The Jimmy Dean

This week has been really busy what with all the in-processing garbage that's going on, so more often than not we've skipped breakfast meal time and gone with packaged breakfasts.

Anyone who's ever been in the military has an opinion about the food, but they usually refer to either the DFAC (Dining FACility) or the MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat). This post, however, is devoted to the noble "Jimmy Dean."

Why they named it that, I'll probably never know, but it's one step up from the MRE in terms of class.


The only issue I take with the Jimmy Dean is that it's always the same. Frosted Flakes, UHT milk, strawberry Pop Tarts, Mott's Applesauce, a Caprisun juice (more on that in a moment), and a granola bar. There's also salt and pepper, but I can't imagine what you'd use them for (the applesauce? disgusting).

For more on Army chow, this guy's got a great post that's way more comprehensive: (MREs -- Meals, Rejected by Everyone)

Now, about the CapriSun - check out these two pictures:

The one on the left says "100% Juice." Sounds good, right?

Now check out the caveats on the right - "Grape Flavored Blend." What is that? You mean my 100% juice Grape Tide isn't just grape juice? What exactly is it?

According to this site, CapriSun uses apple juice. And as for the sneaky-sounding "Other Ingredient" and "Other Natural Flavor," the answers only bring up more questions.

The "other ingredient" is citric acid, which (assuming they got it from a juice) comes from oranges or lemons. But why didn't they just say that?

And "other natural flavor" remains just that - "Natural Flavor." What natural flavor is that? Apparently, CapriSun doesn't want to say.

Why doesn't CapriSun just use 100% grape juice for its "Grape Tide"? My guess is that they managed to bid lower than Welch's. What a shame....