Eating on the Run
Ruby reds and emerald greens so luscious and so enticing that they seem to dance upon rays of light. The colors burst forth with a brilliance that invites you to not only devour their beauty, but to pause for a moment in order to fully “digest” the experience.
This performance is really rather basic, but of the utmost importance in your career. The jewels of every day are not always on the stage. Sometimes they are on your plate in the form of fruits and vegetables and other nutritious delights.
You may ask: “When do I have time to even shop for fresh fruits and veggies, much less prepare them? And how do I prepare them so that they are portable for my studio life?”
Never fear, healthy eating help is here.
You can make healthy and nutritious eating a part of your life every single day. After all, you are talented. You help to make stars out of little glimmers of hope. You can certainly sashay forth with good and healthy food.
Those ruby reds and emerald greens are just fruits and vegetables. Add some healthy whole grains and lean protein; you will feel fabulous and look even better than you already do. Make good food and good eating part of your every day life schedule. If need be, write it into your planner.
Now just embrace this new dance. It will be, um…a piece of cake! (And yes, you can occasionally eat cake. If you focus most of the time on lean protein, whole grains and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables you will have calories to spare for cake.)
“Moderation and a little planning are key,” says Renee Foggia, co-owner and chef at CafÈ Bliss, Ocean, NJ. She emphasizes the concept that good nutrition does not have to be time consuming. “Hard boiled eggs are protein-packed and keep for a week,” says Foggia. Now how hard is that?
Foggia does recommend organic whenever possible, especially when it comes to eggs. In the non-organic variety, every not-so-nice thing that a chicken is fed ends up in the egg. We are talking about hormones and antibiotics—things you really don’t want to be chowing down on. So, buy organic eggs and eat up. Eat them all by themselves or add them to salads.
Speaking of salads, try thinking outside the bowl when preparing your dish. Foggia advises that you eat your greens, but that does not always have to mean lettuce.
“Water based vegetables, such as carrots, celery, peppers, in all their vibrant colors, can be cleaned and kept in a container of water in your refrigerator for three days,” says Foggia.
Now all you have to do in the morning is pluck a few out of the water, pat dry, add some lean protein, like those hard boiled eggs or maybe turkey, beans or nuts and seeds and you are ready to roll. Keep your salad dressing in a separate container to avoid a mushy, overly saturated mess. Besides, on the side usual means less calories, as you dip into it rather than it pour all over the salad.
Are you feeling the creative juices flow? Try grilling vegetables and fish the night before and add them to your salad. Or, try some cottage cheese or hummus on the side.
Hummus is a great option for a meal or snack. Spread it on whole grain pita bread or pita chips and you have an easy and delicious portable meal.
You can also make a citrus vinaigrette fruit salad that is great tasting and great for you. Combine a little olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste) and pour over oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lemons or limes. This is one of Foggia’s favorites. “The citrus acts as the vinegar and the combination of seasonings is a perfect compliment for the fruit.”
Oranges, bananas, pears and apples are easy to throw in your dance bag. But, they can get boring, so opt for making fruit salad once in a while. Go for seasonal melons, berries and grapes that can be prepared ahead of time and should last in your fridge for several days.
Fruit is a great on-the-run food. Utilize the seasons to get the most bang for your nutritional buck and try to buy locally grown whenever possible. Remember, when it comes to perishable food such as fruit and vegetables, if it is trucked across the country it isn’t really fresh and most likely was sprayed with something unmentionable so that it could make the long journey.
Yogurt is a no brainer. Foggia recommends adding nuts, seeds, fruit or coconut for a bit more zip. Granola makes a great addition to yogurt or you can eat it on its own for a healthy crunchy snack. Just throw some in a sandwich bag and go!
Granola can also provide a super delicious base for making your own trail mix. Add some raisins or other dried fruit, coconut, and sunflower or sesame seeds and you have a nutritious and inexpensive trail mix that will keep for weeks in an airtight container in your fridge.
Nuts are an easy, on-the-go food. Try almonds and pecans but remember to get unsalted to avoid retaining water.
Of course, when you’re on the run, what is better than peanut butter? Forgo the traditional sandwich and opt instead to spread your organic peanut butter on rice cakes.
Cooked grains travel quite well. Check out all the different and interesting varieties of rice. Darker blends tend to be more flavorful or you can spice up your basmati with pignolia nuts, cardamom and curry seasoning.
Nothing beats beans and rice for great fiber and plenty of energy-packed protein. Always keep a stock of canned beans at home. Opt for organic and do look for the no salt or low salt to minimize bloating. Cook a pot of rice big enough to last for several days and then just pack the beans in a side container to be added whenever.
If simple and sweet suits your rice needs, try adding nuts and dried fruits when you are ready to eat and you have a perfectly delicious meal. Also, millet and couscous are both fabulously yummy and nutrient dense grains that cook quickly and keep well for days in your refrigerator.
Occasionally, you can get away with skipping the organic varieties of products, but be aware and be wise when deciding. If you are what you eat, so is your food. Consider the source. A few basic rules: all dairy should be organic or labeled with “no hormones, no antibiotics.” Fruits and vegetables with a removable skin (think protective coating) like bananas or oranges are suitable in not-organic form. Vegetables you can peel fall into a tricky category. Because the peel is good for us and many valuable nutrients lie right beneath the peel, it is better not to peel. As such, organic is the way to go. If in doubt, scrub the skin well.
Yes, your life schedule is packed. But, the same advice you would give your budding stars should apply to your nutrition: work within the limitations your situation presents, and most of all, have fun!
Planning is key to making good eating happen every day in your life. You can do it. After all, this is the really big performance. This is your life.