LUNCH TIME

Like I stated in my info I work for a restaurant in the DC area. Although the food is delicious I bring my own lunch/dinner (if I am working late) to stay on track! Being around food all day makes it very hard to steer clear from temptations (french fries are my weakness!)

Some people may hate preparing their meals in advance, but honestly it is a great way to stay on track. I try and pack my meals the night before because for some reason I always tend to rush in the morning. This meal took me no longer than 5 minutes to make and its full of nutritious and healthy food. Just try to slot 15 minutes in your pre-bedtime ritual to prepare your lunch and I promise you won’t regret it!

First I start off with packing my breakfast! Since birth we have had it drilled into our heads that we MUST eat breakfast everyday! I am a very big believer in this concept. However, sometimes I just can't eat first thing in the morning. Therefore, I will pack my breakfast and take it to work with me to eat when I get there.

• Make sure you at least put something in your body when you wake up. I always try drinking a glass of chocolate milk (made with skim milk and sugar free chocolate syrup) which is a great recovery drink after a kick-ass work out*

For a nice simple breakfast I grabbed some Kashi Go Lean cereal. Now I find this cereal a little bland so I try jazzing it up by adding whatever fruit I have in the fridge. Today it was a ½ banana and some blueberries. I also had some left over almonds and thought they would add a great texture to the cereal.

Now it’s lunch time! I had some deli turkey meat in the fridge along with some whole wheat wraps and thought “hmm turkey wrap!” I grabbed a Flat-Out Whole Wheat Tortilla (really low on calories and loads of fiber), some deli turkey, ½ slice of provolone cheese, some romaine lettuce, and some red bell peppers. Then I topped it off with some beautiful red bell peppers and spicy mustard for a nice kick.

Then I added some left over salad I made from the night before. I threw every vegetable and fruit I had in the fridge to make this salad. I used to hate fruit in my salads because I thought it was weird. About a year ago I finally tried it and no I am ADDICTED! In this salad I mixed Organic Mixed Greens and Romaine lettuce. Next I added some asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.

For a dressing I just mix some Olive Oil, Vinegar, Salt and Pepper. You don’t need a lot of dressing because the fruit makes the salad sweet enough. Then for a snack I threw in a Kashi Roasted Almond Granola bar and some Jello Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Pudding. I am an avid believer in not denying your body the food it wants. If you want chocolate, then eat chocolate, just try to remember moderation. If you decide to deprive your body of what it wants you will be regretting it later when you have scarfed down a whole box of Oreo cookies (been there, done that)

And now I am all set for the day!