We are all so busy in the holiday season! Running around, shopping, dropping off gifts, visiting family all can lead you to hitting the drive-thrus, having one too many chocolate Santas, and forgetting just where the gym is located. Well, ladies, let me teach you how to have a hectic holiday season and still wear your pre-holiday pants by New Years.
The next few weeks I will feature some holiday blogs and my PNP clients from the forums are helping me by giving you the gift of their best tips. I also invite you to spread the cheer by commenting on your own ideas and questions. Let's make this a season of celebrating and love, not calories and chub.
Drive Thru or Grocery Store
Many people will opt to run by a drive-thru and get food versus running into the grocery store to pick up a pre-cooked dinner. It might take a few extra minutes (maybe not with some drive-thru lines) but you get so much more healthier food than for CHEAP!
A client of mine just recently did this. She was soooo tempted to stop and pick up a bunch of burgers for her family. She's tired and had a long day. Knowing that this would be the easiest thing to do she decided it wouldn't be the thing in two hours she would feel good about. We all know how it goes; what's easy is often the same thing you will re-hash in disgust for the next twelve hours.
Now THAT is some wasted time.
So, she ran into the grocery store. If it was you going into the store, what would you grab that you can put on the table in less than ten minutes? I would grab:
- a rotisserie chicken fully cooked and ready to go
- a bag of mixed lettuces for a salad and some baby carrots bagged to put on top
- a can of veggies (Logan loves green beans, black beans, and corn so one of those)
- a bag of frozen brown rice
- lowfat vanilla yogurt and fresh berry or frozen berries
When I get home I would:
- Throw the brown rice in the microwave.
- Put the canned veggie on stove on medium with a touch of EVOO for a healthy fat.
- Pull off the skin of the chicken and toss and then make a bowl of the meat quickly stripped off the bone.
- Throw the lettuce in bowls and top with carrots and dressing.
- Pull out the rice, mix in 1 tbsp of Smart Beat Butter, a touch of salt, put on plate and top with chicken.
- Put veggie on side.
- Call everyone to eat and while they make their way to the table mix the berries into the yogurt and sit out for dessert. (If the berries are frozen I would nuke for a couple of minutes then mix with yogurt.)
Ummm...this meal is about $15 for everything. You probably have leftovers for your lunch tomorrow. A nice big chicken salad with some black beans or corn would be great!
I can have all of that done in less than 10 minutes and feel good about what I am eating, what my family eats, and know my body will appreciate the effort. :)
So, do you have ideas for drive-thru alternatives OR HEALTHY things to ORDER in the drive-thru? Remember, a lot of items can be made healthy with some creativity.
I am always afraid of the rotisserie chickens at the store. After reading this, I am not anymore!! They look so greasy, but they are "rotisserie" right?? And peeling off the skin makes so much sense. Der! Thanks for the ideas, Corinne!
Posted by: Emily | November 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM
They can be "greasy" but the skin is the worst of it. Dark meat has a little more fat but there is quite a bit of nutrients in dark meat so I wouldn't be afraid of that. If you did want to avoid the higher fat you would just pull some breast meat for yourself. I mix mine, though.
:)
Posted by: Corinne | November 10, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Oh, I love this topic! Thank you for the ideas. :)
My favorite drive through item is from Wendy's. Their Southwest Taco Salad with just the chili and the salad (without the extra packaged junk that they give you along with it) is HUGE and weighs in at 400 cal, 26g carb, 27g protein, and it's gluten free and delicious!
Posted by: Maggie | November 10, 2009 at 02:23 PM