Meal Plans for a Convenience Foods Diet

Planning meals ahead of time is the most efficient way to combine convenience foods with a healthy diet. Once a week, make enough food for lunch and dinner. Keep healthy snacks in your car, office desk and briefcase or purse. Lessen the urge to eat fast food on the go--packing on the pounds and leaving you hungry and undernourished--by devising a plan of organized meals that can be conveniently prepared and eaten.

Eat More Often To Eat Less

Eating more meals in a day will actually decrease the amount of food you consume overall. Eating only two or three times a day, you tend to consume more than needed. When you get extremely hungry and finally stop to eat, you usually overeat to fulfill the severe hunger sensation. Try eating five small meals everyday. This will satisfy your cravings and your body's need for fuel throughout the day. You'll find that with eating more often, you'll be more conscious about what you put into your body.

In a normal day, eating five small meals while making them convenient will take some practice and planning. Pick a day in the week where you take about two hours in the evening to prepare yourself food. Talk with friends, read food magazines and really think about what foods you like. Eating healthy on the go doesn't have to taste bad.

Snack Ideas

Choose easy, healthy and convenient snacks that need no preparation. Focus on fruits and vegetables. Apples, pears, carrots and celery are quick, tasty snacks. Add a smear of almond or peanut butter or cream cheese for more protein. Dates, almonds, bananas and yogurt are quick picks for other low-preparation snack foods. Keep an assortment of nutrition bars handy. A number are on the market these days; the fewer the ingredients, the better.

Lunch and Dinner From a Pot

Make this once-a-week meal a filling delight. In a crock-pot, make a chili, stew or hardy soup that will stay fresh in your refrigerator or freezer all week. Use your favorite recipe or select a base to start with like vegetable stock or canned chunk tomato. Select a wide range fresh vegetables like turnips, onions, broccoli and yellow squash. Add a lean meat if you'd like. Chop all ingredients and put into the crock-pot for a meal that will make itself in an hour or two. Add wild rice to your stew or soup for more substance.

Another lunch and dinner option is healthy burritos that can be made ahead of time and frozen. Make a large pot of black or pinto beans, as well as a large pot of wild or brown rice. Lightly saute a lean meat with large chunks of red pepper, onion and garlic. Allow food to cool, then take a whole wheat tortilla and add equal amounts of ingredients. Wrap the burritos in foil and freeze.