How to Choose Healthy Snacks on the Go
Snacking on the Go
You’ve made your lunch for tomorrow and gotten your breakfast ready for the morning. You go to bed and oversleep. You do the five minute whirlwind brush your teeth, get dressed, grab your bag, and run out the door leaving your good start breakfast and healthy lunch behind in the fridge. You get to work with five minutes to spare and you’re starving. You grab a sensible breakfast sandwich of an egg and some vegetables on whole wheat bread from the place downstairs, and for lunch you decide on soup or salad.
Comes the mid-morning slump, what do you do? The first thing is do not go for the vending machine, there are too many temptations. To avoid this, it is a good idea to keep some healthy snacks in your desk drawer. Protein bars with at least 4 grams of fiber, nuts and dried fruit packaged in single serving portions, lower sodium instant or microwavable soups, pretzels, even a box of cereal, and if you have access to a fridge some string cheese or single serving containers of low-fat cottage cheese and fresh fruit.
Going to the bodega or corner market for a snack break with some co-workers? Get a protein shake, just make sure it has some fiber and isn’t loaded with sugar. Have the munchies? Go for a small bag of whole grain pretzels or crackers and some humus or salsa. Want something sweet? Trail mix is a good choice, just make sure it is a single portion (or split it with someone) and isn’t the kind that is mostly coconut and banana chips, which add extra fat, sugar, and calories. Protein bars or fiber bars are good picks as well.
Spending the whole day in the car dropping off and picking up carpools for school, sports, music lesson, and other extra-curricular activities without eating is not a wise idea. Besides making your cranky it can also cause you to be less alert and pay less attention to the road. Keep adult and kid friendly snacks in your glove compartment, and/or in your emergency kit to be prepared. Good non-perishable snack options are 100% juice boxes or vitamin water, dried fruit, nuts, protein or granola bars, whole grain crackers, 100 calorie packs of cookies or crackers, dry cereal that won’t get crushed so easily like Quaker Oat Squares.
Before you leave, be it for work, carpool, a road trip, even an airplane ride, plan in advance and some fresh, healthy snacks with you like baby carrots, peppers, and cut up celery, an apple, pear, or some other hard fruit or vegetable. Avoid soft produce like grapes and tomatoes unless you can put them in a reusable container, otherwise they get crushed in your bag and make a mess. Put in a hard boiled egg, some cheese, or humus, even a turkey sandwich. You can also take the usual nuts, dried fruit, whole grain pretzels or crackers, or protein bar.
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Lentil Soup
1 cup lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
3 ribs celery
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cinnamon
6 c. chicken stock
4 tomatoes or can diced tomatoes
½ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Can chickpeas
Juice of 1 large lemon
Season to taste with salt and more lemon
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What is Turmeric?
Turmeric, in Latin Curcuma Longa, is a yellow root hailing from India. Sold in root form and powder, it has a sweet, yet fragrantly spicy aroma and taste. It is the main ingredient in curry powders and Middle Eastern spice mixes, yellow mustard, dairy products, pickles, and dressings. Try it sprinkled on chicken with cumin and cinnamon, or on potatoes with whole fresh garlic cloves, olive oil, and rosemary. Mix it with chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon as a rub for meats or in hamburgers for Middle Eastern burgers. It is traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory and to aid in digestion. Speak with your doctor if you would like to use turmeric in medicinally beyond what is called for in cooking because it is not recommended for people with clotting disorders or gallstones in large amounts.
Tags: apple, glove compartment, healthy snack, protein bar, snack, snack options, string cheese
