Healthy eating on the go

One of the biggest struggles I see people facing today is a hectic schedule. We’re all so busy trying to fit in the various aspects of our lives that healthy eating can be a real challenge. Quick and convenient foods end up taking the place of natural, nourishing meals when we’re on the go, go, go all the time. These less-than-ideal food choices then put us on the hamster wheel of experiencing low energy, weight gain, and potential health problems. Sound familiar?

What if I told you it didn’t have to be this way, though? You don’t have to be a slave to your schedule and resort to fast food or processed foods on a regular basis. It is possible to eat healthy foods, even with a jam-packed schedule. All it requires is a little pre-planning to ensure success. The result: you’ll feel better, have more energy, and your waistline will thank you too. (Keep reading for a list of healthy snack ideas to get you started…)

Eating healthy when you’re not home

There are plenty of circumstances that will take you away from home and make it more challenging to eat well. Take the time to plan ahead and you can relax knowing that you won’t be derailing your healthy living efforts by consuming empty calories.

Daily errands and kids’ activities

Hands up if you, like me, spend several hours in the car every week running errands or shuttling kids back and forth between activities? If we don’t pre-plan, it’s too easy to be lured by the nearest drive-through or garage shop when you (or your family) are hungry.

One of my top tips is to never wait until you’re starving to make food choices as this will almost always lead to unfavourable decisions. Instead, pack easy-to-carry, healthy snacks and keep them in your handbag or car (I carry a bottle of water with me everywhere and usually have a small, insulated lunchbox behind the front seat!). This way you always have healthy choices to hand and don’t have to rely on so-called willpower to keep you on track.

Road trips

Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you should take a hiatus from your health goals. Encourage a healthy lifestyle on road trips by packing wholesome foods to eat in the car and a nutritious picnic lunch to eat at rest areas on route. You’ll arrive at your destination feeling better and will have saved some money too…

Airports

Even though you can’t pack liquids in your carry-on bag (so no smoothies or freshly squeezed juices), there are still plenty of options you can bring on flights – think wrapped, whole food snack bars, nuts and seeds, crudités or even pieces of fruit in your personal items bag. Just remember to check ahead with the airline – food regulations are more rigid if flying internationally.

Food ideas that are easy to pack

The following items are all easy to prepare and convenient to take on the go. Experiment to find out which snacks work best with your lifestyle and don’t be afraid to mix and match options.

  • Baby carrots and cucumber slices with hummus
  • Sliced or whole apples with nut butter
  • Clementine or mandarin oranges
  • Grapes
  • Sliced or whole pears
  • Nuts and raisins
  • Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and/or sunflower seeds
  • Whole food snack bars (the fewer ingredients the better)
  • Sandwiches or wraps
  • Cheese cubes
  • High quality biltong
  • Cut-up rotisserie chicken (keep cool with an ice pack)
  • Hard boiled eggs

Make mid-week meals easy

Cooking is the last thing I feel like doing at the end of a long, busy day, but it’s important to me that my family eats nourishing meals. My solution is to cook ahead. I usually spend half of every Sunday in the kitchen making multiple, freezer-friendly meals and prepping salads and veggies in advance. I also rely on my slow cooker in winter. You’ll find a wealth of free recipes on Pinterest and the web.

As with any goal, success in healthy eating is about finding strategies that work for you, so make the effort to plan. Not sure where to begin? Contact me here