Help! I need quick meals on-the-go!
May 30, 2019
By Mairead Rodgers, RD PHEc
Raise your hand if you’re a busy person. I can’t see the sea of hands but I’m sure they’re mostly in the air. Whether you’re busy with work, kids, sports, traveling, or just have lots of other commitments, sometimes nutrition gets pushed to the back burner in the interest of just grabbing something to eat before we’re on to the next thing. But I bet if we paid just a titch more attention to what we’re grabbing for a lunch or dinner in a hurry, odds are you’d feel better and more satisfied, and be better fueled as you’re running off to tackle the next thing.
Here’s my top tips for grabbing quick meals on-the-go:
- Veggies! If you’re grabbing pieces to put together a meal, pre-cut veggies with dip or a pre-made or bagged salad can be a super quick and easy way to go. If you’re leaning towards frozen or pre-made meals, pick something that has more than the smallest handful of peas in it. Try to find a meal that looks like it might have close to half a cup of vegetables if you can. Frozen veggies can also be cooked really quickly in the microwave and added to any kind of meal for a nutrition boost.
- Protein! Protein keeps us full, and gives our body what it needs to recover after a workout (if you’re coming directly from the gym). If we’re going the frozen meal route, try to choose a meal that has some kind of lean protein in it, whether that’s chicken or turkey, lean beef or pork, or beans or tofu. Canned tuna or rotisserie chicken can also be an efficient way to get some protein in a hurry.
- Check the sodium! While we do need some amount of salt in our diet to keep our bodies functioning, most of us eating like a normal person get more than we need. Getting in too much salt all the time can lead to high blood pressure. Check your labels on pre-packaged and frozen meals: if there’s more than 15% of your daily value of sodium, that’s a lot. Aim for something a bit lower, and compare labels to find your best option.
- Fibre! We’ve got to read the label again here. Men need 38 g of fibre each day and women need 25 g. When we’re looking for meal on-the-go, things like whole grains, beans, and fruits and veggies can up our fibre content. Check your labels to see if you’re getting close to what you need.
- Need dessert? Bananas, apples and can all be quick to grab and eat on the go. Pre-cut fruit can get you more variety, and lots of grocery stores (and even gas stations sometimes!) have yogurt handy.
- Water! If you need something to drink and quench your thirst, go for water or unsweetened soda water over sugary drinks to help keep you hydrated.
- Don’t overthink it! Not every meal we eat is going to be the most nutritionally well-rounded culinary masterpiece, and it doesn’t have to be. At the end of the day, remember that anything you can do to bump up your nutrition is worth the effort.
Need more ideas or solutions customized for your life? Give me a shout at maireadrodgers@degreecrossfitseaforth.com with questions, or click here to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat to talk goals and see if our nutrition programs would be a good fit for you!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Nutrition labels can be confusing! But they're on packaging to help you know more about your food so you can make choices that align with your health and fitness goals. Grab your nearest food label. On the black and white Nutrition Facts table, you'll see a list of nutrients with values beside them. For most of them, there will be an amount in grams or milligrams listed on the left and a percentage over on the right hand side. That percentage can help give us context! As you'll see listed in teeny writing at the bottom of the table, 5% is a little, 15% is a lot. This means that if there's a nutrient we want more of, like fibre, we want that percentage to be higher, ideally towards 15% or more. If there's a nutrient we want less of, we want it to be closer to 5%. For most normal healthy people, we want to have less sodium (salt), sugar, and saturated fat, while including more fibre. There may also be times when you want to focus on a specific vitamin or mineral, like iron or calcium. These are also listed with a percentage and can be used the same way. A key part of label reading is knowing what is most important for you. For many food categories, you can't prioritize everything. There may not be one product that is the lowest in saturated fat AND the lowest in sodium AND the highest in fibre AND has the most protein AND has the most iron ... the list could go on. But if you can narrow it down to a couple things that matter most for your health and fitness goals, you can start making choices based on food labels, without all the overwhelm. Check out your food labels, use the percentages, and make choices that fit with your goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Snacking causes a lot of worry for many people! Is snacking bad? When should we be snacking? What's the best snack? Snacking itself isn't a bad habit, unless it's not aligned with your health and fitness goals. Snacks can actually do a lot of good to keep our energy levels up throughout the day and help meet our nutrition needs. Let's check out four ways you can improve your snacking habits! 1. Think about why! If you're concerned about whether your snacks are a problem, it's worth thinking about why you're snacking. Are you hungry between meals? Do you need some fuel before or after a workout? Are you bored at work in the afternoon or need a pick-me-up? Do you need something to do with your hands while watching tv? Are you starving at the end of the day when you get home before you have a chance to make dinner? Snacks serve lots of purposes, from keeping our energy stable during the day, to meeting emotional needs. If you don't feel good about why you're snacking, it might be time to find some other way to meet that need. 2. Plan for your snacks! Often, we may know we need a snack, but not be able to make a healthy choice about it because we're too busy or just too hungry. A little planning goes a long way! Planning ahead for these times can help us make choices that align with our goals, and have something at the ready before we're too hungry to make that healthy choice. Pack a snack or have one at the ready during the times of day or situations when you know you'll need it. 3. Make them satisfying! If a snack isn't satisfying, we'll be reaching for something else soon. For longer lasting energy, choose snacks that have a combination of protein and carbs. This might include yogurt with berries, a higher protein granola bar, crackers and veggies with hummus, or even a couple handfuls of trail mix. If you find yourself finishing your snack without even noticing what you've eaten, try taking a minute to eat more mindfully and focus on your food. This will help you feel more satisfied with it! 4. Fill your nutrition gaps! Snacks are another opportunity to add nutrition to your day. Are there specific foods you're trying to add more of to your diet? Are there nutrients you feel you may be lacking? Use snacks as a way to add these in. If you're concerned about protein, try adding canned tuna, hardboiled eggs, or Greek yogurt to your snacks. If you feel you're lacking vegetables or fruit, include at least one in your snack. If you're trying to include more plant-based proteins, lean on bean-based dips or try roasted chickpeas. The options are endless! Remember, snacking isn't good or bad, and can serve a lot of different purposes. Try using these tips to help your snacking align better with your health and fitness goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian As a Dietitian, I work with a lot of different people. One common thread is that we talk about excuses. So many people come in to a nutrition consultation and tell me about their challenges with nutrition and fitness, and then follow it up by saying something along the lines of "I know these are just excuses, I can do better". The things we often consider excuses can include having a busy job and a busy family life. Working weird hours. Struggling with the cost of groceries. Caring for loved ones. Managing health concerns, chronic diseases, or injuries. The list goes on. For my nutrition clients, I rarely consider any of these things to be excuses. It's not an excuse that you can't eat well because you work long hours and then take your kids to their sports practices - these are very real reasons why you're struggling to make healthy choices. It's not an excuse if you work nights and need to get some sleep so you didn't make it to the gym - it's as aspect of your life that makes getting enough exercise challenging. Think about the things you might consider to be your excuses for not "doing better" with your health and fitness. Are they really just parts of your life or the season you're currently in? None of these things should be making you feel bad or like you're making excuses. But on the flip side, these reasons also don't mean we need to throw in the towel on our goals entirely. They mean we might need to get a bit creative, decide what's really important to us right now, and ask for help when we need it! Instead of feeling bad about your "excuses" that aren't really excuses, it might be time to find some new ideas. Working with a Dietitian can be a great way to figure out what's actually important in your health and fitness goals, and come up with some new ideas to get you there. There are always steps we can take in the right direction to move past those "excuses" and work together for a happier and healthier you! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!