EATING HEALTHY ON THE RUN!

Some of the best laid healthy eating plans can be thrown off course just simply from passing the good old golden arches at a time when your hunger pains are screaming out to eat anything in sight. Drive-throughs were once my friend, a quick and easy meal or snack on the run or something to use as a bargaining tool to quieten the kiddies down when on the road. The biggest problem with places like Maccas, KFC, Red Rooster and the likes are they make it TOO easy to stop and grab a quick fix.

Once you start crossing off the drive-through off your list of go-to places for dinner or a munch on the run you start asking yourself, where else could I stop and grab something quickly that will satisfy me for a bit? Instantly you're getting yourself out of what I think of as the 'danger zone' and into places you can make far healthier choices from. I use drive-through now on a very rare occasion and find the less I eat of those foods the less I feel I want or need them. Once you break the habit it's easier not to see it as a temptation, that goes the same for all unhealthy foods!

Here are a list of some of your other options you could make if you find yourself desperate to grab lunch, dinner or a snack on the run:

• First, it goes without saying taking a piece of fruit or a little container of dried fruit and raw nuts is a really smart choice. Pop into your handbag or car console and it's there when you need it.
• Stopping at a fuel station these days doesn't have to be a bad choice but beware there are temptations everywhere. Go in with the mindset that you are going to buy a piece of fruit, a yoghurt, a packet of rice crackers or even an Up and Go drink and forget the lollies and ice-creams calling out your name.
• Sushi can be a really healthy and filling option. Try the tuna, salmon, avocado or skin-free chicken rolls as a healthier choice but even 1 or 2 of the others is a far better choice than a big mac or nuggets!
• Subway are a good choice but if you are gluten free or low gluten most people don't seem to know that you can get a salad made to your liking in a decent sized bowl. Adding in some skin-free chicken or lean ham and asking for only a dash of dressing (or none at all) will add flavour and fill you up for at least a good couple of hours.
• Stopping by a BOOST to grab a low fat smoothie or fruit/vegie blend juice is a great way of adding to your fruit/vegie daily requirement whilst keeping you going til lunch or dinner.
• Sumo Salad have some amazing lunch options and there seems to be a growing number of them in many Food courts these days. They not only have salad, but you can also grab a healthy pasta dish packed with vegies, fruit salad and yoghurt, even mini bread rolls filled with healthy choices.
• Stopping into your greengrocers for some grapes, cherry tomatoes, apples, etc to snack on can be a great choice for not only yourself but also your kids if you have them. We often take a lunch box with us filled with fruit for a snack on the go.
• If you're in the mood for some chinese look no further than some of the soups. Chicken and sweetcorn soup is very filling, not to mention nutritious. It's also cheap and is also usually ready to go quite quickly.
• Japanese usually has a number of healthy options that won't break the bank either. Things like rice-paper rolls and sashimi can be nutrient packed, tasty and easy to eat on the run!

At the end of the day fast food places can be handy and have their place in our lives, it just doesn't have to be as prominent as what they are today. What's wrong with just using it as an infrequent visit coming home late from a christmas party or an easy stop whilst on holiday or a long roadtrip? Believe me I know it's not always easy removing the drive-through from your normal routine each week, heck I live one street from Maccas, but the sooner you remove it from your eating options the sooner you'll get your healthy eating back on track!