This is tough to admit. I came very close to a fast-food run today. It wasn't a craving or a family cry for a fry that almost drove me to the drive-through. It was convenience.
Between appointments and school pick-ups and drop-offs, I barely fulfilled our day's busy agenda. When I picked Patrick up from school, I had only a short window for lunch before we needed to be at the next school pick up and appointment after that. Patrick spent so much time in the car today, he took almost 40 pictures of Jack in his car seat.
I was at a food loss. There was nothing edible in the car either. The burger joint beckoned.
But as I drove, I thought, why waste all this effort, commitment, and enjoyment to blow it on a Big Mac? So, I raced home and fed Jack because he's not a portable eater, at all. Then I made a to-go order for Patrick and me. One of our rules was to avoid eating in the car because it usually includes fast food or another unhealthy choice. Plus, it doesn't encourage slow eating when you're zipping around. But Patrick and I were stuck. We ate PB&J, potato chips, apples and juice boxes. He was happy, and I was sort of, too. It wasn't a optimal, but it wasn't a crown-shaped nugget of chicken parts either.
The rub lies in the convenience, which almost trumped our challenge. What do you do, though, on an average day when home-cooked or fresh isn't a reality? Where do you go? Any ideas? I thought bagels, maybe, but I figured they had one of our "outs" items. I checked the nutritional info at home and a plain bagel at Einstein Bros. Bagels has:
(enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, malt barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, salt, yeast, molasses, wheat gluten, malt barley flour, soy oil, contains less than 2% ascorbic acid, enzyme, L. Cysteine. Processed in a facility which also processes tree nuts), Cornmeal.
Not too bad, but not great. And it has high fructose corn syrup. I almost also went to the grocery store and just grabbed fruit, but we didn't have "time."
What do you do when you didn't plan ahead, but you need to eat quick? I would love ideas!
Menu:
Breakfast: Leftover blueberry muffins, raspberries, yogurt, OJ with fish oil.
Lunch: PB&J, apples, chips and apple juice. Aidan had almost the same thing with some grapes and pretzels.
Breakfast: Leftover blueberry muffins, raspberries, yogurt, OJ with fish oil.
Lunch: PB&J, apples, chips and apple juice. Aidan had almost the same thing with some grapes and pretzels.
Dinners: Grilled burgers, salad with carrots and peppers, strawberries and milk. We also each had one of the six dozen cookies I made for Aidan to take to school for his birthday celebration tomorrow.
Nugget o' the Day: "Oh, Mommy, don't go to Wendy's!" - Patrick.
13 comments:
awesome patrick! you are keeping your mom happy and in the fresh mouth mode. ideas when you are on the go. hmmm. well, you seem to have hummus around quite a bit. are you making that or buying it? if the latter, keep that and rice cakes or ww tortillas around. Alvarado Street Tortillas have 5 ingredients: Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Berries, Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Filtered Water, Unrefined Safflower Oil, Sea Salt. you can just dip them in the hummus! or rice cakes I think you can find with 2-3 ingredients. other toppings: sliced cheese or peanut butter. i think also some nuts and raisins premixed in a jar is easy car food when you need it. next time you get some carrots, wash and cut them in quarters and keep them in a container of water in the fridge. how about peanut butter on celery? i think some kids like it with a few raisins on top! i notice you are having almond butter most of the time. can you find natural peanut butter? whew! you are inspiring. keep it up! love, kim
Peanut butter and jelly is one my favorites! I try to avoid bagels in general as they seem to pack a punch in the Calorie department. I am also a fan of Amy's frozen burritos. :)
When you're forced into takeout, Chick-fil-A isn't too bad an option. The buns don't have HFCS (the only ones I've found in fast food), and the chicken nuggets have no HFCS or trans fats (although a lot more than 5 ingredients, of course). The wraps and salads are pretty OK, too, and they have a fruit cup as a side option. Plus the diet lemonade is amazing!
Eileen, I love your line "family cry for a fry"!
Regarding ideas for quick food - we usually keep craisins, string cheese, and cashews around. Not necessarily for a meal, but for snacks that can sustain you for a while.
caroline
You can make your own granola and keep it in a cupboard. It's plenty of calories, as well as healthy fat and good nutrients. Here's a recipe my mom made that I like: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/taste/easyrecipes/stories/DN-nf_nugranola_0117liv.ART.State.Edition1.3db18cb.html
(We're not from Dallas, and she found the recipe somewhere else, but it looks the same as that one. Not sure of the original source.)
I have run into the grocery at times like these for some nuts, drinkable yogurt & fruit.
Or if you can find a Pizza place that prides itself on good olive oil & a good homemade sauce, Pizza is a better fast food than most. Also, eggs over easy at a diner with whole wheat or rye toast & a side of fruit. My family & I are vegetarians so we are even more limited!
You guys are doing great!
Great suggestions. Pizza and chik-fil-a are good ones. I need to stock my ride, too! Thanks for all the feedback and motivation!
I go to the prepared foods section of the grocery store and get salad by the pound. I don't know how that fits in with your five-ingredient challenge, because it is more than five ingredients but they are not processed - more like going to a restaurant. Anyway, it's fast and portable and very healthy.
Eli - salad is a great option, especially in lieu of my 2 pound!
Lilyhydrangea - drinkable yogurt would be ideal for a 5-year old.
Laura - granola! Tyler Florence made a great one on the foodnetwork this week ...
I love LARABAR for a snack. All have 6 raw ingredients or less and the base is dates and nuts with some other flavors like lemon or apple. They are very easy to take anywhere.
First of all, just wanted to say that during our last grocery shopping trip I kept talking about your blog so much I started to annoy my husband. :) Thanks for the inspiration!
We both work long hours in the Philadelphia area, and we've found that in a pinch, tiny little 'ethnic' hole-in-the-wall joints are almost always better than fast food. When we're in that space, we stop at a local tacqueria for fresh chorizo tacos, or at the Chinese noodle shop that makes fresh handmade noodles in the back. This sort of thing varies from place to place, of course, but there's almost always something if you look hard enough. Avoid 'American Chinese' takeouts, but Chinatowns are full of fresh food. Barbecue joints can be a good option too: high-fat, but most people take pride in cooking barbecue from scratch. You may have to do a little research, but once you've found three or four good places in your area, you'll be able to lean on them when you need a good alternative!
Sarah - you should totally go on Fresh Mouth. Try it and share your experience!
I usually keep fruit and nut trail mix as my Emergency Food. More than 5 ingredients, but most of the more than 5 is that there's more than 5 kinds of fruit and nuts. It's got a reasonably meal shaped mix of carbohydrate, fat and protein, and (important for me since I bike everywhere) a decent slug of electrolytes.
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