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Let's look at some quick meals for when you are on the run and can hardly remember your name. Try to always plan what and when you are going to eat. Plan for danger times. If you know you will have a meeting through lunch, bring something with you to have before the meeting. Know the choices in a convenience store so that the raisins or candy bars don't hop into your mouth while you are falling off the cliff. Try these options: an apple, 2 cheese sticks and a handful of almonds a baked potato with cottage cheese a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread and a pear Chinese food like chicken and broccoli. Ask them to hold the MSG and sugar egg salad and a whole grain bagel

My mainstay is a mixture of brown and wild rice. Keeps for a number of
days in fridge and freezes well. Add a little protein and it packs great for a lunch at work. As is works in place of the nite spud (I can't eat potatoes). Add some olive oil when reheating if you want. Add a handful or more to an omelette. Throw some in your salad. Add broth, veggies and protein for soup.

I love, no adore peanut butter.I use natural no sugar pb (about 1 c.)and blend it with about the same amount of silken tofu to make a spread to put on everyting!It's especially good on a chapati with a banana.Elvis would love it!

After I cook a pan of brown rice, I make up freezer bags that can be microwaved and taken out the door when rushed. Assemble as described: Use those little snack size zip lock bags. Put approx 1/2 cup cooked rice, a leftover veggie, a steamed broccoli spear works great as does a sliver of baked butternut squash or sweet potato.Put a good size piece of baked tofu (there are several flavors at Whole Foods Market) along side to give you your protein. Freeze.You can grab one, microwave it, take it straight to the car (still in the bag but in a paper towel 'cause it's still hot) and eat it right from the bag after it cools a bit. You can kind of squish it together while warm and the sticky rice will hold it together. You have a "sandwich" without the bread. Have some raw almonds along with it and some hot tea (I prefer Twig Tea) and you have breakfast in the car.

I have been using spelt flour and spelt products in place of white flour. I add it to whole grain pancake mix for pancakes or waffles, I make cornbread with spelt flour (omitting the sugar of course) and whole foods also carries spelt tortillas and various spelt breads. I like to toast the tortillas in a dry cast iron skillet and while still hot sprinkle some low-fat cheese (Farmers is good) on the top, you can add salsa or even some scrambled eggs, roll up while still warm and you have a breakfast on the go. Whole Foods also has their own brand of a whole wheat triscuit. I keep a box of theese in my car along with a supply of raw almonds to snack on in case of an emergency. If planned ahead, you can add a cheese stick and a piece of fruit and have lunch in the car on long distance trips.

Try oatmeal with cottage cheese mixed in. First make the oatmeal, then add the cottage cheese. You may have to heat it some more to get the cheese to melt. Add some cinnamon and nutmeg, too!

Here's one I just rediscovered. Buy a packet (or two) of frozen baby limas. In a bowl, whisk together a little good olive oil, some wine vinegar, some dijon mustard, salt and pepper and some dried tarragon. Cook the limas in a little water, covered, until they are hot. Drain and mix with the dressing and marinate in the refrig. I eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of these in the late afternoon...yummy and great for that gap between lunch and dinner. Also wonderful tossed into a lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad.

Mexican Lasagne: I used to make this dish when I was doing McDougall, except now I can add meat and cheese if I want. I make up a basic mixture of 2 cans black beans, 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 cup corn kernels, onions, peppers, etc. & you can add ground meat if you like - season it with 1/2 cup salsa, 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. Cut some corn tortillas - alternately layer the corn tortillas and the mixture. If you're using cheese, sprinkle it on top. Cook at 375 degree for 1/2 hour. I serve this with Spanish rice made with brown rice - to 3 cups of rice, add 1 can stewed tomatoes, onions, sliced black olives, onions & any other veggies you like, cheese if you like - I use the same seasonings in this. Bake with the lasagne. My family really eats this up!

Hippie mashed potatoes: When my children (now in their early 20s) were in elementary school, I used to make mashed potatoes with the skins on. We called them "hippie mashed potatoes" because I had gotten into eating potatoes with skins in the '60s when I was a hippie as part of eating healthier. My kids have always loved this, but now I make it with lots of garlic and some olive oil - cook garlic and onions with the potatoes, mash them up with olive oil instead of butter. You can also add dried onion soup mix for more flavor.

Stuffed green peppers - So many bell peppers from the garden, I decided to stuff them with ground turkey. Dug out an old recipe and found it called for bread crumbs - well I'm sure the old package of bread crumbs I have are white bread! Then I remembered I had some leftover whole wheat cous cous - Trader Joe's has whole wheat cous cous - so I used that and they were yummy. Everyone loved them.

1. Traveling in England I ate a lot of "jacket potatoes" (baked) with melted cheese, or tuna fish and cheese, or various other combinations. Inexpensive, easy to get. Usually the pub would serve lettuce and tomato on the side.
2. Look in your health food store for instant meals-in-a-cup (just add boiling water). I like the pea soup, lentil soup, polenta with cheese, and take these travelling.

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I've just begun to alter my diet and I'm no gourmet but here goes...
For a lean meal (or healthy snack) I drain a can of spinach and cook it with olive oil, garlic, and lemon. After heating the spinach I spread it on whole wheat pita bread. I top it with two slices of provolone cheese and microwave to melt the cheese. Everyone in my family has wanted to try my "quick-and-easy spinach cheese pie." It is delicious and satisfying!

I used to put sugar on my oatmeal in the morning, now I eat it the Scottish way: With salt, butter and milk. Strangely enough the switch was very easy.

I think this is the best breakfast in the world: 1/2 cup non fat plain yogurt, 1/4 cup non fat ricotta mixed together until creamy. Then add 1 cup strawberries or any other fruit. If further along in wt. loss add 1/4 cup grape nuts. It's heaven!!!

To help with both the need for estrogen rich foods (for those who are menopausal or perimenopausal)and improving what you eat for lunch, I use left over rice, reheated, steamed broccoli or other steamed vegie of choice and 2 ounces of finely diced tofu sauteed crispy in one teaspoon of sesame oil (tastes like sesame). This is very satisfying and seems to completely alleviate the late afternoon munchies.

A favorite breakfast is leftover brown rice fried and an egg stirred up and cooked with it. A really good snack food is roasted soy nuts and an apple.

Instead of Mac & Cheese, try:

Canned Green beans with a piece of cheese melted on the top! It tastes better than it sounds, and I love it because it takes about 3 minutes to make. The green beans are squishy with a consistency like macaroni.

Tofu Jerquee---a spicy snack based on soy. Perfect for vegetarians. One sack (quite small) has 150 calories and 15 grams of protein. I eat that in the afternoon with a cup of green tea, and I do not get the munchies before dinner at 6.30 or 7.00.
Another good one: when I steam broccoli for dinner, I do lots extra, and pack it, cold, for lunch the next day. Goes well with a yogurt dip or just salt.
Make sure to check the label of the Jerkee for disguised sugars;

I cook wild rice w/beef broth, brown rice w/chicken broth (in place of the usual and boring water) then mix equal amounts. Very tasty. Transports well, freezes well. For a quick and easy meal I add a vegetable and chicken or turkey breast. My co-workers always comment on how good my lunch smells!

Any time I make an entree like broiled/grilled/baked chicken breasts, I make extra and freeze in single servings for easy lunches or snacks.

I've never been a big tofu fan, but a friend shared her simple tofu salad recipe: Mash up some tofu with mayo and mustard (choose your type), add chopped pickles, salt and pepper. There you are! I add chopped celery, or whatever I have that appeals. I try to keep some ready in the fridge. I was trying to eat just salads for lunch, but a couple tablespoons of this tofu combo adds some great quality non-animal protein!

For a wonderful potato salad at bedtime (or any other time), I steam some potatoes in my rice cooker until tender, cut them up and pour Zesty Italian salad dressing on them while they are still hot. Chill and enjoy. They will keep in the fridge for a week.

How about 2 eggs, a little leftover brown rice, a little chicken broth (there are 2 or 3 brands at health food stores that have no added sugars) and a little cinnamon -- stir it up just a bit or make an omelet -- turns out like a cross between french toast and rice pudding! Another hint: The "adult" drinks like Ensure have ridiculous amounts of sugar in them. (A doctor I saw once recommended this to me, and I said, "That stuff is full of sugar." He looked at me a little blankly, then said, " Well, that's no big deal." One of the old timers....)

A good breakfast for me is some leftover chicken (baked, of course) cut up into -- of all things -- oatmeal, thereby treating oatmeal like the grain item it actually is. Split pea soup and toast also does a good job for me.

I don't much like cauliflower, but this soup is really good. Chop and cook a head of cauliflower in chicken broth (the kind with no sugar). Then puree it in the blender. Add as much of the broth as you want to get the thickness you like. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little cheddar cheese if you like. This makes a tasty and filling way to get your vegetable. I suppose you could use milk instead of the broth, but it comes out very creamy without it. A similar broccoli soup might be good also. Maybe I'll try it.