We all have those times when despite our best efforts, things just don’t go according to plan. Life gets hectic and you can choose to either stress over it or roll with the punches. Unfortunately often your diet becomes the victim no matter which choice you make. 

It’s those stressful and unexpected situations that make it even more important to not throw in the towel. You see when you’re stressed your body produces the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones are a great thing if your trying to get away from an angry mama bear because they allow you to do super human things in order to save your life. Think fight or flight! 

However, when your body makes adrenaline and cortisol in response to stress and you’re not in fight or flight mode, then these hormones don’t get expended and they have an inflammatory effect on your body. Therefore, when your life gets stressful you need to not only eke out time to run, but eat a balanced diet that includes lots anti-inflammatory foods. This is the time you need to resist the urge to hit the drive through or call for pizza delivery!

There’s good news: you really can plan for the unexpected and stay on track! How? Simply have “back pocket meals” available that you can resort to in a pinch. Back pocket meals will look different for everyone depending on your tastes, but here are some ideas to get you started:

• Baked potato loaded with butter, leftover veggies and some canned beans. 
• Sweet potato loaded with butter, spinach, goat cheese and canned chicken.
• Spaghetti (or any pasta you keep on hand), store bought sauce, frozen veggies, and canned chicken.
• Add beans to leftover or frozen veggies.
• Canned tuna or chicken mixed with celery, apples, pecans, and mayo.
• Eggs served with a quick saute of whatever veggies you have on hand. (I typically saute onions and spinach, but might thrown in carrots and bell pepper if I have them.)

You really can make quick meals on the fly. And yes, microwave bake potatoes aren’t my favorite, but if you have time you can microwave them for a few minutes and then let them finish baking in the oven.

Sauteing vegetables only take a few minutes and even sliced sweet potatoes saute quickly. The key is to having them on hand and in some cases cut up and ready to go. I usually have an onion and a bell pepper partially cut up in the fridge. I buy baby spinach in a box already washed so I can just grab a handful. 

Keep you pantry stocked with canned beans, tuna, chicken and pasta sauce. Keep a bag of frozen broccoli florets or mixed vegetables in your freezer. These are things that have a longer shelf life and you’ll likely use as part of your regular meals.

Remember eggs aren’t just for breakfast. They’re super quick and easy to fix and they’re a nutritional powerhouse! Eggs are a great source of protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals. If you like them, then make sure to add them to your weekly grocery list. I purchase a carton of 18 almost every week.

By keeping basic staples on hand, I promise you can whip up a meal that it not only delicious and nutritious, but it will be ready before the delivery guy shows up with your pizza! Bonus it will be less expensive too!