- Goodies On The Go

Ayurveda nutrition tip of the day: Rushing through a meal or a mini-meal leads to improper chewing. This gulping, basically, means your stomach has to work extra hard to digest the food that your mouth should have done more work on. Avoid feeling hungry, gas and heartburn by eating slowly and enjoying each bite. Take notice of what you're eating. Appreciate the color, texture and aroma of your food. Eating should be a smelling, touching and visual experience, not gulping.

Seems like our family is constantly on the road this summer, so I’ve learned to plan ahead for just about everything. When I lived in Hastings-on-Hudson and commuted into the city, I made sure I had a change of shoes, a sweater, a good read, a bottle of water and some wholesome food in my bag in case I got delayed to or from the office. Today, I'm still a planner and our SUV is always well stocked. Plenty of sun block, picnic blankets, toddler books, toys, change of clothing, wet wipes etc… on board. Seems like our family is constantly on the road this summer in particular, and being on the go means bringing along plenty of wholesome foods that travel well. In our car you’ll always find bottled waters, cheese sticks, baby carrots, a few pieces of fruit, flavored rice cakes, almonds, Cheerios, low-salt & whole wheat honey pretzels, raisins, dried apple crisps and ice cream cones… less the ice cream. (My two-year-old thinks the plain cones are a special treat! He’s yet to realize that at home I put ice cream in my cones. I only scoop in enough to fill the actual cone without going over the brim. He can’t see my ice cream so does not ask for ice cream in his cone. It's great.)

With wholesome goodies in tow, we don’t visit Wendy’s too often and we manage to stay on track with eating well. I don’t think I’ll ever give up those juicy Wendy’s burgers on those oh-so-soft fresh hamburger buns! Add just a hint of ketchup and it's a beautiful thing! How many Wendy's hamburgers do I eat? One per visit and only about eight annually. Seems to me they taste so amazing simply because I consume them so infrequently! I’m all about moderation when it come to less than wholesome foods. Whether you’re driving up to Maine or just down to Wal-Mart, eating well means taking time to plan ahead what goodies you and your family will enjoy on the go!

Once you start, it becomes easy and also pleasure to know you’re striving to provide wholesome foods for you and your family as often as possible. Get Walking!