Make everyday fast meals healthy meals

Put your hands up if you eat convenience food even if not on a regular basis.

You are in good company. The average person on a Western diet eats six convenience foods daily. If you are a family on the go, you understand the importance of convenience food. The faster, the better. If it is fast, edible and requires little-to-no preparation or clean-up, people will go out of their way to get to it, just to save a little time.

Transform everyday fast meals into healthy meals

The thought of "convenience food" usually paints mental images like the ones seen in advertisements today. Cars pulling in and out of drive-through lanes, stopping in for a quick taquito at the local gas station, or even the dreaded "quick snack" vending machines at work. The fact is, there is a healthier way to eat while still keeping the same convenient mindset. Let's examine some of the healthiest convenience foods to enjoy at each meal so you can stay healthy on the go.

Breakfast

Many studies show breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. By skipping breakfast, your metabolism never gets up to speed and you feel like you are ten seconds behind for the rest of the day. But, breakfast is one of the most-skipped meals due to the inevitable rush to get out the door. Who's got time to make eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, and all those goodies? Instead, breakfast for many often consists of a processed block of dough and powdered sugar, simply because it's more convenient. The biggest meal of the day doesn't have to come in a greasy paper bag.

Why not start the morning off right with a breakfast burrito? Three minutes in the microwave, ding, and you are dining in style with a good amount of fiber and protein and not all of the empty calories. Or, plan ahead and make pancakes or waffles and freeze them. There are hundreds of recipes from whole grain to low-carb to gluten free. Warm them up in a toaster or skillet, add peanut butter and banana slices, and you have a well rounded breakfast of champions in just minutes.

Fruit and cereal bars are also great healthy, convenient breakfast foods. Grab a banana, an apple, and a cereal bar, and head out. The fruit is packaged by mother nature and ready to travel. And don't forget a cup of milk or juice. Throw that fruit and milk in a blender and you've got a great, healthy breakfast in a mug. If sitting down to a full course breakfast doesn't fit with your morning's schedule, that's alright; you've got a healthy meal on the run with these few simple foods.

Lunch

In the healthy convenience food arena, lunch is typically boring. A salad. Why not spice up your lunchtime with some instant couscous with tuna and whole wheat crackers? You get a healthy meal with protein, omega-3s, and fiber. Or, how about a bean, cheese and rice burrito? Quick to heat up and packed full of fiber and protein, it is the perfect lunch for the active adult. The fiber will keep you full and the protein will give you the energy to make it through the day.

For the bigger lunch, spring for a salad with vinaigrette dressing, holding the cheese and croutons. Your local grocery store will most likely have packaged salads in a great selection to satisfy any lunch craving. Put a couple slices of grilled chicken on top and you have a filling meal that will carry you the rest of the day.

Light lunch your trademark? Try yogurt with frozen fruit; a rich source of calcium, protein, and antioxidants. You can even mix this lunch up before you leave home, throw it in your refrigerator at work, and the fruit will thaw in the yogurt and be all ready for you to enjoy at lunchtime.

Snack

It is amazing how far a handful of trail mix will go. Not only is it convenient to grab and go, but it is full of healthy foods such as nuts and dried fruits. If your snack needs a little more 'umph,' you can try some carrots with hummus, tabbouleh salad or even a couple stuffed grape leaves.

The idea behind your afternoon snack is to give you a little boost through the midday blahs. Choosing a snack that picks you up instead of weighing you down is the smart thing to do. You can make your own trail mix, veggie and dip, or fruit plate so you control the ingredients, and the nutrients they provide. These smart snacks will help you zip through the rest of the day.

Dinner

The last meal of the day should be comforting, nutritious, and filling. While it is usually not a great idea to go to bed on a full stomach, a hearty dinner is a great way to end the day. Using a can of clear broth or stock to make soup or stew is a great choice for healthy and convenient meals. A simple soup made with mixed frozen vegetables and brown rice in a pot of broth, is just as convenient as opening a can of prepared soup.

You can crank up the nutrition while keeping the convenience by adding a can of black beans to the soup. Corn gives soup or stew a great crunch while mushrooms or garbanzo beans round out the meal and add extra nutrition. In other words, you don't have to stand over the stove for hours simmering soup for it to be delicious and nutritious; a few cans can make a meal.

There are many canned options that are now offered in low sodium, reduced fat, and no sugar varieties. The healthier choices now available have taken away the unhealthy aspect of opening up a can of something for dinner, and don't we just love that convenience!

Convenience food does not have to mean drive-through or gas station. Finding healthy convenience foods for families on the go is not a difficult task. Grabbing a simple banana is convenient; putting two cans together can be healthy if you buy the right cans. Finding the healthiest convenience foods is simple if you look around your home and read the labels before you buy.

Warning: Approach healthy fast food with caution

In this day and age, we are all about getting there faster. We don't take much time out to sit down and eat. I bet, if we could eat while we were driving, we would. Oh wait, we do. Just because you are looking for a meal on the go does not mean you should have to compromise on your health or food standards. All it takes is a bit of understanding about what makes a foolish choice, and how to make slight variations to improve upon that choice. But, information about healthier fast food can be rather deceiving. The problem with fast food is, no matter how much you compromise and try to make the right decisions, you are still under the umbrella of all things fried, salted, and sugared; and you're being advertised to. Let's take a look at the truth behind those healthy choices:

Better is not always good

Many fast food restaurants have a healthy choice menu. This can be a bit daunting. You think you are doing good by staying away from the hamburgers and fries, but you may very well be diving head first into a sea of misinformation.

Just because a sign says the food you are about to consume is "better" than the normal food consumed at the establishment, doesn't always mean that it is good. Better is NOT always good. While many fast food restaurants will try to convince you to spend money by ordering from the so-called "healthier" menu, there are still better choices to be made.

Even salads can be bad choices. Sure, there are some green bits, but their nutritional value is completely masked by the fried chicken nuggets, bacon bits, croutons, and creamy dressing you just smothered them in. There is some good news. If you make slight variations to your fast food meals, you will be left with much better options than you originally started out with.

Eat this way, not that way

One of the best ways to choose your healthy convenience food off of the menu is not to look at the menu. If you are pulling up to the window for breakfast, see if there is an option for oatmeal. Many places have that option and more, but don't list them on their menu. Breakfast egg burritos have become very popular because the tortilla wrap is lower in calories and fat than the biscuit.

During lunch and dinner, a salad is the way to go. Paired with a milk or juice to drink and you have one of the healthiest meals you can get at a fast food place. A vinaigrette instead of a creamy dressing saves almost 150 calories. Use less of the dressing, and you save even more. Choose grilled chicken instead of barbecued and deep fried. Just remember; eating lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and green peppers does NOT cancel out the cheese on top; just sayin'.

If you absolutely have to go with a burger and fries, it is best to get the smallest size of burger, hold the mayo, and stick with water, milk, or juice. By doing this, you will cut out about 200 calories on the burger alone. You could always go with the grilled chicken option, but try to stay away from anything breaded or fried. And speaking of bread, the calorie count of the bun itself is often what tips the scale on a fast food meal. Choose wisely; if it's the hamburger, onion, cheese, and ketchup that's calling your name, have it if you must, but ditch the bun. Don't forget to check out the wraps which are often much lower in calories and fat than a bun encrusted sandwich.