I don't have time to eat healthy food (insert me rolling my eyes)

I hear it day in and day out, "I don't have time to eat healthy food".  It makes my head want to explode and my eyes want to roll.  Even the busiest of people have time to eat well, trust me.  The key is just a little bit of planning.  Here are few tips for eating healthy while on the go and for those of us who have incredibly busy lives.

1. When you make grains that take a little while to cook like brown rice, quinoa, bulgar wheat, farro, whatever, make extra.  Pop the leftovers in the fridge or freezer to heat up when you are in a rush. They make a great base for bowls or can be tossed into a salad or a soup.  

2. Keep your fridge full of fresh veges for stir fries.  Stir fries are your friend when you are in a rush because they take minutes to make.

3. Have a good collection of healthy condiments and sauces, they help to add flavor when you are whipping up a meal in 10 minutes.

4. Carefully select some prepared foods that take minutes to heat up. Look for things like vege burgers (make sure you can pronounce all of the ingredients, I like Dr. Praeger's brand myself), marinated baked tofu, and plant based soups.  Keep an eye on the amount of salt in your packaged foods.  A good rule of thumb is to look for foods that have less than 1mg of sodium per 1 calorie.  So if a food has 140 calories in it, it should have 140mg or less of sodium in it.  Got it?

Here is a stir fry I threw together tonight.  I worked a late ER shift (it's part of my family medicine training, not my favorite thing to do) and walked in my door at 10:28pm, by 10:41pm I was eating this:  

Leftover brown rice, mushrooms and purple cabbage quickly sauteed in a little sesame oil and ginger, sesame ginger marinated baked tofu that I bought at the store, coriander relish, Siracha, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds and lime juice.  I had all of this stuff in my fridge...it took me 10 minutes to prepare and take the pic.  

Back to the list.

5. Pack fresh fruits for snacks.  Many of them come in their own "to-go packaging" such as  bananas, oranges, clementines, grapefruits, etc.  And things like apples, pears, peaches, and plums require no prep at all.  Fruits were the original "to-go" foods.  

6. Nuts travel well too in a small container or a single serve pouch.  No need for sugar-laden protein bars to get you through your day. 

7. Do some meal prep on a day when you are less busy.  Make a big batch of chili or soup and put it in single serve containers to bring along for lunch or a quick dinner.  

8. Do some snack prepping too while you are at it.  As an example, if you have carrots sticks cut up and hanging out in the fridge you will be much more likely to grab them for a quick snack.  

9. Make your breakfast the night before.  This is great to do with oats and porridge.  Below is an example of a quinoa porridge (with leftover quinoa from dinner) that I made the night before and reheated in the morning.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I heated up leftover quinoa and chia seeds in the microwave along with some frozen blueberries.  Then poured a little almond milk over the tops and threw on some pecans.  Simple, quick, and delicious.  

10. When you are in a rush/busy, try to sit down and just focus on eating even if it is just for a few minutes.  You will be more likely to feel full, less likely to over eat,  and less likely to snack mindlessly.  

So no more "I'm too busy" excuses okay?  Feel free to shoot me an email (use the tool on the right) or leave a comment if you have questions or other tips that you use to eat healthy food when you are on the go.  

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G