You’re running out the door in a hurry to drop one child at daycare and another at school before going grocery shopping. Or you’re trying to get to work on time for early meetings after late meetings the night before. Or a combination of these scenarios. Maybe you’ve had time for a quick coffee in the morning, maybe you’ve even managed some breakfast. Maybe lunch is the first opportunity you have to eat anything during the day.
This frantic start to the day is a common denominator among so many of my clients and highlights the importance of a ‘pause’, a deep breathe and a little bit of planning. The reality is, your edge at work or the length of your patience as a mother, rely heavily on the nourishment you give your body.
For some women, packing lunch the night before is 100% doable. I also advocate very strongly for dinner leftovers as lunch for the next day. Either way, I have a simple formula whether you are buying or making your own lunches, to make sure you truly nourish yourself:
1: A big serve of vegetables.
2: A serve of whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, or wholewheat bread.
3: Lean protein such as fish, chicken breast or egg.
My clients will often tell me that they have a salmon sushi roll for lunch and feel fine after that. Whilst sushi can be a great lunch option, a single sushi roll is not going to be enough to get you through the day. That doesn’t mean don’t have it, but choose a brown rice option, and side salad or some edamame and a seaweed salad to go with it. With that simple change, you have added a serve of vegetables, and increased the fibre and nutrient content of your meal, setting yourself up for a stronger afternoon.
