Alarm goes off, peel open your eyes, shower, brush teeth, run out the door, no time to think about food…on the road, seeing clients, in work meetings, scarf down whatever is closest to hands and edible, more meetings, meet work deadlines…drive in traffic, finally get home…starving!

I feel like this describes a typical work day for many hard-working individuals. There are thousands of health, nutrition and diet books currently out and available to the public with elaborate recipes etc. loaded in them – but when it comes down to game time and by that I mean meal time, the main thing people (including myself)are looking for is convenience.

Today I want to elaborate on one of Rachel’s awesome blog posts on making time for healthy eating and wipe away excuses for not being able to get in meals throughout the day because there is no time for them, today we shall discuss some meal and snack plans that take just a few minutes of preparation the night before to have ready for your busy day! Here are the quickest breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner options I have found that work best for the masses. Let me know what you think, and please feel free to add more suggestions!

Breakfast:
-Greek yogurt and a banana
-Minute oatmeal (original, not flavored options loaded with sugars) made with nonfat milk and frozen berries
-Slice of whole grain bread with almond butter and a mini apple
-Smoothie made in a minute by blending together frozen strawberries, almond/soy/nonfat milk and 1/2 frozen banana

Lunch:
-Low sodium albacore white tuna in water packs from StarKist with orowheat sandwich thin and any of the pre-prepared veggie options from snack list
-Trader Joe’s egg white salads on mixed greens with akmak crackers
-Hummus with mini pita breads, carrots, tomatoes and persian cucumbers
-Low sodium boxed vegetable soup with turkey on slice of Ezekiel bread

Snack:
-String cheese
-Any fruit
-Mini carrots
-Sugar snap peas
-Persian cucumbers
-Hard-boiled egg (Trader Joe’s sells bagged ready to go eggs)
-Pre-packed almonds or walnuts in 1/4 cup servings

Dinner:
-Stir-fry of any vegetables in fridge or frozen and pre-cooked shrimp with microwavable brown rice
-Fajitas with pre-sliced bell peppers, onions, zucchini, and chicken on top of corn tortillas with shredded skim mozzarella
-Mix together any mixture of pre-sliced and washed vegetables plus canned salmon or tuna for a dinner salad option with 1/4 of Trader Joe’s multigrain pilaf mixed in

Hope these help make your life a little easier and more delicious! See you all on the blog next week!

Jessica Hummel, Nutrition Counselor at Malibu Resort