Quick, healthy on-the- go meals

I'd been struggling lately with trying to keep up with eating “cleaner” and better. For those who work, it’s often difficult to maintain a healthy eating plan, and the temptation to grab a takeaway is often hard to resist.

I have started doing a lot of layered bowls and jars, which is something of a trend. I prep it all the day before in a jar and place it in the fridge. All I need to do then is pop it into my lunch bag the next morning on my way out. This approach has helped me to eat healthier even when at the office. If I’m going on a long drive for work, I also take my jar of lunch with me to avoid bad habits on the road. Recipe: breakfast oat bowl [caption id="attachment_240146" align="aligncenter" width="630"] A breakfast oat bowl[/caption] Ingredients ½ cup oats ¼ cup water 1 cup coconut milk ½ teaspoon turmeric powder Blueberries Mixed seeds Dried cranberries Desiccated coconut Mint leaves Honey Method In a pot, mix together water, coconut milk and turmeric. Cook oats in this mixture until soft. Alternatively, you can soak the oats overnight in the coconut milk and turmeric, and not cook. Top with the blueberries, mixed seeds, desiccated coconut, mint leaves and honey.

Note: I love this recipe because I can prepare it overnight in a jar. But also, at the office, I have instant oats and I use this prepared in the microwave with the coconut milk and the turmeric. It’s quick and will take you less than 10 minutes to put together. Recipe: fruit salad jar [caption id="attachment_240144" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The salad jar and fruit salad jar are a quick and easy alternatives to reaching for the junk food[/caption] Ingredients 1 cup strawberries 1 cup blackberries 1 cup blueberries ¼ cup almonds, roasted For the dressing: Juice from two limes 1 tablespoon honey Method Rinse all the ingredients and layer into a jar, ending with the nuts. Mix together dressing ingredients and drizzle over. Note: You can make this recipe in advance and the jar holds for up to three days in the fridge, but do not add the dressing and the nuts. This recipe is also quite flexible because you can add apples, bananas, kiwi, nectarines, for example. etc. Just drizzle lemon juice over the apples and banana to avoid discoloration. Recipe: salad jar Ingredients ½ cup white wine vinegar 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 cup carrots, sliced 1 medium red pepper, diced 1 medium yellow pepper, diced 2 cups red cabbage, shredded 1 cup sliced cucumber 8 cups mixed salad leaves ½ cup sunflower seeds Method Combine vinegar, oil, garlic and parsley in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Evenly divide dressing between four jars. Set aside. Evenly layer chickpeas, carrots, peppers, cabbage, cucumber, salad greens and sunflower seeds on top of dressing in jars. Note: Again, I love the convenience of this recipe because it uses very simple ingredients. Instead of the chickpeas you can also use beans (black or kidney beans).I also sometimes add tuna or sliced chicken breast on top to make it meaty. You can also do this with any vegetables you have available in your fridge