If you’re anything like me, even on your laziest days it feels like the world doesn’t stop moving. And when the days get dizzy, adequate nutrition is usually the first thing that falls by the wayside. If you’re finding it hard to stop the crazy train long enough to fuel yourself properly, here are three quick things you might try:
1) Feed your sweet tooth at breakfast. Many of us grew up with something a little bit sweet at breakfast. Whether it’s sugar in the coffee, standard-issue breakfast cereal, or a little jam on your bagel, that old hankering is hard-wired, and some mornings can feel like a choice between the doughnut or the drive-thru coffee. We’re trying to do the right thing on our way from this appointment to that, but all too often that means we’re underfueled if overaccomplished.
Finding a healthy go-to breakfast with a little sweetness can be a true game-changer. I love Diane’s Asian Meatballs at Balanced Bites; yes, this requires a rather more liberal definition of breakfast, but I love making a batch of these for dinner and eating two or three of the leftovers for breakfast the next morning–the coconut aminos add just the right amount of sweetness to the dish, and they’re small enough to make quick work of before you begin your day.
2) What’s Your Add-In? We all have three or four things we’re good at making in a pinch. They’re serviceable meals, they don’t take a ton of prep time, and it’d make our lives easier if we just got better at eating them more often. Tuna salad, turkey wraps or sandwiches, chicken soup we make in the crockpot, things like that. The thing is…they’re a little bit boring. We’re used to them, they don’t have a ton of bite, and we’re not super psyched about how awesome our lunch is going to be having that tuna salad for the five hundredth time in our adult lives.
Enter the add-in. I love having two or three things on hand that I know will get me at least a little bit more excited to get that turkey wrap down. Avocado slices, a little bacon, a decent hot sauce or forkful of kimchi: these are my add-ins and more often than not will do the trick.
3) One Thing at Night. I have grown to love my nighttime cup of tea. All the stuff that helps me relax…I throw it in there. A little melatonin, Natural Calm magnesium, and my Vitamin D on top of that good old Sleepytime Extra. Tastes great and winds me down.
Here’s an extra secret. I have 10-15 minutes of built-in prep time there. Five minutes while the water boils, five minutes while the tea steeps, and another handful while it cools down enough to start sipping. I may not finish War and Peace while I wait, but I can easily chop some cucumbers and celery for the next morning’s smoothie. I’m not perfect with this, but I try to locate and do one thing at night that sets me up better for the next day, and tea time is perfect for finding those few minutes to get that done.
If this resonates with you and especially if you have tricks of your own, we’d love to hear from you? How can we make busy a little less hungry?
