshment time? I prefer this kind of food because it is nutritious and available in my locality. *Can you guess what this is?*   What can you guess about this fruit? I was amazed looking at this when my co-teacher brought this up in Home Economics. It looks like a breadfruit, a marang, and a jackfruit. By touching the skin and smelling it, I can tell that this one is a jackfruit. It was already ripe, so I sliced the fruit and shared it with my co-teachers. This time, my co-teachers and I happily shared this small ripe jackfruit, but sadly it was not enough for us. Since it was small and there were many of us, we looked around to find another ripe jackfruit. We were so blessed on that day because we found another one. This time, it was big enough for us to eat.  This one is big enough for us, it's the first ripe fruit of this jackfruit tree. We did a little ritual to make the fruit become sweet and tasty next time.  *We are blessed to have a yellow and tasty jackfruit* All of us enjoyed eating this set of another ripe jackfruit. I can feel a little relaxation, maybe this fruit gives a soothing effect to my exhausted body. Since it was big, we cannot consume the whole thing. We decided to mix the remaining fruit in a benignit (sweet stew) in the afternoon.   *This is now the cooked sweet stew* I volunteered to cook the sweet stew, and we had to buy the other ingredients, so we agreed to contribute to making it into reality. After it was prepared, our utility worker started to make a fire because we were using firewood. We are using a big pot so that all the ingredients can be able to fit. The ingredients used in cooking sweet stew are ripe banana, sweet potato, landang ( native tapioca), coloured tapioca, sticky rice (malagkit), sugar, coconut milk, and taro (gabi). The quantity depends on how much you want and how many will eat the benignit. My stomach is full today, so I need to burn off the calories when I go home. But I am sure that teaching in front of my learners, most of the time I stand facing them can burn calories already.   *These are cooked mature bananas placed on our long table* Another blessing on the table was the cooked mature bananas. Our utility worker is a very industrious one, and every request will be granted. I only ate a few because my stomach was very full. We had a great bonding moment at our long table during recess time, eating foods that we got from our school backyard or locality. I will check my weight tomorrow; I think I have gained weight. But there is nothing to worry about because what I eat is very natural, with no preservatives and no chemicals. What is important is to eat in moderation to maintain a healthy body. That's all for this day. Thank you so much for the time spent reading my blog.❤️