One of the biggest struggles that most people face today is a hectic schedule.
Between work, errands, kids schedules, everyone going in every which way it can be hard to plan for meals let alone stick with healthy and nutritious options.
We’re so busy that it makes eating healthy a real challenge. Quick and convenient foods end up taking the place of healthy, nourishing food when we’re on the go, go, go all the time.
What if I told you it didn’t have to be this way?
You don’t have to be a slave to your schedule and resort to fast food or processed foods on a regular basis.
It’s possible to eat healthy foods, even with a jam-packed schedule. It just requires a little bit of pre-planning to ensure success. You’ll feel better and have more energy.
When you start fueling your body with healthier choices, you’ll probably also find that you don’t have that 3 PM slump or need that afternoon caffeine boost. This is usually the time if I am not eating throughout my morning and day I binge on junk and quick options. I have to remind myself to step away from my computer and desk during the day and take the time out to eat so I won't grab a non nutritious option when I am famished.
Eating Healthy When You’re Not Home
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 that only make you hungry again a short time later.
Daily Errands and/or Kid’s Activities
Most of us spend several hours in our vehicles every week running errands, stuck in traffic or shuttling kids back and forth between activities. If we don’t plan ahead, it is easy to fall into the trap of going through the closest drive through when you or your family are hungry.
Don’t wait until the point that you’re starving to make food choices, as this will almost always lead to bad decisions. Instead, plan ahead, so you don’t have to rely on your willpower alone to keep you on track. Pack easy to carry healthy snacks, and keep them in either your purse or your vehicle. This way you always have healthy choices right at your fingertips.
Road Trips
You can still live a healthy lifestyle on road trips by packing healthy foods to eat in the car. You can pack a cooler to keep handy so you have easy access to snacks while on the road. If you’re planning on stopping at rest areas along the way, pack a nutritious picnic lunch to eat before you head back out on the next part of your trip. A cheer mom friend of mine likes to call me Mary Poppins because I always have something needed in my bag. She still laughs so hard remembering when I pulled out a bag of carrots and celery sticks in my purse when we were driving out of state for a cheerleading competition for our kids.
Airports
Air travel used to have absolutely no healthy options but times have changed! Even though you can’t pack liquids in your carry-on bag, there are still plenty of options for what you can bring. You can pack wrapped whole food snack bars, nuts, seeds or even pieces of fruit in your personal items bag. With a little creative planning, you can keep your nutrition on track, and save yourself money on airport food and snacks. However, there are usually some healthy options at airports now. I still always bring healthy snacks for the kids when we are in the air, especially now since a lot of flights aren't even serving food anymore.
Foods That Are Easy to Pack
The following items are all easy to prepare, and convenient to take on the go. Be sure to keep any perishable foods in a cooler or use an ice pack.
● Baby carrots, celery sticks, and cucumber slices with hummus
● Sliced or whole apples with nut butter
● Oranges
● Grapes
● Sliced or whole pears
● Smoothie (if you plan to drink it within 30 mins or so)
● Nuts and raisins (you can make your own trail mix)
● Whole Food Snack Bars (such as Larabar)
● Sandwiches or wraps
Make the Most of Technology
You can easily scope out healthy restaurants in your area or where you are going if you are traveling. Running errands or quick carry out options can be healthy too. Subway, Chipotle, Moes, etc. So many now have healthier quick options when you are out and about or traveling.
“Healthy Out” is a handy app to keep your nutrition on track when eating out. You can search by tags like vegan/vegetarian, paleo, heart healthy, keto and more. Download the app for iOS or Android to find restaurant meals that fit your needs.
If anyone in your family is gluten intolerant, it may be a challenge to find restaurants that serve gluten-free meals. You can use the app called “Find Me Gluten Free” to help find restaurants with gluten free offerings in your vicinity.
Make Midweek Meals Easy
Just because you have had a busy day doesn’t mean you have to resort to fast food or processed foods for dinner. With a little planning, you can make sure your family has healthy meals ready to go when you walk in the door.
Use Pinterest, boom you now have thousands of healthy crockpot meal ideas available for free. Do a quick search and see what recipes may interest you and your family. If you prep everything the night before, or even earlier in the morning, you can come home to a delicious home-cooked meal that is ready to serve.
TIME SAVER TIP: Batch cook and plan for leftovers. When you do have time to cook, simply double the recipe and set the extras aside to use later in the week on a particularly busy day. It takes very little extra effort to double the recipe, and you will reap the benefits of time savings later in the week.
Use crockpots and save yourself time in the evenings.
Use Sunday as your meal prep day for the week ahead.
Make Healthy Eating Strategies Work for You
Even with a busy schedule, you can still make sure that you are eating healthy, nutritious meals. By putting in a little bit planning, you can ensure that you and your family enjoy healthy foods that support your lifestyle and your goals.
I am an Institute of Integrative Nutrition Holistic Health Coach specializing in helping busy, burned out professionals and burned out moms take control of their health and life. I am a certified Yoga, Fitness, HIIT, and Barre Instructor.
There is no one size diet that fits all. I believe in bio-individuality and working on all areas of our lives to keep everything in balance. I will give you the tools, knowledge, support, and accountability to fully make a lifestyle change that works for you.
My goal is to help you live a healthy lifestyle, practice more self-care, help with stress relief, get better sleep, help with career, nutrition, digestive issues, and whatever it is that feels off to you.