Feb. 15: Fast Food, the Clean Way

Sometimes you just have to have food and you need it NOW. Maybe you forgot about piano lessons and you have 15 minutes to eat dinner and get the kids out the door. Maybe you worked late and came home to find a hungry family staring at you expectantly. Whatever the reason, it's important to have meals you can put together ASAP. Make sure you always have the ingredients for some of these items on hand and you will never get stuck going to McNasty's and getting food-like substances in the drive thru again.

Bean Burritos

Whole wheat tortillas or Ezekiel wraps,

a can of vegetarian refried beans (read the ingredients carefully - up here in Canada PC has a delicious fat free one that is clean)

clean salsa and/or chopped pepper, onions, and tomatoes.

Optional: low fat cheese

Smoothie

Plain yogurt

ice

whatever fruit is kicking around

This is our to-go meal for the car if we are in a pinch

Pita Pizzas

I have a big variety of these based on what I have on hand

Whole wheat organic pitas

shredded low fat cheese

~tomato sauce, steamed broccoli, grilled chicken

~clean bbq sauce, grilled chicken, red onion, hot peppers, red peppers

~refried beans, salsa, peppers, onions, cooked ground turkey (optional)

~tomato sauce, cooked chicken sausage, mushrooms, finely chopped spinach

~tomato sauce, ham w/out nitrates, pineapple, peppers

Breakfast for Dinner

Pretty self-explanatory

Nut butter and banana sandwich, glass of milk

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Once you start thinking this way, you will come up with your own fail-safes for "that kind of day". I nearly always have leftovers on hand and it is a simple matter of popping them in the microwave. It's very important to make your fast food substitutes tasty and appealing,though, or you run the risk of "There's nothing GOOD" being the refrain.

Clean Eating - staying on plan is all about prep and creativity!