First I want to say – I hear you. There are healthy restaurants popping up all over the Bay Area. I am grateful for the places like Whole Foods takeout, Café Gratitude, Urban Market takeout, Herbivore and others. If you are lucky enough to pass by, work or live near any of these places, and have the budget to eat there, I say go for it from time to time. It’s a great way to supplement healthy home cooking.
But most of us are left to what eat at the local burrito, Indian or Thai restaurant. Those are good choices but after your 7th burrito of the week you may need some other options.
Below are some thoughts I have to help the YOGI ON THE GO…
BE PREPARED
Why? Well skipping breakfast, skipping lunch or skipping dinner you run the chance of low blood sugar.
How to get prepared?
Invest in supplies: I find that people buy “gear” to support their hobbies or physical activities. Buying the “right gear” to support “on the go eating” will make the entire experience much more enjoyable.
Buy a “lunch box”- No one wants to eat food that has been smushed at the bottom of their backpack. I know its something extra to carry but you will feel grateful when you want something to eat and there it is fresh, yummy and still in one piece.
Buy a thermos- One of the biggest things I hear is “but I want something warm”. No problem, thermos’ these days come in all shapes and sizes. You can put soup, rice, beans, greens, or even roasted veggies and have it be warm hours later.
Check out TO GO WARE- We actually sell it at Yoga Tree. A former teacher at Yoga Tree, Stephanie Bernstein, started this company with people like you in mind. http://www.to-goware.com/index.html
IDEAS:
Grain salads: They are easy. You can make extra the night before. Grains usually last for about 3 days. Mix them with a variety of vegetables, nuts, or proteins. The ones that travel best are quinoa, wheat or spelt berries, long grain brown rice and barley. And another thing you can do with grains is wrap it up in nori with some delicious fixings inside. That’s right, make your own sushi.
Healthy sandwiches: Tempeh, tofu, hummus, babagounoush, bean spreads are great sandwich stuffers for vegetarians. And if you eat meat you can get a variety of antibiotic free, free range or organic meats. Better yet grass fed! Try organic turkey or bean spread rollups in tortillas or wrap it in a collard green with grated veggies. Use sprouted breads, avocados, cheese and lots of veggies!
Eggs on the go: OK here’s my trick with eggs. Buy a ½ dozen, boil them to make them hard boiled eggs and put them back in the carton labeled hard boiled eggs. In a rush, no problem. Just grab an egg and eat it later. It’s great for a quick breakfast, snack or mash it up and make an egg sandwich.
Sunday cooking: Make that big batch of turkey or tempeh chili, homemade minestrone soup or any other bean or vegetable soup. Freeze it. The trick is to freeze it in pint size containers that way it’s the perfect “single” amount. You can pull it out before you go to bed to defrost, heat it up in the morning, throw it in your thermos and you know on a windy, foggy SF day you will be warmed up with your own healthy nourishing food. YUM!
Noodles: Cold noodle salads are great!
Salads: Get pre-washed organic mix green salad. Pre-toasted nuts or seeds. Buy a grater and you can grate that carrot, daikon, zucchini, beet or cabbage really fast! Add some pre-made tofu or chicken and toss it up. That’s a great lunch.
I think this list will keep you busy for awhile. If you need some more inspiration or instructions on how to make some of these recipes give me a shout. I’d love to know!
Chow for now,
Darshana
Darshana Weill is a Food Freedom Coach and yoga teacher. She founded Break the Binge Cycle- 21 days to taking control of food without feeling deprived and the KISS COMPUSLIVE EATING GOODBYE-5 months to Food Freedom Program. Her coaching and programs teach women to use consciousness in their relationship to food. She works with individuals and groups. She also teaches a variety of health related workshops around the Bay Area, Santa Cruz and nationally.
WORKSHOPS DARSHANA TEACHES AT THE YOGA TREE
Cleanse and Renew; A 3- week springtime cleanse- The Yoga of Food: How is life feeding you?Nutrition 101, Sugar can be Medicine, Women’s Wellness: Treat PMS Naturally, To Be or Not To Be a Vegetarian and Yoga and Food For Emotional Eating.
To find out more about Darshana’s program
FINDING FOOD FREEDOM
Check out www.darshanaweill.com or
www.findfoodfreedom.com/5months
To contact Darshana directly call 510-423-0603 or email her at darshana@darshanaweill.com
Want more recipes? Check out Darshana’s 50 quick and easy recipes Ecookbook: http://darshanaweill.com/page/cookbook-1
Hi, Its Darshana- who wrote this blog . I just received an email from a reader and I wanted to clear up something that I did not intend to imply.
When I wrote.
“But most of us are left to what eat at the local burrito, Indian or Thai restaurant. Those are good choices but after your 7th burrito of the week you may need some other options.’
I did not mean to offend Mexican, Indian or Thai restaurants or food.
I often eat them and enjoy them and know I can eat them on a budget as well. Many ethnic restaurants use high quality food and cook with care and love.
What I meant is there is a gift and a health benefit to learning to cook your own food.
My life changed and the 100′s of clients I have coached lives changed when they learned the value of home cooked food.
Its a balance.
I hope this makes sense.
And please always feel free to write me a personal email.