Wholesome Eating When You’re On-the-Go

Happy Friday!

Earlier I read an issue of Fitness magazine with Brooke Burke on the cover. The article discussed her tips for staying fit. I don’t know about you, but when a 40-year old woman whose given birth to 4 children and looks like that is talking about what keeps her in shape, I make sure to read. Though she’s undoubtably genetically gifted, this chick seems like she is dedicated to staying in great shape. Her diet secret? She never skips a meal.

I strongly agree with Brooke on this one. Not only do I make sure to eat 3 meals a day, I typically have 2 snacks as well. Eating small meals frequently  prevents you from getting too famished and craving unhealthy foods. Skipping meals puts your body on a path towards fasting and signals the metabolism to slow. Um, no thank you!

I know that one of the reasons people say they skip meals is that they’re too busy to slow down and prepare something. But here’s the thing – eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday doesn’t have to equate to slaving in the kitchen, or hitting up your local fast-food restaurants on a daily basis either. Although I admit that working from home makes meals easier, I usually am too busy trying to check things off my to-do list to spend more than a few minutes throwing together breakfast or lunch. I got to thinking about what my go-to foods are when I need to grab something quick or eat on-the-move.

A favorite of mine is bars – protein bars, cereal bars, granola bars. I carry them in my purse at all times in case hunger strikes while I’m out and have no healthy food options available.  One look into my cabinet and I realized that I quite possibly am bar-obsessed.

Note to self: Do not buy any type of bars for at least a month.

Something else that I always seem to go for when I need a quick, nutritious meal or snack is yogurt. Full of probiotics, aka active good for you bacteria, yogurt is low-fat/fat free and contains a good amount of protein in it (especially Greek yogurt). I love to add fruit, nuts, and/or granola to jazz it up. Here are some yogurt combos I’ve eaten recently:

Vanilla Greek yogurt with fruit & nut granola and wheat germ

 

 

 

Vanilla yogurt with fresh kiwi and almond flaxseed granola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel Greek yogurt with chopped apple, sprinkled cinnamon, and honey apple butter

 

Chocolate yogurt topped with a chopped up banana cinnamon muffin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of healthy meals thrown together in a flash, my dinner tonight is a good example of this. I was hungry and wanted something to eat quick. I recently bought a can of Trader Joe’s organic vegetarian chili to try out and figured this was a good night to do so. I love that the list of ingredients is all foods that I know, with no foreign chemicals and things I can’t pronounce – always a positive sign!

I heated up a cup with a serving of reduced fat cheese, and had some whole wheat crackers and celery on the side for dipping.

I give this dinner a thumbs up as a fast and yummy, yet healthy meal.

Sure, wholesome eating might sometimes take a bit of effort and planning, but I believe it’s doable for even the busiest people out there if they make it a priority. After all, when there’s a will there’s a way.

What are your favorite foods to eat on-the-go?