Healthy Eating on the GO!

Are you someone that is always busy? Between work, kids, exercise, and extracurricular activities all you want is a meal that is going to be fast, easy, and tasty! Then you are like most Americans..eating on the go. Good news, eating on the go can be made healthy by focusing on a few meal planning techniques.

1. Weekly planning. At the beginning of the week (or end for some), look at your calendar, what all do you have going on for the upcoming week? Baseball practice? Dance recital? 7 o`clock spin class? Based on what your schedule looks like, plan out the nights that you will be cooking at home or eating out. Out of the nights that you have to eat out, go ahead and designate restaurants that are located around the area you will be in. This will make your life 10 times easier!

2. If able, on your lunch break, pull up the menu (online) of the restaurant you plan to visit that night. Most restaurants have menus with nutritional information on their website. This information will not only help you to choose a healthy option for your dinner meal, but will also help you avoid tempting “healthy looking” entrees. (Bonus tip: Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion Salad weighs in at a hefty 1,430 calories and 96 grams of fat- so much for salads always being a healthy option!)

3. If unable to look at a menu online before going to dinner, read the menu very carefully. Avoid entrees that include the words: fried, breaded, buttered, creamed, crispy, and pan-fried. Instead order entrees that include cooking methods such as: baked, grilled, broiled, roasted, or steamed. Remember it is ok to make special requests (you are paying for this meal!); ask for your chicken to be grilled instead of fried or ask for veggies without butter!

4. Always have protein with you! Keep a cooler in the car, something in your purse, or bring a bag you can sling over your shoulder to make sure you are never without something. This will help you if you are in an area in which you know nothing on the menu is healthy or if you become increasingly hungry several hours before your meal (ie: baseball game goes until 9pm and you had to go from work to the fields-lifesaver!). Some great protein snack/meal substitute options are: low-fat string cheese, beef jerky, pre-made protein shake, protein bar, and turkey pepperonis.

5. Wanting to eat at home, but need something healthy that you can fix fast? On your way home from work, pick up a rotisserie chicken, salad in a bag, and steamer bag veggies from the grocery store. This makes for a healthy 5 minute prep meal that everyone in the family will love.