My mind always rambles on a weird train of thought, sometimes the train reaches a destination other times the train never really leaves the station. In the case of this article, I am not sure which result was achieved, maybe it gets derailed along the way. As a mom of four and living on a farm a lot of my thoughts are on food. It may be feeding the animals, getting the coolers loaded for market or one of the kids yelling "I am hungry! What's for dinner?" Never mind they we just finished lunch two hours ago. Good food is very important to us, especially to our bottomless pit children.

Usually, every morning I pack four school lunches for our children. I try to always include a sandwich, fresh fruit, 100% juice box (not a juice drink) and a starch such as crackers or pretzels. Sometimes, my children think they have won the lottery when Cheetos are in their lunch. We do try to limit our consumption of junk food, and yes chips, cookies and Cheetos or not part of the USDA's food pyramid. It isn't that we do not enjoy chips or cookies. In fact, my favorite junk food is chips. But, these foods do not supply the nutritional demands required or needed by our bodies. In other words, they are just empty calories. On this train, I started questioning-- what's in your lunch box? and school lunches in general.

We are not here to bash the lunchroom ladies, by no means. After all, the menu is planned by a certified dietician which mets USDA governmental standards of nutrition. We question the actual standards themselves. Can someone please explain the nutritional value of a nacho pizza or highly processed "pancakes pups"?    As I looked at a recent menu , I wondered where the lunches of olden days have gone. Remember, when food was actually cooked in the cafeteria. The smells you would encounter as you walked down the halls. Who can forget those delicious yeast rolls or homemade cinnamon rolls? The fried chicken with rice and gravy. Oh, it was all so delicious and smelled so comforting. Today it seems most of the meals are pre-packaged and prepared. Just open a bag and dump the contents out to be warmed up. P-nut butter sandwiches, a staple of a child's lunch, use to be homemade. Now, you can simply rip open the Smucker's bag and have your uncrustable sandwich. Convenience, I guess is the reason given for the prepared meals not only in our schools, but in our homes as well. We seem to have substuited quality for quick as we dash through the drive thru to grab something to eat on our way to the numerous events we have scheduled in not only our children's lives, but ours too.

We encourage you when at all possible, prepare a meal. Work together as a family. When everyone is involved the work can be fun and faster, sometimes anyway. Children will often try a new dish if they were involved in the preparation.   Also, they are learning a life skill that they will need . Keith laughs at me when I plan our meals. I like for them to be colorful or have a variety of colors on the plate. I view the plate a my personal canvas of art.

When you sit down together, you stop and connect as a family. We were discussing this article tonight at our family table. One of children stated they like when we eat together. Remember you are making memories that will last. As I was reflecting on this thought, I rembered a line from the song "You're Gonna Miss This" by country singer, Trace Adkins," You're gonna miss this, You're gonna want this back, You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast" So, enjoy these times together.