Or better yet, start out at the begining, and refuse to ever look at those things as anything but privelages, and then you'll always love your job
But yeah, to echo what everyone else has already said several times, Canadian mess food is generally great (I've had a few bad meals, but really, it's only been a few)
Most messes (Actually, saying most, only because I haven't been in every mess in existence, but yeah, every mess I've been in) offers two main courses, two starches, and an vegetable (For example, the steam trays might include pork chops, chicken wraps, baked potatoes, rice, and mixed vegetables, another day it might include poached fish, burgers, rice, fries, and green beans). You pick a main course, a starch, and vegetable.
There's always variety, the mess may repeat itself on a weekly schedule, but certainly don't expect to get the same thing two days in a row (Most messes also have a "steak night", depending on the mess, this may be a thing to look foreward to or dread, no mess names no pack drill
). Every once in a while you might get a "theme meal" of sorts (Always loved when they put out a "chinese food" spread... I think one of the best meals I've ever had was at a small airforce mess on an evening when they put out chinese food, can you say home made egg rolls? Mmmm...)
The messes also generally include a salad bar (The size and variety of which depends on the mess, but at minimum, there'll be a green salad, some sort of macaroni or potatoe salad, a good selection of fruit... that's for a small mess, the salad bar in kingston was probably 20+ feet long, all sorts of goodies, used to love the cheeses)
Most of the bigger messes also offer option of a sandwhich bar during the weekdays at lunchtime (A half dozen different options of meat, and a selection of sandwhiches, just walk and up and tell them what you'd like).
As far as the IMPs go, they're rations with a self life of what? 4 years? 5 years? Either way, that being considered, they're delicious. I mean, in comparison to say, mess food or a home cooked meal, they're not so great, but really, as far as rations go, they're delicious, I get irritated to no end by people who complain about them, I've never had a problem eating an IMP (Particularly because I'm usually hungry in the field). Lots of food, reasonable variety, even vegetarian alternatives (If you can get your hands on some veggie IMPs for a couple of meals, go for it, they're great)
Beyond the rats (rations), you'll get the LMCs (Light Meal, Combat) once in a while, also known as patrol rations, basically quick snack food (Beef Jerky, Pepperoni Snacks, chocolate bars, granola bars, hot chocolate, all sorts of goodies that you can cram in your webbing for later consumption), issued for various reasons, dependent on your supply chain and the nature of the exercise.
Hay boxes in the field can't be beaten either, always sucks for those of us on shift work (Read: Siggies doing rad shifts) though, because it means either wake up half way through your off time for a delicious hay box meal, or scavenge under the seat in the pod for left over rations when you get up for your crap later (Most people have the sense to leave instructions with their fellow det members before they go to sleep if they want to be woken up for meals or not, as nothing feels worse then deciding whether or not to go poke your buddy before you go to breakfest to ask him if the wants some or not, when he's got three hours of sleep left).
But seriously, in reference to hay boxes, generally, it's whatever the nearest mess happens to be serving that evening, but you only get one each of main course, starch, and veg, still delicious. They always send out some fresh fruit, some juice, probably a bit of desert, some milk, coffee, lots of nice stuff.
Field Kitchens also rock, basically, a mess in the field, anything a small mess can offer you, only in the field, including the salad bar (Nothing like a big slice of water melon in the field on a hot summer day, yummy...)
End result, I just spent a good chunk of time writing probably two pages on food in the CF... as Napoleon said, an army marches on it's stomach, and apparently, our army took that to heart.
P.S. Box Lunches... what the heck is up with the butter on the Sandwhiches? I'd take soggy bread over butter on a sandwhich any day, or at least give me an extra mustard packet to cover up that magarine taste
