Author: Emily

Lately I’ve been making a concerted effort to eat more regularly throughout the day. Prior to the last couple of weeks, I rarely ate breakfast. Well, unless you consider black coffee and Diet Coke breakfast, in which case I had it every day! So, I’ve been taking peanut butter toast and a banana with me in the car in the morning, which is working out well.

However, there’s another big food question mark in the middle of my day – lunch. I rarely plan ahead for lunch, which means I either grab something quick (and expensive and not so healthy), or I scavenge something to eat out of my desk drawer, and then find myself ravenous when I get home. I think that’s a common problem for working moms and stay-at-home moms alike. Jenny has posted before about how her lunch sometimes consists of Mountain Dew and a hunk of cheese. I guess it’s another symptom of putting ourselves last! But it’s time for a change.

I thought I’d brainstorm and see what ideas I could come up with for easy, quick, yet affordable and nutritious lunches. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
— Leftovers – provided a) I cook the night before, b) there’s anything left, and c) I can remember to take it with me in the morning.
— Soup – there’s nothing appealing to me about breaking out a can of soup at lunch time, but there have been times that I’ve had my act together and have frozen portions of homemade soup (made by my grandma, not so much by me) to take with me. That actually works out pretty well. I also saw a thing on pinterest that suggested freezing soup in muffin tins, so you essentially have a soup ice cube.
— Frozen meals – honestly, having a stash of microwavable meals at work is probably the only way for me to make sure I stay out of the it’s-noon-and-I-need-food-but-I-don’t-have-any frenzy. However, I used to try to stay away from them because I don’t like the idea of fake food and preservative (unless those things are in Oreo form. Then I’m totally behind them).

Enter: the answer to this quandary – Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Cafe Steamers. TheMotherhood.com asked me to try them out and write a post about them, but truth be told, I had already discovered them. Basically, the meals come with the sauce separate from the meat and vegetables, and they steam to cook. They come in eight different varieties, including Barbeque Seasoned Steak with Red Potatoes, Chicken Fresca with Chardonnay, and Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo. They are also budget-friendly – they cost between $2.75 and $3.50.

I’m going to keep a few of these in the freezer at work, and on days when I don’t have it together enough to have packed something, I’ll have them ready as an alternative to fast food.

Do you struggle with feeding yourself during the day? What are some strategies you’ve found to fit eating into your schedule?

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This post was sponsored by Healthy Choice through The Motherhood. For more info, check out their website, facebook page or follow them on .