Help

skermit23

I am a busy, busy, busy person. I am sure most of you are as well. I am a full time mom, I work full time as a LVT ( licensed vet tech) and also a college student. I admit I skip breakfast because it seems like I have no time for it. Then, lunch time comes and I want to eat everything in site. I am looking for some ideas on what I could possible eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Any ideas at this time would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

skermit23

I am a busy, busy, busy person. I am sure most of you are as well. I am a full time mom, I work full time as a LVT ( licensed vet tech) and also a college student. I admit I skip breakfast because it seems like I have no time for it. Then, lunch time comes and I want to eat everything in site. I am looking for some ideas on what I could possible eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Any ideas at this time would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

northernmama705

Hi Skermit,

I can relate. I did this often prior to "the change" and now I would never skip breakfast again.

Here are some ideas for those RUSHED mornings. I know how you feel because I also work full-time with two kids and a husband that travels sometimes up to 3 weeks of the month. I have to get two kids to the sitter for 7:30 and juggling is hard but a must. Often in the a.m I make a smoothie with either 1/2 c milk or juice, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1/2 a frozen banana and some protein powder. THe protein powder is KEY to making it a healthy breakfast. I put it in a thermal travel mug with a straw. A perfect breakie on the go! I keep Fiber One bars, almonds etc in my desk for snacks.

I also cook a whole pound of turkey bacon on a Sunday and freeze it. THis way it only take 20 sec. in the microwave to cook. THe kids like it straight out of the freezer....I hard boil and peel eggs on Sunday as well so they are in the fridge ready to eat. This is all stuff you can eat in the car too, along with an apple or pear.

As far as lunch goes, I was very bad here too!! I used to go to work with no lunch and think, "I will run out and get a salad at lunch". Well, most days I would get too busy to "pop out" and not eat until later. One day it hit me. I would never send my 6 year old to school with no lunch, so how dare I do it to her mother??? I have been faithfully packing a lunch now and I am always starving for snack at 10:00. I think this is because my body trusts me now that I will feed it.

I make my lunches the night before. To make it easy, on SUndays I do the following:
-Prepare a salad for the week (chopped peppers, cucumber, broc., snap peas etc with romaine) I add the tomatoes on the day of.
-Each night I cook and extra piece of salmon or chicken to put on my salad the next day, or add some chick peas, tuna or canned salmon for protein.
-When I get sick of tossed salad I use a can of lentils, tomato, cucumber, parsley, red onion and feta. Yummy!

-On Sundays I wash all my fruit. I take the grapes off the vine and wash them so they are ready and simply pop some in a zippie each day for lunch
-Wash and cut peppers and put them in a tupperware so I can pop some in a zippie

It takes about an hour and a half on SUndays but I enjoy it. I put on my iPod and it makes the week much smoother.

Hope this helps! Does anyone else have any speedy tips to add to my repetoire?

Thrust

Can you prepare your breakfast in advance (i.e., night before)? My wife, who also has an incredibly busy schedule, will usually cook 7-8 eggs the night before for her breakfast. This provides her with a lot more time in the mornings as well as allowing her to eat clean day-in/day-out. Otherwise, you can always toss some egg beaters in a bowl along with a strip or two of pre-cooked bacon and some cheese and microwave. I've done this on occasion and it works well. Be careful, however, becuase the egg beaters will overflow the top of the bowl in short order. For lunch I've found the "tuna creations" by Starkist along with some almonds to be a nice lunch. For a quick dinner, nothing beats some steamed brocolli (or salad if you prepare in advance) along with some lean beef, chicken, or fish. I can usually prepare a meal for dinner in under 30 mins. For even less preparation time, my wife and I will sometimes roast a turkey on Sunday afternoon and use it for meals throughout the week.

2day4ever

I love all the tips from NorthernMama! I do much of the same. I use Sundays to prep for the week b/c otherwise I start to make poor choices when I'm overwhelmed. While I'm chopping veggies and washing fruits, I also throw easy stuff into the crockpot.

One of my favorite crockpot meals is rotisserie chicken meat (rel. cheap at Costco), two jars of salsa, three cans of chicken broth (or one box of organic chicken broth which I prefer). Then I have a meal that I can either eat as a stew or over pasta/rice for variety.

I always keep almonds stashed in all of my go-to places: the glove compartment, my desk.

Sometimes I have to eat breakfast in the car. When that happens, I do what I did when the kids were younger: make everything bite-size and easy to swallow. I'm not big on nutrition bars but, if I have to, I will grab one.

Like you, I used to skip breakfast but after joining MFP, I ALWAYS eat breakfast. I definitely feel better and I do believe it kicks my metabolism up a notch or two. My very favorite breakfast is a mango with an english muffin (spread: Weight Watchers individual cream cheese in 1 oz containers). When I have time I make a smoothie like NorthernMama. I use low-fat/fat-free yogurt, a splash of juice, fruit, ice and it is ready to go in a travel cup.

Like Thrust also mentioned: eggs are great to make the night before and then warm up (I do that for the kids, too).

Good luck! I think the take home piece of MFP is that it is all about making a commitment to doing something for your health. It sounds like you're doing great things for your mind: work and kids and school but your body has to have fuel to do all that you do!!!!

skermit23

very helpful! Thank you all so much.