How many of us have never complained about a meal that we were served? Ditto.

Yet most soldiers have always had a reason to complain. Since the beginning of organized military, feeding the soldiers has sometimes been such a huge task, that keeping them healthy, satisfied, and full, ranked last priority (if at all) on the mess hall to-do list.

Back in the day, and even now, military meals have either been ignored, completely dismissed, or the brunt of hundreds of jokes.

A former Veteran told me that when he was in service 47 years ago, most cooks and meals were referred to as, "Gut Cheater". Another man at a VFW dinner told me, "The word was, and still is, 'anything will go down with Tabasco'." A round of laughter broke out as those at my table joked about military meals of the past.... if they could be called "meals". Nutrition was never a concern, but filling the gut was the goal even if it was not always possible. Overweight soldiers were unheard of because overeating and lack of exercise just didn't happen. And many had suffered starvation.

These days, however, body fat is a concern for the military. According to Jim Gourley via blog: http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com, "...one in every three service men or women are obese". 

Even if overeating is not the culprit, lack of exercise, cheap, low-quality food, and available junk food is. 

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've seen cooks throw lard on the short-order grill line. Is it too much to ask to get something without trans fats, please?

STARBUCK

4:59 AM ET

June 3, 2011

Dog Food

Recently, my daughter's bull dog had two mishaps-with one requiring surgery. Both times, the vets told us to make him table food and do NOT feed him any kind of dog food during his healing process; and to eventually get him back on dog food but a little mixed with table food every day.

"Why?"But we thought that table food is forbidden! (even though we never listened to that, and have always given our large outdoor dogs left-overs just like grandma did).

The Vet explained that, table food is much easier to digest, and more nourishing than dog food. We were to make sure that it was full of protein (unlike many dog foods) such as, eggs; cottage cheese; and meat mixed with vegetables. Now, why didn't I go to vet school?

DUH!

I didn't have the heart to tell them that I had already knew that, and that I did plan to do it. You see, I have always had large outdoor dogs. Since they eat so much dog food, I have always purchased cheap dog food for them, and then fed them nourishing table food and leftovers. The only large dog that has passed away on us was 17 years old and way beyond old-age (119 years old in people-years!).

So, what am I getting at? what does this have to do with cooking for your family? EVERYTHING.

If you feed junk food to your family, as do way too many American households, and then you turn and feed that table food to your dog, then your children will not be healthy, and your dog will die.
Animal advocates do not trust us to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy because Americans have proven that we are a but confused about the subject.

Healthy food has never killed anyone.
Nor has it killed a dog!
Junk food, has and is killing people, and dogs, every day.

When Mess Hall Becomes Mobile

Home-bagged nutrition is a treasure, and many times will earn the envy of friends and co-workers. I have packed thousands of lunches in the 27 years that I have been bringing up children.

If you cringe at the thought of putting time into a nutritional meal only to find out later that it was dumped into a trash can, take heart. There are some solutions.

Keep in mind, that packed lunches are not just for school. We take a cooler with meals lots of places, while running errands (to avoid fast-food because surely everyone is "starving" before we make it home); when visiting friends; to the parks; and even out into our own back yard for family-fun times.

I always pack a couple of extra things to share, as strays usually show up, wide-eyed and "starving".

***I Always keep 5-6 frozen ice-packs (small and large blocks) in the freezer at all times.

Twenty years ago, trial and error was my mentor-but these days, we have so many ways to get great ideas. From cooking shows to the internet.

***It is important to schedule yourself a few hours a month to sit down and write some lists. The most frustrating part of any meal is, the lack of a good plan. Keep a single notebook JUST for meal planning. Make special notes when a particular meal or item is a disaster. Get a notebook today and make notes beginning with this article.

I won't list recipe ideas here, as there are just too many, but my favorite sites are:

allrecipes.com; about.com; familyfun.com; kidsnacks.com. Just type in their search bars, "lunch box ideas".

For the single dad or bachelor, check out:
http://www.bachelorsalad.com/articles/ten_quick_ea sy_recipes_for_the_lunch_box.html

And if you avoid meat: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

When you do an internet search using a tool such as Google.com, use the 'cached' link (located just under on each option title); this will highlight the exact words that you typed in the original search bar and make it easier to find what you are looking for within blogs. Do not forget to scroll down the options and click 10, 20, and 100 or more articles into your search. Many times great ideas come from a little deeper digging than just front-page news.

Whether it is for just you, or everyone else, a packed-with-love lunch will surely be something to really look forward to during the work or school day. Nutrition will just be the highlight, because while you are at it, don't forget to add some love by dropping in an encouraging note, a small token, or a special treat every now and then. Kids love to find a dollar bill tucked inside a lunch box, and I love to find an affirmation or scripture that I forgot about during the morning rush. If you use brown bags, stick them in every 3-5 bags and then forget about them-until you find one. I write on the front of the brown bag for my children-or draw smiley faces and hearts.

Pack your lunches at night; or pack everything but the sandwich if you are using soggy ingredients. Sometimes, I spread the meat with mayo or mustard, and put it in a separate baggy with the tomato, lettuce, cheese; the bread goes alone until it is assembled. These days, you can purchase sandwich boxes with separators for the soggies. Tupperware is a good place to find them.

Over time, you will find sandwiches that can be frozen, only to become perfectly thawed and delicious by lunch time. Make your spreads, dips, salads on Sunday afternoon or evening.

Since unhealthy chemical-laden foods are all the rage these days I don't fret to much about using mayo or sandwich spreads; skipping the Twinkies and soda-more than make room for the use of them.

If your family is used to unhealthy meals for every meal, then you probably will not be able to start with a healthy and nutritional packed-lunch. Although I would not suggest using the 'brown bag' to attempt to correct over-all poor eating habits, it could be possible to use sack lunches to introduce one good thing at a time. The whole lunch doesn't have to be healthy at first. The fact that you are even reading this far down this post means that you have it in you to be creative and try new things. I would suggest that you first revise your entire meal planning outside of "the box"; and in the meantime, add healthy snacks and meals right along side the food that needs to go. Sliced apples and cheese can be packed right beside chips. How about serving some new 'lunch-box' foods as after-school snacks? Ask for feedback. Let your family know that you want to know what NOT to pack.
A great place to get ideas about changing unhealthy eating habits is:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/tc/healthy-eating-for-children-changing-your-familys-eating-habits
OR:

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/foodsmarts/artic le8.html

Home-bagged nutrition truly is a treasure, especially when we take time to make it the best it can be.