Eating on a Busy Schedule

As the school year starts and our lives get busier, our eating schedules may be the last thing we notice is suffering. Maybe our time for breakfast is cut short so we can get the kids on the bus or maybe our lunch isn’t packed the night before like it normally is. There are so many benefits to meal planning and one of the biggest benefits is making sure you have a nutritious meal when you are hungry. 

Eating at the same time every day is great for our circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a biological timing system found in virtually every cell of the body that times our daily behaviors. For example, our circadian rhythm times out when we fall asleep, wake up, eat, fast and even release hormones. If our circadian rhythm is off, our health can be negatively impacted. Say we were to wake up earlier than expected and we eat breakfast before the sun comes up. Our body would be thrown off by the act to digest when it think it should be resting which can lead to improper digestion. This is just one example of how adjusting to a new schedule, if not done correctly, could negatively impact our health. 

Eating to adjust to a new schedule is just the tip of the iceberg. There is also a lot of importance in eating meals at consistent times during the day. When our body digests food, hormones need to be released. If the proper hormones in the right amount are not released, digestion will be inhibited leading to symptoms such as bloating and inflammation. One of the most important hormones in digestion is insulin which helps digest our body’s preferred energy source- Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates turn into blood sugar and insulin helps use blood sugar for energy. If we eat consistent times during the day and include a similar amount of carbohydrates at each meal, our insulin and blood sugar would both stay steady. This can benefit us by decreasing fatigue and increasing mood. 

Now that we have gone through the importance of eating at consistent times throughout the day, let’s talk about how we can do this. Meal planning and meal prepping may seem extremely daunting, but the pros of having a pre-planned, nutritious meal waiting for us at meal time strongly outweighs the cons.  Not only does it make meal time hassle-free, it can actually save us some money and food waste! Instead of scrambling for lunch during a busy work day and settling for fast food, we can have our lunch prepared to be exactly what we want it to be. An example of a nutritious, hassle-free lunch could be chicken salad lettuce wraps with mini bell peppers and whole grain crackers. We get a great amount of protein from the chicken, vitamins and minerals from the vegetables and the whole grain crackers will keep us full! Hungry between breakfast and lunch? Or even after work before dinner? Say no more! Try packing an individual-sized hummus cup with some naan bread, grape tomatoes and cucumbers.  As long as our meal or snack includes grains, protein and a fruit or vegetable, it will keep us full and focused! 

Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7213043/

Check out this delicious breakfast recipe that can be prepped in the beginning of the week and stay in the fridge for up to 5 days! 

Quinoa Breakfast Bake:

2 smashed bananas

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 cups low-fat milk (dairy or non-dairy)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup nut butter

1 cup blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9x13” pan with non-stick spray. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until combined. Pour the mixture into prepped pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center of the bake. Best served warm. I enjoy topping this bake with a low-fat plain yogurt and strawberries!