5 Healthy Foods that are Fast

Aahh, January. A time when resolutions have been made our health that we have been making for many years now....

Students have a terrible time with food because they don't have a 4 bedroom suburban house with a decked out kitchen and a stay at home spouse to cook for them, nor do they have much time for cooking. That and the whole cafeteria thing. And if you ask non-students why their eating habits have slipped, most will give you the same one word response: time.

If you're eating almost every meal in a cafeteria, I'll post some suggestions on picking good choices there later. But for now here are some healthy fast and easy meal suggestions for those that are in a time crunch but want to stay healthy.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal, an essential staple of complex carbs. The instant packets are better than McDonalds, but the reason they taste so good is because they often come loaded with sugar. Try regular oatmeal in non-fat milk. Heating it the microwave takes minutes and a little cinnamon and the amount of sugar you need (exercising self control) will do wonders. Alternatives to sugar are berries and raisins. For those that don't mind protein shakes, shredding raw oatmeal straight into a blender literally turns it into a powder, add that with to your regular shake for wonderful complex carbs.

Eggs

Eggs are a great source of protein and essential fatty acids. If you want to watch the cholesterol, just remove the yolks. Frying or scrambling eggs is pretty darn fast as well.

Milk

Non-fat, low-fat, organic, heck even whole milk (with caution). No matter your preference milk is a great source of casein protein which digests slowly. This makes it great right before bed to let your body have a slow steady source of protein for a through the night. Non-fat is great to get the protein and prevent putting on weight. You should have milk in your fridge at all times.

Sweet Potatos / Yams

Sweet potatoes are a nutritious, vitamin rich source of complex carbs, and they're sweet for crying out loud! An absolutely fantastic source of carbs and vitamins that tastes so good. They can be boiled, baked, even microwaved. Make a batch and keep them in the fridge.

Whole wheat bread

Make sure the first ingredient says "whole wheat" and not "enriched" and you're good to go for a great source of complex carbs that will complement any protein rich sandwich stuffer for a great midday meal.

These are just a start, but for many people, replacing simple carb, high fat, or sugary snacks or "breakfasts" with any of these (or better yet a combination), can do absolute wonders. Try it out!