At Stark, we work with a lot of high-performers. Some of them are athletes, others are executives or entrepreneurs, and some are super parents who have to keep up with their kids. One constant struggle we need to help our students with is figuring out how to stay on top of their nutrition while trying to accomplish everything they need to do in a day.
Here are three simple tips for eating healthy while maintaining a busy schedule:
This one is a no-brainer. In most cases, cooking more food does not necessarily require more time. For example, it takes about the same amount of time to BBQ six chicken breasts as it does only one. If you do this, you can cook once and portion your food up into containers for meals throughout the week. Simply slice your protein up and put it on a salad, or heat it up as leftovers if you’re in a rush and need to eat something quick. If you’re going through the effort of cooking, it’s a good idea to cook enough for at least 2-3 meals.
Two challenges we face with our students are the fact that they’re always on the go, and they have a hard time getting enough protein. Keeping jerky or canned sardines on hand helps with both. Since these foods don’t need to be refrigerated, you can keep it in your car or in your bag, and you can eat it in between meetings or while your kids are at soccer practice.
Just pick a jerky without added sugars, like Stryve Biltong jerky, which has 36 grams of protein in each 2oz pack, so it can also help you get to your daily protein target. This is also a great snack option for people who are gluten or dairy-sensitive, plus you can find a number of great options in a variety of meat sources, not just beef. In fact, this gluten-free turkey jerky is from free-range turkeys and comes in 1 oz. packs that have 12 grams of protein and only 60 calories!
In the case of sardines, wild sardines packed in water from Vital Choice, have 20 grams of protein and only 160 calories! These little cans are full of marine omega 3s, calcium, and vitamin D, although be sure to watch out for varieties packed in oil, as you will find it increases the calorie content significantly with virtually no benefit.
The easiest way to get into trouble with your nutrition is when you don’t have food on hand. That’s when most people reach for the snack cupboard or order fast food. There are tons of great options to help you save as much or as little extra time as you need- whether that is as simple as getting groceries delivered, having pre-measured meal kits dropped off, or fully cooked meal preps brought to your door! We are big fans of food delivery subscriptions because you can have all kinds of healthy foods show up on your doorstep with very little effort or time on your part! And you can set the amount and frequency so that right before you run out, another delivery shows up! Here are a few of our favorites: