I am super busy at the moment too.

I can’t decide which food saves me more when I am busy….It’s either takeaway junk food or weetbix.

Its a sorry state I guess.

I keep a small bag of raw almonds, raisins and dried goji berries in my purse for an afternoon snack when I need a boost. Portable and easy! At home, we have a couple of super-quick pasta dishes that we make for dinner, which include lots of garlic and veggies so we’re getting at least some good nutrition.

One healthful food I always grab for snacks is sugar snap peas. I buy them in big bags, then divide out into snack-size bags in the fridge so they’re always handy. Looking forward to seeing what you standby foods are.

Baked beans. Cold. Straight from the tin. :)

Hi there Andrew – I’m not sure take-away junk food is “saving you”! Weet-bix aren’t so bad. Especially if you add a bit of yoghurt and maybe some fruit? Remember tinned fruit is a good back-up.

Ricki – good suggestions. Have you posted your pasta dishes, I’d be interested to know your recipes.

Kalyn – sugar snap peas, what an excellent suggestion. Never thought of those as a snack food, but I like it.

Wendy – I think baked beans may be making an appearance in my list.

Tinned legumes.
Frozen vegetables (inspired by this blog, of course).
Organic baked beans.
A dozen free-range eggs.
Frozen organic bread (with lots of seeds!) for toast or croutons.

When it comes to busy days, I tend to prepare dishes like stir fried rice or simple pasta. For a stir fry, rice can be cooked in advance as well as the veggies can be chopped/sliced, covered with a film and stored in the fridge. So when I’m back home, it takes me only a few minutes to bring a nutritious meal on the table.
Then, pasta is yet another essential dish for me – my favourite one consists of home made tomato sauce, tuna and some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. When I run out of my tomato sauce, I usually use a store bought one, made from organically grown tomatoes.
Last weekend I made a couple of kilos of potato gnocchi and stored them in the freezer – they make another quick meal, served together with some simple sauce which can be prepared in advance, too.
Finally, when I feel I’m too tired to cook, there’s always some lettuce
at home that can be combined with other veggies (carrot, cucumber, red beet, pepper…) plus some simple salad dressing – and voilá, a refreshing plate of vitamins and minerals.
And for when I’m away from my kitchen, I make sure I always carry some healthy snacks in my handbag, a couple of apples, mixed nuts or some squares of dark chocolate.

Nice list Fiona. Sounds like my store cupboard.

Thanks for your suggestions Maja. A bit of planning and pre-preparation goes a long way.

I know it’s late, but I’m with Wendy – baked beans. Also like to add canned tuna… though my work colleagues aren’t really fans of the smell :)

Damn but I wish I’d read this post a month or so previously!
That would of course be a really neat trick, since you hadn’t written it yet. But it’s exactly what I need to read/follow. Thank you!