26 March 2013 ,03:24 3 tips for healthier eating when travelling
It's often hard to eat well when you're on the road, particularly if you're travelling for business and have little time or opportunity to seek out good food. Here are some ideas for healthier eating when travelling.
 
 

1. Self cater where possible

 
No matter where you're staying it's often possible to do some kind of self-catering and the more you organise your own food, the more healthy it's likely to be.
 
  • Take a bag of muesli with you and store some milk and yoghurt in the hotel fridge, to ensure a healthy breakfast.
     
  • Rather than eating dinner in a restaurant every night, try picking up a bag of mixed leaves, a tub of cherry tomatoes, an avocado, a small tin of fish, and a lemon. From this you can make a simple salad, which you can then pair with a crispy bread roll and some fresh fruit for a light, instant meal.
     
  • Jules from Stonesoup has two ways of making a salad on the road.
 

2. Pack healthy snacks

 
While it might be possible to pick healthy options at meals, sometimes it's the in-between snack options which ruin the balance, so try to take some good snacks with you.
 
  • Roasted almonds, dried fruit, a box of muesli bars, none of these will take up much space in your suitcase, but they're all healthy, low GI and filling snacks.
     
  • If you have time before leaving then you could make and pack some quinoa patties, cottage cheese muffins or banana and oatmeal cookies. Each of these can double as both snacks and breakfast.
 

3. Start your day with a balanced breakfast

 
Starting the morning with a good breakfast will set you up for the rest of the day. Just because you're travelling doesn't mean you have to pig out on a big fry-up every day, or skip breakfast.
 
  • Have some muesli and yoghurt in your room.
     
  • Pick carefully from hotel and cafe menus.
     
  • Choose poached eggs with a side of grilled tomatoes and spinach or avocado and tomato on wholegrain toast.
 

How do you eat well when travelling?

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09 March 2013 ,08:27 15 foods to eat when you don't have time for a lunch break
Last week I wrote about tips for eating well when you don't have time for a lunch break. I suggested buying portable, no preparation foods which are high in nutrients. The kinds of foods you can eat with your fingers, or minimal cutlery and which only take a few mouthfuls. However, in order to also eat well, they need to be good foods and as I mentioned it's best to aim for a variety of foods covering each of the food groups.

If that sounds like an impossible list of criteria, then here are my suggestions.
 
 

Nutrient rich, easy to eat foods

 
  1. Dried apricots and figs
     
  2. Nuts, like almonds and cashews
     
  3. Tubs of yoghurt
     
  4. Cherry tomatoes
     
  5. Sticks of cucumber or carrot
     
  6. Wholegrain crackers
     
  7. Small tins of tuna, salmon or sardines
     
  8. Cubes of cheese
     
  9. Make some muffins, for example mini versions of these Carrot & Ginger Muffins
     
  10. Bananas, apples, mandarins and other easy to eat fresh fruit
     
  11. Packs of tinned fruits
     
  12. Boiled eggs
     
  13. Small tins of baked beans
     
  14. Strips of pan fried tofu
     
  15. Small Banana & Oatmeal cookies
 

What foods do you take to work?

09 March 2013 ,07:56 5 tips for eating well when you don't have time for a lunch break
I recently worked with a client who had a busy job. She was in a service industry, the place was understaffed, she was rushed off her feet all day and found she barely had time to eat. She lived on coffee, the occasional biscuit and the high fat, high sugar food available from the vending machine.

While she knew this wasn't ideal, the situation wasn't going to change in the short term. Knowing better food would help her energy levels, mood and general health, she wanted help.

For some people work can be so busy it doesn't leave space for the kind of optimal eating nutritionists usually talk about. While this isn't ideal and I could lecture clients on work-life balance, saying no and putting themselves first, sometimes that isn't helpful. Sometimes, in the short term, you just need strategies to improve the current situation

If this is you, then forget the standard daily structure of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with snacks in between and instead try to eat small amounts of good quality food, at regular intervals. This may prove an easier way to fit food in, between clients and other work, while also providing you with good quality nutrition.
 

My 5 tips for eating well when you don't have a lunch break:

 
  • Get yourself a small cooler bag or a large lunch box, so you can take everything with you to work. You can't rely on good food being accessible while you're at work, so you need to take it with you.
     
  • Make a list of portable, no-prep foods, which you like and are easy to eat. Buy these foods during your weekly shop.
     
  • Aim for a variety of foods. While crackers are easy to eat, it's not wise to just eat them all day. So aim to buy foods from different food groups, including vegetables. By varying your sources you'll be improving the way you eat.
     
  • Each evening, pack your lunch box with a selection of portable foods.
     
  • During the day try to eat something from your food supply every few hours.

Eating well when you're time poor is tricky, especially if there's little space in your day. However, it's not impossible. By changing the way you approach your meals and sticking with easy-to-eat foods which are high in nutrients, you'll be taking better care of yourself.

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20 September 2011 ,00:26 Easy work lunchbox ideas
Taking lunch to work, even if it's only a couple of times a week, is a great strategy for your wallet.  
 
However, in the morning and weekly rush you can end up taking the same old things over and over and over again. Which gets a bit tedious.  
 
If it's time to re-vamp your lunchbox meals for spring here are some healthy options:
 

1. Spinach and feta pie: 

 
I love Greek-style spinach and feta pie.  It's easy to make and quite delicious.  You can make a pie on the weekend, cut it into serves and then freeze. Then pack a piece for lunch, together with a big salad and a wedge of lemon. It makes a delicious and nutritious meal. While you can reheat the pie in a microwave, the pastry does tend to go a bit soggy. Usually I'm happy to eat it cold, with the salad on the side and fresh lemon juice squeezed over the top.
 

2. Wholegrain salads

 
Wholegrain salads are perfect lunch box fodder. They can be delicious, healthy and filling. Plus it's possible to make a version which keeps for a couple of days in the fridge - so from one lot of work you get a couple of meals.  The trick with wholegrain salads is to make sure there's plenty of flavour, plus plenty of vegetables - you don't want your salad to be just boring tasting grain.  
 
I love the ideas in this post from Nourish Me. There are a whole lot of different suggestions, plus two full recipes. The brown rice salad is particularly good. If I'm making this one for lunch I add a couple of large handfuls of leafy greens like baby English spinach or rocket, just to bump up the vegetable slightly.
 

3. Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

 
This Chicken Soba Noodle Salad also makes an excellent lunchbox meal.It's filling, tasty and, if you've done a bit of prep work, only takes a few minutes in the morning to put together. I often make this with strips of grilled tofu, instead of the chicken and top with cashew nuts when I've run out of sesame seeds.  
 
The trick is to have the vegetables and chicken or tofu ready to go. I've found you can chop a couple of days worth of vegetables in one session, place in a resealable plastic bag and store in the fridge.
 
In the morning I put the noodles on to cook while I have a shower and then toss the lot together in a plastic container. I often tuck in a wedge of lime, to squeeze over just before I eat. Some... Read More...

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A blog about food, healthy eating, seasonal ingredients and how to eat well in a busy life.

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