Lunch today was simple and quick because I didn’t pack it last night. And you know what a mess I am when I have to pack my lunch in the morning.
Thankfully, I anticipated one of these weekly crises and picked up some Trader Joe’s soups last weekend.
Yum! Their split pea is almost as good as mine.
Soup needs a crunchy cracker so I brought a Wasa Cracker along for the ride.
One the side were a lot of crunchy things: tomatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes (who are hiding) with some TJ’s organic humus and two clementines that have seen better days.
It’s pretty obvious that I only made it to one grocery store this weekend. Guess which one.
My last addition to lunch: water.
I used to hate it but now I actually crave water. Nothing else will satisfy my thirst, but it took me a while to come to this point.
Some of the reasons I used to hate water:
– It is cold (I’m cold natured)
– It’s not bubbly like soda
– It doesn’t have any flavor
– Carrying around jugs of water is cumbersome
Here is what I did to fix these problems:
– Water is cold:
I chug water when I want it most, which is right after I exercise. I’ve heard there are benefits to slowly sipping water all day, but let’s face it, you gotta drink it when it’s best for you. I drink the majority of my water in the morning when I’m thirsty and right after I exercise. It doesn’t have to be evenly distributed throughout your day. Also, I chug water in the car, where I have the greatest control over how cold or hot I am. Especially in the winter when I’m at my coldest; I crank up my heat and chug away. I get quite a bit of water down on my > 1 hour commute (each way). The lesson here is to find out when it’s easiest for you to drink water and then hit the water hard at those times.
– Water is not bubbly like soda:
I <3 seltzer water so much. In Italy I was in seltzer water heaven. They had it in drink machines, for crying out loud. Coco-Cola themselves were bottling it. So drink and they will come… er, I mean, someone will sell it. Seltzer water is fabulous and you can buy it at any grocery store, even if it’s not in convenient little drink machines all over the country. You can also buy it naturally flavored (see my next point). Also, I learned that by making myself cut out soda for a period of time, my craving for the sweet bubbles subsided. Now all I want (most of the time) is water.
– Water doesn’t have any flavor:
Until you flavor it. And no, I don’t mean going out to buy the artificially flavored water. Add a lemon slice, lime slice, orange slice, cucumber slice (so good), a couple of raspberries, strawberries…so many possibilities. The water will soak up the flavors and you’ll have this delightful subtle scent. If you keep refilling the water and don’t eat your flavoring, you can keep using the same fruit/veg all day. Also, a favorite thing of mine is to add a splash of juice to seltzer water. Bubbily, flavorful, and hydrating. Perfect.
– Carrying around jugs of water is cumbersome:
Yes, it is. I learned something really interesting about myself a few months ago. I take water to work in a Nalgene bottle because it holds a lot of water. But, if I leave the water in the Nalgene bottle, I don’t drink it. Why? Because I have tiny child hands and taking both hands off the keyboard to properly grasp the huge Nalgene bottle doesn’t work for me when I’m drinking all throughout the day. Now, I still carry the Nalgene, but I pour the water into my pink thermos with the sipping straw (see photo above). I can hold on to it with one freakishly small hand, and all is right with the world. If you don’t want to lug a Nalgene and a smaller drinking container around wherever you go like I do, buy a Brita filter to keep at work. I’ll even drink tap water from time to time, which will not kill you in most places. 😉
So far today, I’ve drunk (drink, drank, drunk) 48 oz. of water.
What are your tips for staying well hydrated?