Crazy Days vs. Good Food

I have an addiction, and it’s an open secret among my friends: I’m addicted to activity. I can’t stand still, I overbook myself, I cram events too tightly into the day. My friends tell me that I have a sickness; I like to think that I’m making the most out of a big full life. Either way, as things speed up in the busy Fall season, I am more and more challenged to eat well. I’m zooming from meeting to meeting, usually running late, and often don’t plan enough time to eat. I also forget to pack a delicious, healthy meal in the morning because, while I’m busy, I’m not always completely organized or realistic about how I’m using my time.

Here are my strategies that enable me to eat (fairly) healthfully while enabling my crippling addiction to activity (seriously, it’s a sickness):

1.  Nuts. I always have almonds in my bag. These save my butt when I’m running in to teach a class and I haven’t eaten. The only down side…that powdery little brown skin sticks to the roof of my mouth and makes me cough for a long time. Note to self: Don’t eat almonds before I have to speak in public!
2. Green Peppers. I core them and throw them into a baggie in my book bag, then eat them like an apple. I try to keep green peppers, little carrots, broccoli, and maybe even lightly grilled zucchini in the fridge all the time so I can throw them into a baggie and take them on a busy day…veggies are the hardest thing to get when you’re in a fast food frenzy, so I do try to stack the deck on this front.
3. Fast food that’s decent. When I actually leave myself 15 minutes to eat, I depend on Jimmy John’s (lettuce wraps, no mayo) or Chipotle (chicken-something in salad format). Both are consistent, and consistently fast. I usually eat half my portion, then save the other half for later. Two mini meals! Mostly gluten-free, to boot. I find Subway is usually tediously slow, and most other fast-food spots don’t have many healthy options.
4. A little Tupperware container of whey protein powder. Especially if I can’t get a real meal after a workout, this can save me from feeling run down. I use a very small container (just big enough for the powder & a little extra room), put the water in, cap it and shake it up, and drink about half of the thick goo – then water the rest down to drink it.
5. Cottage cheese or Greek yoghurt. Either in their own little container, or in a Tupperware. The only down side is if it sits in your bag too terribly long…
6. Apples. They don’t squish in my bag like a banana.

Finally, after a busy day or week of hectic meals on the run, I try to make any ‘sit down meals’ as vegetable based as possible: Chances are good that I’ve skimped on fruits and veggies, and had plenty of meat & dairy. Usually, by this point, the vegetables sound really delicious to me because my body is craving whatever nutrients it’s been missing (or maybe purely out of guilt, a prime motivator in my life.).

Until I deal with my addiction to constant motion and activity, I’ll have to keep finding creative ways to eat well on the run. After all, I can’t get too big for my jeans, I don’t have time to shop for new ones.