Fast Food That is Actually Food

Congratulations to the winner of Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts. She is Eve M. Send your home address to me at [email protected] so we can get you this fabulous book!

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In a hurry?

Need to grab some food fast?

Does that often translate into fast food? You know, the heart-clogging, full of salt, sugar, saturated fat and many chemical ingredients you need a doctorate in English to pronounce?

On those days when you must grab something in a hurry, to what can you turn?

Here are my top five. Will you add yours in the comments?

~A Granny Smith apple, sliced and topped with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.

~ Cut up red, orange or yellow sweet peppers dipped in hummus. (Keep a baggy of the veggies ready in the fridge)

~ A Larabar bar. My favs? Key Lime, Lemon or cherry pie. (They are gluten free)

~ Some nitrate-free deli ham slices wrapped around a piece of string cheese.

~ 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt with a handful of raspberries, blackberries or blueberries tossed in along with a sprinkle of Stevia and a tablespoon of ground flax seed. (Sounds healthy & awful. Tastes WONDERFUL!!!) I keep berries in the freezer at all times.

Now, your turn! What is a food you like to grab fast….. that is actually food?

And, how was your week?

24 Comments

  1. Oh my, Judy C and I eat the same snacks, how funny! I also like to get healthy crackers, or 1 slice of healthy bread, or 1/2 a sandwich thin, toast it, put some non fat cottage cheese and then top with roasted red peppers and cilantro! I also take frozen raspberries and let them defrost in a bowl all day and top with vanilla yogurt, it really tastes like a dessert with all that mushy raspberry sauce, If you have extra points or calories, throw in some sliced almonds.

  2. My favourtie snack is a banana wrapped in a slice of wholegrain fruit bread. Easy, filling and a great post-exercise re-fuelling.

  3. I love all the ideas! My current favorites are: cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, and celery sprinkled lightly with the salt and pepper mill grinders from trader joes…sometimes with hummus (the salt and pepper makes it so yummy!), a hard boiled egg or egg white, natural peanut butter on a banana, celery, or apple, and 1/2 cup of Knudsen cottage cheese from Costco. For that sweet tooth I eat about 15 ghiradelli dark chocolate chips.

    I hope to hit my 35 pound award at weight watchers tomorrow morning. I’m feeling so good! :) Ive been at this since september and the lifestyle change has completely changed my whole life for the better.

    I love the wed. Blogs, Karen. Thank you.

  4. My lack of motivation here lately is driving me nuts! I’ve been battling low iron, this seemed to happen when I started eating healthier back in January. I’ve got it under control except during my monthly friend visits. Since the middle of March my healthy eating habits has started to dwindle. One day I’ll stick to it & the next day I won’t. Now it’s gotten completely out of control. I try to eat healthier (for the most part) during the day but when I get home & get around my family (especially my husband) I loose all kind of self-control. Right now we are on a limited income so my healthy buying has been put on hold. Please keep me in your prayers. When I eat healthy snacks…I love the FiberOne bars (especially the ones w/chocolate), hummus with anything is always better, fresh fruit, to help me drink more water (I do this all the time) I put fruit or cucumbers or crystal light in my water. I LOVE the freezing of the smoothie idea. I’m going to have to try that.

  5. I am trying to jump on the healthy eating routine, hard to do when we’ve had limited income for such a time. That and a husband who doesn’t like to try too much that’s new and different. :) But I love love love carrots and ranch, or home made sweet potato fries. :) one of my friends has a delicious recipe for them. I need to snag it sometime.

  6. Something easy to eat at my desk at work – string cheese, a carefully chosen granola bar (current fave is Kashi with dark chocolate & dried cherries) or a mix from home of almonds and dark chocolate chips. mmm. Can’t have too many, but makes a great treat!

  7. Crystal – don’t you dare let the scale deter you. I HATE when I work harder than ever and then don’t see a change. You just keep doing all of the right stuff and I promise you that it will pay off and you will start to see results. One thing that helps me when I don’t see the scale budging is to keep a journal of everything I eat and drink – EVERYTHING….it could, honestly be that you are not eating enough……Good luck – I will be praying for you!

    Sarah – I will be praying for your motivation. Mine has finally kicked in and I pray that it stays. :) Good luck!

  8. Egg beaters mixed with 1 tray of any flavor Green Giant Just for One. Mix togther in a microwave safe mug or bowl.. Also Egg beaters and a chopped up wedge of Laughing Cow lite cheese. You can add any veggies that are leftover in the fridge. Yummy and quick

  9. I am trying to get motivated to get on the healthy eating track, again. Thanks for all of the good snack ideas. May you have a blessed week.

  10. one of my favs is the cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread toasted the topped with almond butter…….mmmmmso good try it Delish

  11. Really fast snacking for me is probably my own trail mix of pretzels, raisins, and cashews – but I have to make it up ahead of time. When I say “fast” I mean “immediate!” Grabbing any piece of fruit will also work. This week seemed a bit depressing. I have been exercising three times as much (thanks to the new puppy in the house), added a weight routine to my exercise, and eating healthier, but my weight has not budged in over a month. To top it off, I wore a pair of slacks that fit me well last summer, and I had to suck in so much to zip them that after a couple hours I had to change them. They were so tight on my stomach that I was in pain. I cannot account for the lack of movement on the scale and it’s bugging me!

  12. Oooo, yummie! Try a Laughing Cow cheese wedge and a few pretzel thins or stuff it into celery or sweet peppers. Being from the “Tex-Mex food belt”, I love a whole wheat carb-balance tortilla spread with a hefty dollop of fat-free refried beans; warm a bit; add a handful of matchstick carrots and pico…Ole! Hungry Girl also has a great healthy snack mix for the salty-sweet-crunchy fix.
    P.S. I don’t know about the flax cracker…would love recipe. Thanks.

  13. Karen,

    I really like Coco-Chia bars by Living Fuel. They are a wholefood that contains chia-seeds which have a higher nutritional profile than flax-seeds. Coco-Chia Bars are also low on the glycemic index not being nearly as sweet as Larabars. The Larabars are much more like a dessert to my body chemistry and taste buds. My brain loves that low-moderate glycemic range for optimal performance.!

    Stuffing a red, yellow or orange bell pepper with whatever is left over from last night’s dinner is also fast food for me!

    Slicing up, seasoning then and dehydrating zucchini pieces into yummy chips ahead of time makes for a quick snack to grab when I’m on the go!

    While you’re at dehydrating go ahead and make some flax crackers as well. I tend to make large batches at once so I only have to dehydrate once a week. Any kind of topping you like can be added on top of these crackers or a well seasoned flax cracker can be enjoyed all on it’s own.

    I’d be happy to share some of my recipes ( if you’d like).

    Lots of Love,

    Jennifer

  14. I got this idea from Dr Oz–I make his Breakfast Blaster smoothie and pour into ice cube trays, freeze, transfer to plastic bag and when you go somewhere, they will melt in your travel mug. I like this idea even for in-home use, because I can’t drink a blender full of smoothies before it spoils and right now I have different flavors in the freezer and no mess.
    Karen, I also love yogurt parfaits and add home-made granola and chia seeds.
    My in-hand go-too is fruit and nuts.

  15. I am so happy for the woman who won Ann Voskamp’s book. I so wanted to win a copy. I have added it to my wish list of books I would love to read!
    My on the go real food snack is a handfull of almonds and natural apple juice cranberries! Thanks for your suggestions and have a wonderful day. Your sister in Christ, Bobbie

  16. I like the smaller size, whole wheat bagels with a bit of peanut butter;
    fat free yogurt with a tablespoon of grapenuts (or other whole grain cereal like Fiber One) mixed in;
    FF/SF jello chocolate pudding with sliced strawberries and/or grapenuts mixed in);
    Frozen seedless grapes
    Banana sliced length-wise spread with a bit of peanut butter

  17. I will grab a yoplait yogurt or a clementine when on the go. They satisfy my sweet tooth and give me a little energy. It seems lately we are always on the go.

  18. Oh and I too and in LOVE with fruit and yogurt parfaits right now – either from McDonald’s- Chick-Fil-A OR my homemade ones……..Fat free vanilla yogurt, with fresh cut strawberries and Cascadian Farms natural granola – YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!!

  19. I have had an awesome week of “clean eating” and working out. I hope and pray that I can continue with this wonderful motivation that the Lord has led me too. :) My new favorite “fast food” lunch is a whole wheat tortilla wrap with roasted red pepper hummus spread and sun-dried tomato wholesome turkey from the grocery’s deli. It is so yummy! A huge accomplishment for our household is my 8 year old son is trying new things – FINALLY – he is in LOVE with bell pepper strips and ranch and cucumbers and ranch – my 4 year old loves it as well. I just made the comment to myself this morning about how great my fridge looks – all healthy (wholesome) stuff in there for us right now – praying that we can keep it up. :) I work fulltime outside of the home and the key for me right now, is packing my breakfast, lunch AND snacks – I have no reason to eat anything “unhealthy” when I am packed for success!

  20. A new find for me is the 100 calorie prepackaged almonds. They are great to have in your desk at work or to throw in your purse. It gives a shot of protein which is always something I look for in a good snack or fast meal. Many of your favorites are also favs at our house. I love veggies in hummus – still working on the kids with this one! I’ll have to try the greek yogurt with berries and stevia. I love yogurt and berries!

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