As you know, the center of my wellness world is food. My husband and kids and friends and family are most important to me, but to be present for them and be my best, it all starts with how I fuel my body. Sometimes I get tired of all the food prep and I desperately need a break from the kitchen. My daughter recently remarked “mom, you are always in the kitchen”. And she’s right, I am literally always in the kitchen. Mostly cooking, and when we were living in our rental home last year the only place to put my office…was in the kitchen. While ultra convenient, the kitchen and I needed some space apart sometimes! In our new home I have more distance between my office and the kitchen, but as many homes go…the kitchen still becomes that gathering place for what seems like all the things.
One thing I constantly struggle with is convenience. Natural foods are exploding right now in the convenience category, and have been for the last year. Readily available real food without all the preservatives that you can take on the go, regardless of your lifestyle. You feel me? It is amazing. I do not currently travel much, however I am a busy full-time working mom with kids in activities who also likes to live a social life of her own. I am on-the-go. This means that sometimes I do not have time to neatly cut myself carrot sticks, make a homemade dressing that is gluten & dairy free, package it up into pretty little containers, and fit it all nicely into my lunch bag with an ice pack. No. I need to rip open a box, grab a prepackaged thing, throw it in my purse and get out the door all the while being 5 then 10 then 15 minutes late to where I am going. Sound familiar? Thought so.
Here are my 10 favorite food items that are convenient AND add nutrient density to your everyday. Real food for the win. Many of the choices below are high in protein and are great if you need a little extension between meals but do not want to feel hangry. I get hangry, so I know! You can find these products at Whole Foods or other natural markets, some in grocery stores and also Amazon. Made in Nature is in Costco too!
- Justin’s almond butter packets
- Pacific brand bone broth with ginger
- Clementine oranges
- Lara bars. My favorites are cashew cookie, blueberry, coconut cream and carrot cake. They also make fruit + greens that are really good. Mmmmm.
- Epic bar or trail mix
- RXBAR. My favorites are blueberry and chocolate sea salt.
- That’s It bar
- Made in Nature Figgy Pops
- Made in Nature dried fruit supersnacks
- Roasted Seaweed snack packs – there are many brands of this now. I like the kirkland brand but be cautious as each on-the-go pack has multiple servings and GIMME is also a good choice which you can find in Whole Foods.
Vital Proteins has individual collagen peptide packets that you can throw into a bottle of water or your coffee. Purely Elizabeth grain free granola is a wonderful sweet snack if you have a little time to portion it out into a baggie or travel tupperware.
One other tip I learned, from Danielle Walker of Against All Grain, for those of you who meal prep on the weekends: bake your favorite paleo muffin or cookie, or whatever your dietary preference is. Then you can easily freeze your homemade baked goods in individual portion sizes to grab and go. You don’t quite get the satisfaction of ripping open that box in a flight of gusto as you are leaving your home, BUT, I know I feel such relief when I can take something quickly out of the freezer that will thaw and be ready to eat when I am running errands. Something I made that has good, whole nutrition packed inside.
There is a paleo brand called Paleo Baking Co. that you can find on Amazon that has a wonderful banana muffin mix. Very easy to make, and one tip I have if you do purchase this baking mix…I follow the instructions to heat and mash the banana. I do not measure out the banana, I just use 3 medium to large bananas that are overripe. To save on dishes, I throw all of the ingredients into the same bowl and blend. Works perfectly and I gets lots of compliments on these muffins. Even my kids love them!
Food for thought 🙂 Happy snacking!