I try to avoid processed foods, but with a busy schedule sometimes it is a much better choice like you said.
I haven't eaten much fast food lately (except this terrible meal at my school student center), but that is only because I have so many easy to make options at home.

When I lived in Colorado, there was a Subway within walking distance from my house. I worked at home, so just to get out of the house, I used to walk to Subway a lot for lunch. Could've been worse I suppose. I always chose healthy subs, plus I got a little exercise in! 🙂

LOVE your home office space!

AHAHA love the pic of Maggie.

If we're out/ traveling my two "go to" places for food are Subway (I can easily get a vegan sub) and any burrito place (it's easy to make a vegan burrito). We don't go out much, so it's not a biggie. 🙂

You're definitely doing great with your food choices given your incredible high-paced and busy life. I highly recommend reading (at least) the last section of In Defense of Food though ("Not Too Much: How To Eat"- it totally speaks to the situation you are in now. p 187 if you own the book- re: the economic theory being tested by the decline in American "Time Cost" of eating)

Jared and I just bought those pasta pillows last week at Costco. I'm not a huge fan of ravioli, but was looking for something for him after my (often) long work days. They weren't bad, but not great. Easy dinners

i need to start planning for my hunger and following through with what i planned more often, my issue is not eating enough nutritionally dense foods then binging. Seeing more pbj and hummus wouldn't be a negative thing in my book. seing other people jsut grabbing healthy stuff makes me feel like i can do it too.

yeah that is strange how you aren't hungry right after your race but then the next day you are! glad you gave your body what it needs 🙂
jenna

I like to make casseroles on Sundays when I know I have a busy week ahead of me. Have you considered getting a Crock Pot? We got one recently and it's been a lifesaver! There are tons of vegetarian crock pot recipes online too. You just set it and forget it! (said in Billy Mays voice)

A busy schedule just begs for fast food– it's crazy! I really think the sammie you chose was fab, though. Could have been worse!

I don't really have a fast food weakness, unless Panera counts! I have to get the soup+salad+baguette combo whenever possible! Alright, and a Chipotle salad with chips is delicious once a quarter.

I know I'm a little behind, but I just wanted to say how amazing I think you are for your race. You've dealt with so much, and you are an inspiration for runners, non-runners and those who are injured and trying to recover. Your honesty is beautiful, and it's one of the reasons why I love HTP so much. Just sharing 😀

Hope you have a fabulous Sunday night!

Chipotle can be so good, when you are in a hurry and just want food! I avoid it usually but sometimes I just have to give in to temptation.

Such a cute dog pic! I just want to grab her!

When I'm busy, I find myself hitting up Panera a lot. It could be worse, right? But it is quite carb-o-licious…

My obsession is Chipotle! I discovered it 3 years ago and its seriously like an addiction. I try to limit myself to once a week or less.. but it's hard.

If you get sick of the burrito I would suggest getting the burrito bowl. I used to only get the burrito but then I noticed the tortilla's ridiculous amount of calories and decided to get a bowl. It's a much better deal I think.. they load you up and it lasts 2 meals most of the time. Just a suggestion 🙂

Well, I hate to admit it but I love sausage mcmuffins with cheese from McDonalds every once in awhile, meaning maybe 6 times a year? I don't know why I love them so much, but they're definitely a guilty pleasure.

Also, if I was strapped for time the night before and was unable to make a lunch, I typically go to a soup and salad place on campus called Spoons. I deem their salads fairly healthy, and I usually ask for a double serving a chicken to help fill me up.

My favorite fast food weakness has to be pizza! It's very hard to resist!

I have never been to Chipotle, but my weakness is a place that seems pretty comparable, Panchero's! The have the most delicious burritos.

I also went to Qdoba for the first time while in Pittsburgh and now I am OBSESSED! I hope there is one around here. I had an amazing taco salad.

i buy that same pasta from our costco, my hubby loves it, and like you said, super easy and fast.

Chipotle is my healthy fast food fix & addiction. I try to stick with the burrito bowl and cut out the rice.

I am a sucker for pizza … and I love the stuff Costco cooks up in their cafeteria!

That picture is hilarious!!! haha.
You found some good tasters today! I love it when I hit up a good-taster day 🙂 Pumpkin pie?! No way!

My weakness is definitely Starbucks or any type of coffee place. I always feel guilty about eating food out when I can make something at home, but for some reason never feel guilty about a coffee or iced coffee (even though those are easy to make at home too!).

I LOVE Chipotle – by far my favorite "fast food" restaurant. But I do like that they have plenty of options to make a healthy meal.

My weakness would probably be muffins. I love a huge, fresh muffin from a bakery.

There's this great New York style pizza place that I've been visiting too much lately… and I, too, have a Chipotle problem, lol!

Cheers,
~Laura
Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness
LauraMKE.blogspot.com

Aaand this is why I don't know if I belong in the "healthy food" blog world. Subway? Chipotle? PANERA? Please, people 🙂 my weakness is Mexican food…hole in the wall, greasy, sodium-laden cheap Mexican food. And I don't care who knows it!! (I get it maybe once a month, probably less, if that redeems me at all!)

Eat more!

Oh holy moley @ those ravioli. I think I may be in love… and only 5 minutes!!! You are a lucky girl!

Starbucks and Panera are my fast food weaknesses!

Good old English fish and chips…fortunately the best one I've ever had is a 45 minute train ride away so I don't indulge too often 😀

Jessica – Thank you so much 🙂 I will keep my chin up.

I think everyone has a healthy addiction to fast food 🙂 Hehe.

lauren – you realize i ate close to 2,000 calories today, right? stop projecting.

I TOTALLY understand this problem! I used to rely on canned soup or frozen dinners all the time, but I eventually found a better way. Now, I pick one day per week (for me, it's Sundays) to cook large batches of nutritious & filling foods than can be portioned out for the week and/or frozen – examples are homemade tomato sauce, soups/stews, baked casseroles with quinoa or rice or millet, etc. It only takes about 5 mins or less to reheat one of these meals for dinner.

For quick lunches, I often make a wrap on a sprouted-grain tortilla, using hummus or beans for the base, and topped with veggies like sprouts, shredded carrots, tomato, avocado, cabbage, etc. – it only takes about 5 mins to put one together.

Good luck!

You can't get fast food where I live although I never ate it when I lived in London and was surrounded by it. An idea for you, which is what I do as I often don't get home till late from work and want something quick but healthy, is that I make big batches of stuff (i.e I made a load of thai pork cakes the other day) and then that morning I just take one out of the freezer – cooks in 5-6mins… You get the idea – you can do it with loads of stuff, just make loads and portion it all out – I live on my own so that's more important for me but its worth a shot.

ps – i know how you feel about the race and you also know what we are going to say, but it doesn't make you feel any better! But one way of looking at it is that to finish and get such a good time DESPITE it being really tough, physically and mentally, makes it more of a personal achievement. You should be proud of yourself.

Nikka – These flatbreads from Costco. Not sure of the brand name… will check and put them up the next time I have the crackers.