15 min meal: travel-friendly Delux Salad
What we’re eating: Delux salad with 3oz beef jerky, 2 tbsp beans, 1oz cheese, and as much lettuce (or your favorite green) as you can fit in your to-go container (or regular bowl).
Why we’re eating it: There’s 43g of protein and 8g of fiber in this travel-friendly salad! The ingredients don’t need heat or to be kept cold, and can be found at almost any convenience snack shack/smol grocery store. It also has 50% of your daily vitamin C (important for immune function), about 35% of your daily iron (for proper blood function and muscle growth), and about 20% of daily calcium (for neural function and bone health).
When we’re eating it: This is so travel-friendly and nutrient dense that you can eat it whenever. 2 tbsp of beans = half a serving, this is usually small enough to not upset someone’s GI tract and be okay for a FODMAP, especially if we’re staying hydrated and take a short streak break/walk around for 5-15min after eating.
What if you’re not moving? Can you still eat those simple carbs? Yes. This salad has only 26g of simple carbs, 15g comes from the beef jerky, and it’s coming with 8g of fiber. If you’re maintaining a low-carb or ketogenic diet for whatever reason, you can be more particular about the jerky brand and get some that’s all beef, no spices. Take a 5-15min movement break after the salad to help your muscles take up that glucose, stabilize blood glucose levels, and keep those insulin levels low (esp if you’re traveling, it will help lower your cortisol and keep your blood moving to help with digestion and reduce the common digestions problems a lot of us feel when we’re in a car/on a plane for a large chunk of the day).
