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that my pie crusts are also made from scratch

This is my next thing to conquer, making a flaky pie crust. I haven't made a lot of pies but we're getting a lot of peaches now so I might try again. I'm best with brownies and cookies.

How hard is it to peel, boil and mash some potatoes, cook a pork chop, cook some broccoli and throw together a salad

This is true. I've noticed it takes about the same effort to prepare real food as it does to follow directions on a box. I guess it's just intimidating to some.

You could even use salad in a bag if you're desperate for time

This makes me laugh. My aunt told me this story about one of her daughter's friends (who didn't cook). She opened up a bag of salad, poured it in the bowl, and was so excited because 'she was cooking'!

I'm convinced that some of the behavior problems we see with children come from not eating right.

I would absolutely agree. I'm an adult, and I feel sick if I eat out too much.

I'll tell you the dirty secret of a good pie crust, IMHO, although others may disagree. My Oma used 100% pure leaf lard and her pies were out of this world. Good lard is hard to find, but I find that if I use 1/2 butter and 1/2 lard, I get good results. Keep in mind, I don't eat pie (or other desserts) every day, otherwise I'd be big as a house and my arteries would be screaming (although, I must say, both my Omas lived to be 93).

I'm also a big believer in butter for baking. If you're going to bake something, use butter; don't waste all your time and other good ingredients by using margarine. It's an inferior product and you can tell when you eat it. Again, I don't eat cookies every day, but when I bake, I want it to taste good.