Sooooo...I was nominated and chosen (while I was OUT OF TOWN!!) to write a monthly column for a military publication on food things. Anything, really, but the focus would be on family-friendly recipes (and because it's me, HEALTHY family-friendly recipes).

A lot...okay, most of the people here eat for fuel, not for enjoyment. I see them come in with McD's and coffee for breakfast, drink uber-caffeinated/sugared soda until they're STARVING for lunch, go down to the "gut truck" and get something gloppy spooned over rice, then pick up fast food on the way home. (Or the opposite: no breakfast, brown rice and an apple for lunch, baked chicken and salad for dinner.)

And complain that they gain weight...so for the month before their physical tests, they eat nothing for breakfast and Lean Cuisines for lunch and dinner while they run multiple times a day.

Many of those who'll read this have a commute that's at least an hour every day; most are married men with children (and a fair number of married women, both with and without children).

I need to submit three varying-length articles each month--it can be the same article, but shortened versions, or it can be three different articles.

My thoughts go to things like:
Quick, healthy, grab-n-go breakfasts
Quick, healthy, easy-to-pack lunches
Easy grilled meals for a family
One- or two-dish meals for a family
Meals that kids can help with
Cook-ahead-and-freeze-for-later dishes

Other thoughts?

The benefit is that a lot of these folks are do-ers. "That sounds good. I'll stop at the store on the way home and make it tonight." And then they'll actually DO it.

The downside is that these recipes and ideas need to be concrete, clearly written (no "add salt to taste" instructions), and have a pretty quick payoff. Most of them, by virtue of training and personality, are perfectionists.

Congrats!!!

I suspect that the three different lengths are because he works with limits, and the big people's articles (Generals and other bigwigs) don't have a limit on them.

The first three, I believe, will be:

Meat (cuts, grades, how to choose a good piece)
Apricot Chicken (a 20-min recipe I made twice this week to get the recipe written down right)
Grab-n-Go Breakfasts (Y'all are awesome for coming up with this)

Great going, D!!!!

I hope you add a souçon of your humor, too. Your column will win a Blue Ribbon.

My first thought was a bag of frozen veggies, a homemade sauce and thou. A kit meal.

Healthy shopping trips - staying in the store's perimeter.

I like the grab-n-go breakfasts (a lot).

Getting the family involved - one on the grill, one at the cutting board, and …

I'll think more about it.

Isn't varying lenghts a mind boggler? Is that because you're a left-over column - taking the space left over?

Linda

What about shortcuts you can find in the store and then things you can do at home?

KD's Morph Ideas

Going to the salad bar to get chopped veggies

Another idea---Meals for under $8 per person

P.S. With that group, I bet crock-pot or twenty-minute meals would be a big hit too.

You could borrow ideas from cooking shows:

Theme ingredient -- a veggie or fruit that is in season, the nutritional properties of that ingredient and several different recipes that use it.

Theme technique -- Take a cooking technique (roasting, steaming, grilling) and give some creative and unexpected things to make with that technique as well as a few old favorites.

Theme equipment -- Choose an item in the kitchen (blender, stand mixer, countertop grill) and use it to make different things.

Theme country -- Healthy versions of an ethnic cuisine.

Here are a few:

food "stress busters": packing lunch when you empty the lunch box, preportioned foods in the freezer, setting out breakfast ingredients the night before, etc.

slow cooker benefits

"upgrading" your food from good to better to best with almost no effort (whole wheat bread, etc.)

Congrats, Diana, how FUN!!!

I'll be back later if I have specific ideas.

Very cool Diana!

Some other thoughts that we often talk about here on the board:

Meals that can be morphed into one or two different dishes for later in the week

Kit meals (may go over well with military types ; )

I also have found that helping with kitchen re-organization and streamlining can get meals on the table quicker. (That's one of my favorite things to help clients with ; ) This could also incorporate fly lady principals.
So a title like:
Streamlining your kitchen to get homemade food onto your table faste

Congratulations, I will let you know if I think of something.