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Breakfast You Can Take on Your Commute
-1/2 cup almond butter
-1 cup dry rolled oats
-1/4 cup ground flax seed
-1/4 cup chia seeds
-1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
-1/4 cup honey or agave
1. Mix all the ingredients together
2. Refrigerate for about an hour
3. Roll the mixture to shape into balls
4. Freeze on wax paper, and they are ready to eat
Breakfast is often an afterthought for me. When I have few precious moments left in my morning routine, I usually favor touching up my hair or makeup to trying to pull breakfast together and eating it before I need to be out the door. But these simple breakfast bites created by Cohen seem perfectly doable. Plus, three to four servings could last me almost the whole week. For a breakfast to be beneficial, you want a good mix of high fiber and protein, plus a little bit of sugar for energy, says Cohen. This will keep your blood sugar levels steady and release energy throughout the day. Protein-rich almond butter, high-fiber seeds and fruit sugar (fructose) in the form of honey or agave check off all those requirements, while a little bit of dark chocolate adds just enough flavor.
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When You Feel a Cold Coming on
-2 tablespoons dried blueberries
-2 tablespoons dried goji berries
-2 tablespoons Brazil nuts
-1 tablespoon pine nuts
When you're starting to come down with something icky, it's best to load up on antioxidant-rich foods. Rather than downing a packet of Emergen-C, try a snack mix that contains the super fruit goji berries. Loaded with folic acid, fiber and vitamin C, goji berries offer the nutritional benefits of multiple fruits combined. But your body will absorb more of the vitamins when you consume it with other fruits, says certified nutritionist, personal trainer and exercise physiologist Franci Cohen -- which is why we've paired this nutrient powerhouse with antioxidant-rich blueberries. Brazil nuts seal the deal with another immune-boosting punch.
Let's face it -- we don't always have time to whip up a healthy snack, and more often than not, we turn to the quickest, easiest and not-so-healthiest solution (read: something from the nearest vending machine). In lieu of that solution we spoke with nutritionists and dieticians Franci Cohen and Nicolette Pace, who created five easy, healthy snack mixes you can take anywhere. "Snack mixes are ideal because you get a concentration of energy and calories," says Pace, "but they don't take up much volume in your stomach so you don't bloat." So instead of reaching for a snack-size candy bar when you're crashing at your desk midday, swap it out for one of these snack mix recipes you can make in bulk and eat all week long (just don't go too crazy with portion sizes).