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Are you running on empty? It seems like we all are, but a few simple changes might just do the trick!

• Eating regular meals and correct snacks are the basics for providing your body with consistent energy.
• If you think if your body like a car, it needs quality fuel consistently or it just stops working.
• Before you go for your regular food shop, just stop and think about what you are actually doing during the week.  Monday might be a quiet day and you don’t require too much energy to get through, Tuesday could be full on from 6am till 6pm and you’ll require a lot of regular energy to keep your brain and body functioning in tip top condition, Wednesday could be more of the same, then it gets a bit more quiet again to Friday.  Do you need the same amount of energy everyday?  No you don’t.
• Ok so lets take a slower day, you might need just a good brekkie of wholegrain toast or muesli with some yoghurt, a piece of fruit at about 10am, a light salad with protein for lunch, an afternoon skinny latte, then a light dinner of roast veggies. You won’t need a full-on day of food because you don’t require that much energy (even though you might think you do).
• Lets take an exceptionally busy day (which could be every day!).  You may start really early and don’t feel like a full breakfast so start with your cup of tea or preferred drink for breakfast and grab a piece of fruit (apple, pear or banana) something you can eat on the run. Then have your proper breakfast a bit later on (within a couple of hours of waking), have a box of muesli at work or some grainy bread and organic peanut butter at the office so you can have it for morning tea.  If you have meetings, grab a protein bar or muesli bar, but always have a spare piece of fruit or little box of nuts for when you need it in your bag.  Are you exercising during this day too? Then make sure you have something to eat abour 1 – 1.5 hours prior to your exercise, banana, some nuts (almonds, pecans, brazils), yoghurt, rice cakes and cottage cheese with some pineapple.  This is just enough energy to get you through your workout. After your work out, drink a glass of milk for recovery processes. Lunch, a sandwich with some good quality protein, afternoon snack again fruit is fine, nuts, yoghurt, low fat crackers and a piece of low fat cheese.  The idea is just stoking the fire to keep them burning. For dinner, a light dinner of grilled fish, baked potato or sweet potato, salad or grilled veggies with lime and cracked pepper.  You don’t need energy in the evening and going to bed with a full stomach, juts isn’t pleasant for you or your partner!
• I know you know all of this but it’s putting it into practice that can be the problem.
• Running out the door without a stock of food in the morning is a sure way to end up either eating nothing, or eating too much processed food.
• When you are at the planning stages prior to getting to the food shops, make sure that you work out what you are actually doing all week and ensure that you have enough fresh food in the fridge.
• When you are making dinner, make your food for tomorrow at the same time so you don’t need to make it later on.
• Make up a batch of veggie and lentil soups on the weekend, freeze them in portions and grab and run in the morning. Too easy!
• Make up a batch of oat muffins, freeze, grab and run in the morning. They are a great snack.
• Cut up your raw veggies and find yourself those small pots of low fat dips.
• Get yourself a little esky and put a block of ice it in, it should last at least till lunch time.
• Always have some sort of food with you so you don’t run to the vending machine in the afternoon.
• Remember that too much caffeine can have the opposite effect of keeping you alert.
• Plan, plan, plan.
• Always also take your breaks, get up and walk around in the sun!

Eat when your body tells you to eat and don’t miss out on food because you are on “a diet”.  Fuel the body  with good quality foods regularly and it will treat you well!

Here’s an idea that you can make for dinner and save some for tomorrow’s lunch!

Salmon Fish Cakes

1 medium sweet potato, 100g salmon fillet flaked, fresh chilli, 2-4 spring onions, chopped dill, flax seeds and LSA, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup of parmesan and some rice crumbs to assist with binding, one egg.

Steam the sweet potato and mash, put all the other ingredients into a bowl (apart from the LSA and flax seeds) and mix and season well (add rice crumbs if required), roll into small balls in the flax seeds and LSA for a bit of crunch.

You can oven bake these or pan fry with a tiny bit of spray oil.

Serve with a nice fresh salad with lots of leaves, tomatoes, capsicums and olives with a good quality olive oil.

Enjoy!