The
quality of the food we eat decides our competence at work, say nutritionists
Seemaa Tarneja and Priya Khanna
Many
busy people consider quick and convenient foods essential. Most do not suffer
from lack of food; instead, the risk comes from the effects of over eating, poor
food choices and lack of exercise. Too much time is spent on computers, there's
high reliance on high fat, fast food and sugar filled soft drinks, and exercise
is almost absent! All this have naturally paved the way for deadly diseases like
heart failure and diabetes. Hence food has got itself the 'taken for granted'
status.
So,
What Should You
Eat?
Not every
meal can be well planned, but you can do certain things to make eating a
healthier experience. Make these tips a part of your lunch box:
Stock
up the
nutrition
:
Keep some healthy and tasty snacks in your desk drawers at all times. Tiny
packets of biscuits, dried fruits, 'khakhra', 'murmura' or granola bars can be
easily tucked into your drawer. Munch on them when light hunger pangs
strike.Drink To Your Health: Staying well-hydrated helps you think more clearly,
be less cranky and indulge less in mindless munching. It is also one of the best
skin treatments in the world.
Pack
Lunch While You Cook Dinner: You can cook once and eat twice. Make an extra
serving or two while cooking dinner and pack some for your lunch the next day,
as you clear up the evening meal. So, you will have a good home cooked meal for
lunch the next day!
Add
Nutrition While
Commuting:
Why
not use your commuting time to better your health? It's easy, it's tasty and it
doesn't even have to be messy! Pack a vegetable/a plain cheese/ jam/ green
chutney sandwich, fruit yoghurt, any fruit or a bag of baby carrots for your
journey - whether by car, bus or train.
Pump
Up With Protein
Power:
For
long lasting brain and body power, add some protein to your diet with nuts,
seeds, soya nuts, soya milk, yoghurt, milk and nutritious bars.
Switch
To A Fruit
Dish:
Tempted
by a cookie jar or candy dish? Switch to a fresh fruit bowl.Pack Food And
Beverages For The Week: Spend some time during the weekend to get organised with
the food for your week ahead. Wash the fruits; bag the veggies and the beverages
needed for the week. So, when you're back after a particularly tiring day at
work, you don't have to settle for a burger or any other form of convenience
food.
Treat
Yourself Well:
When it's time to eat, give yourself a real break. Stop working, stop rushing
and take a few minutes to savour whatever it is that you're eating.
What
To Eat, When...
Let's say you
have just 15 minutes for lunch between meetings. Or worse, you are on the move.
What would you do? Ransack the snack machine at the office or gorge on a packet
of potato wafers?
Refer
to the table above and figure out what you could do.
Situation
What You Shouldn't Eat What You Could
Eat
instead
Between
Meetings
Muffins Cream cracker
biscuit
Cookies Light salted biscuit
Tea/coffee Fresh fruit juices/ water/
milk
Hectic
Schedule/ Wafers/ chips Sandwiches
Long
Hours vegetable sticks
Cookies bread sticks
Coffee
with cream salad
Pizza with double cheese/ lean sliced
meats
Pepperoni milk/
buttermilk
Cola drinks Coconut
water/lemon
juice
Fruit
juice/yoghurt
On
The Move/ Chips/ wafers Idlis/
dosa
Lunch
Meeting Fried foods cereal
bars
Sev puri/ Pani puri Cheese
Sandwich
Burgers/ pizza
Veg/chicken
sandwich
Pastas 'Sukha' bhel
Salads loaded with dressing Frankie
Samosas Wada pav
With
the right choices, maybe even one at a time, one can begin the journey to good
health. Wherever you are, be ready for a quick healthy meal or
snack.
Stress
And Food
To
combat stress, most people resort to a cup of tea or coffee, chocolates or maybe
a bag of chips or even a smoke. However, at this point of time, the right choice
of food plays a very important role. In a hectic lifestyle, the right food helps
to cope with stress and it’s the right food choices and nutrition that
eventually can help you pull through the day.
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