[ottsville]

There's been some decent recipe threads on here before; you might want to check out the archives.

For me the key has always been having things prepared that are easy to grab and go or are quick to heat and eat. I love to cook, but trying to put together 5 meals a day doesn't work unless at least three of them are things that I can quickly grab and eat. Since I don't like powders and lots of processed stuff, this requires some planning. What I found that helps:

-pre-cook, freeze and package individual portions of proteins and anything else that freezes well and reheats easily
-keep lots of fruits and vegetables on hand
-learn to make a couple of quick salad dressings - oils,acidics , and seasoning can be mixed in endless varieties
-hard boil a couple of eggs one day and throw them in the fridge. They are a quick snack, and you can whip up a quick sandwich or throw them in a salad for some protein
-keep shredded cheese on hand
-try something new regularly. A new ingredient, a new recipe, etc. A little variety keeps things interesting and you may stumble across something you really like.

I used to go to a health food store in Philly that made the best salads. They would toss several ingredients into these hand-cranked food processors that would chop the stuff up. The juices would come out of the veggies and you didn't need any dressing. You can do the same thing in a food processor. I always liked carrots,red cabbage, broccoli, celery, and sunflower seeds in mine.

And thanks for your service.