Smart meal and snack planning for active lifestyles

Written by Michelle Williams

Planning your meals and snacks is one great way to stick with a healthy eating regimen. When I make and follow a healthy eating plan, the benefits are clear – I don’t feel deprived of favourite foods and it’s easier to achieve or maintain my weight goals. Planning what you eat may seem like a lot of work, but even for someone like me who seems to always be eating on the go, planning is really just as simple as deciding and writing down what you need as part of a healthy, balanced diet, shopping for the ingredients you need to bring your plan to life, then sticking with the plan and eating foods that are part of a healthy, balanced diet.

There are a few tips I follow and recommend to maximize success when you’re planning meals and snacks for eating on the run. First, follow Canada’s Food Guide. It’s a great place to start when you’re trying to figure out how to create balanced meals and snacks to enjoy. And it’s the easy way to help you plan what you should buy and eat, for you and every member of your family! Be creative! One way to stick to a plan is to introduce lots of variety. Don’t feel like fruit for dessert? Whip it into a smoothie and take it with you! Toss your lunch chicken into your salad, and throw in some mandarin orange sections – perfect to eat at your desk. Slice a banana or add berries to your Special K* Vanilla Almond cereal with a glass of milk for breakfast or a quick snack. Mix it up and you’re much more likely to stay with your plan.

Next, stock up on healthy snacks. Fill your fridge and cupboards with delicious, portion-controlled snacks, like Special K* cereal bars or fruit cups – delicious, nutritious and convenient to eat.

Take action and prepare ahead. Fill your kitchen with nutritious foods and get them ready to enjoy whenever you’re hungry. Peel, slice and package up fruit and veggie servings or small packages of nuts or trail mix. Then just grab a bundle when you feel hungry.

Have to go off your plan? No worries. Healthy eating includes allowing yourself an occasional treat. Sometimes it’s important to satisfy a craving for a small indulgence. Don’t dwell on choices you make that may not be part of your plan. Spend your time and energy doing the things you enjoy. Pack a power lunch with punch I don’t always have time to go out for lunch, but tuna sandwiches can sure get boring! So what’s a great way to pack a healthy lunch that provides energy you need to get through the afternoon?

Go for balance and variety and think outside the lunch box. Pack up leftovers from last night’s dinner. Toss up some fresh ingredients and get creative with lots of interesting and unusual salad fixings. And if you decide to go for that sandwich, try something new and fill it with a combination of nutritious and savoury ingredients.

Just like any other meal, portion size is key to a healthy lunch. Load up on the veggies at mealtime – and nosh on portion-controlled, great-tasting and nutritious snacks like Special K* cereal bars. Purse-perfect snacks

When you're on the go, it's important to plan ahead to be ready to satisfy your hunger wherever you are. Snacks that you can pop into your handbag, and enjoy whenever and wherever you want, are the ideal solutions!

For me, a snack has to be easy, quick, portable, filling and satisfying. And it has to taste good too!

Some of my favourites are: small bags of almonds or walnuts; a slice of cheese with a couple of multi-grain crackers; a piece of fruit like an apple, a few grapes or a banana; some baby carrots or celery sticks; a snack cup of apple sauce; a Special K* cereal bar.