You press snooze 3 times. You wake up with 20 minutes to get ready and out the door. And you still have to feed the cats and scoop the litter. And oh crap, you didn’t pack your lunch last night. Now what?
Yep, that was me a few days ago.
All too often, I break my own rules. I offer advice for how to eat healthy when your life is jam-packed – always pack your lunch the night before – then I get busy sucked into a Lifetime movie and my lunch bag gets neglected.
So what do I do when my lunch isn’t packed and I have 20 minutes to get ready for work? I turn to my freezer and my produce drawers.
Sure, I’d much rather have a nicely made wrap with some delicious sides to enjoy – but that’s not always feasible. Sometimes life the television gets in the way even for those of us that make planning ahead a habit.
You know that saying when you fail to plan, you plan to fail? Well that’s not always entirely true.
If you plan in the long run, then you can fail to plan in the short run. As long as it doesn’t become the norm. Let me explain.
When I go grocery shopping, I always make sure to grab plenty of frozen vegetables and fruits. Of course, I also stock up on a lot fresh produce which ends up being the basis for most of my meals.
What are the frozen vegetables for then?
Well, those are for the days in which I fail to plan. So, I was too lazy to pack my lunch for work (guilty), but that doesn’t mean I have to go through the drive thru.
It takes all of 1 minute to grab a steam fresh bag of broccoli (brussel sprouts, green beans, etc.), a bag of baby carrots (radishes, cherry tomatoes, etc.), a container of hummus (salsa, dressing, peanut butter, etc.) an apple (banana, peach, pear, etc.), some crackers (or bread), and a bar or a bag of mixed nuts.
That’s the beauty of clean eating. It’s the beauty of a plant-based diet. Things are simple. Nothing has to be complicated. Sure, you can make your meals ahead like I do on occasion—it certainly takes a load off during the workweek. But you don’t have to fail just because you didn’t plan.
Again, this is the 80/20 rule to living a healthy lifestyle. If you plan 80% of the time and you don’t the other 20%—then you’ll be good. Balance.
So this whole situation (running late, no packed lunch) sparked an idea for a new series. It’s going to be called 5-minute Meals. Well, 5-minutes or less really. Basically, I’ll talk about how you can keep your kitchen stocked to allow for 5-minute meals or grab and go options that are still healthy and nutritious.
Sounds fun, yes?
So what was my grab and go meal a few days ago?
Grab:
- 1 bag of frozen brussel sprouts (steamable)
- 1 bag of organic baby carrots
- a container of yellow cherry tomatoes
- 5 radishes
- a small container of hummus (dumped in some nutritional yeast and salsa)
- an apple
- and a blueberry muffin larabar
And go.
Here’s what I made at work—with a side of hummus, nutritional yeast, and salsa for dipping. The baby carrots, apple, and larabar were also enjoyed throughout the day.
Clearly, I was too busy grabbing veggies to grab my real camera. Hello, iPhone picture.
I made it to work on time and I still had healthy food to eat. That’s what I call a success!
EmoticonEmoticon