What I Ate Wednesday: Week 4 - On-The-Go

I often share with my patients the famous quote, "if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail." 

Yesterday, I knew that because of my busy day, I could have easily "failed."  But instead, I chose not to.  I planned. 

After I woke up yesterday morning, I sat down to breakfast. The deets: Nature's Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise, a sprinkle of chopped walnuts overtop for some plant-based omega-3s, and a good drenching of unsweetened almond milk. Classic coffee with unsweetened almond milk on the side. 

You know, I think it's funny...some people claim that they are not "cereal people." I actually think it's quite strange that we call ourselves "'x' people," like - hey, I eat cereal occasionally, so I must be a "cereal person." Or because I like avocado, I must be an "avocado person."  I've actually had two people call me a "nut girl" because I enjoy and encourage nuts! Are all cereal people the same? Are all avocado people the same? Bread people. Chocolate people. Yogurt people. Red meat people. Fish people. Salad people. Aren't we all just people who happen to enjoy various types of food?

After breakfast, I did some emailing and other work and got ready for the day. I had a busy day ahead and knew that I wouldn't be home until around 8:30 at night, so before I left my house at 10am, I packed a stash of food for the day.  Though I wasn't hungry when I packed my bags, I wanted to be sure I had some good stuff on hand in case hunger struck. I knew it would eventually. 

I headed to Piqua to proctor the final exam for my Basic Nutrition class. I had 12 students in my class this semester and I swear, sometimes I learn just as much from them as what they learn from me! We went beyond "basic" nutrition in so many ways - discussing how life factors like socioeconomic status impact nutrition and talking about food as a way to truly change health status. Throughout the course, several of my students asked, "why isn't nutrition talked about and recommended more often?" That's a question I have, too. Sometimes I swear we service our cars more than we service our own health. 

After class, I headed to my parent's to sit down and enjoy the salad-in-a-jar I'd prepped earlier in the day. From the bottom of the jar to top, Tessemae's Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing, raw broccoli, blackberries, slivered almonds, hemp seeds, and mixed greens. My mom also made some Broccoli Cauliflower soup, so I enjoyed a cup of that, too. 

I took a couple of calls, sent emails, worked on projects, ate a handful of cashews (unpictured), and visited my cousin and her one-week old newborn baby. 

While running errands, it was about 5:30pm and I was hungry. Luckily I planned ahead and had foods on hand, so I parked my car in a parking lot and enjoyed this Stonyfield Greek yogurt with a Coconut Peanut Butter Perfect Bar. The energy in the Perfect Bars is enough for one meal, so this filled me up! Yay for dinner on the go! Yay for planning ahead!

Next on the schedule for the day was a Grocery Store Tour with two of my patients. These ladies are part of a 6-month Transformation program at Innergy Fitness and they are doing a great job of changing their food and exercise habits! We spent almost two hours walking around the grocery store, reading food labels, and pointing out the better-for-you choices. We had so much fun! 

Afterwards, I returned home - about 8:30pm - and noshed on a handful of blackberries, some sprouted grain crackers, and some guacamole. YUM!

I didn't end up eating the banana and almond butter I'd packed, but I'm lucky I had them packed just in case. 

As the quote goes, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I know firsthand how important planning is, not only for my patients, but especially for myself. Planning does not have to take hours -- mine only took 15 minutes in the morning -- but it certainly can be helpful in the quest to eating better.

Will you plan meals or snacks for yourself this week? What will it be? Share it with me in the comments below!