Work Snacks Every Rhode Island Dolls Dancer Should Keep On Hand

When you’re a dancer at RI Dolls in Woonsocket, RI, you know how busy life can be! You’re always on the run. Besides keeping up a hectic work schedule, you’ve got your regular life to keep up with and that can include a second job, spouses or boyfriends (or girlfriends!), friends, or kids. And with all of that comes a whole new busy schedule.

And that means you have make sure you’ve got fuel for your body ready to go in the form of portable, easy snacks.

The secret to keeping up a good eating routine is planning ahead. That doesn’t mean you need to be a gourmet chef or anything though. You just need to know what are the best foods for you to eat and have them on hand so that you don’t end up in the drive through of the golden arches when the hungries hit. Because every woman knows that hungry means cranky and we don’t want that!

Part of preparing ahead of time means buying groceries. You gotta do it. Try to make a plan for what you want to have ready to eat for the week and do a grocery trip at least once a week. Pick up all the ingredients that you need to make food and the food that is easy to prepare. When you have food at hand and ready to go, you’re more likely to make some good choices.

The second thing you need (after the food of course) is a way to store the food. You could just throw it in your purse with the rest of your life but that’s not always a good idea because sometimes you need to keep food below a certain temperature. And sometimes it just tastes better if it is cool and taste is important. So, get yourself a good travel cooler. There are tons of options to choose from. If you look on Amazon you’ll find cooler bags of all sizes and styles. Read the details and you’ll find a bag that is both cool and keeps your food cool.

Now, on to the food – what to prepare!

Veggies and Fruits

Veggies and fruits are always a good option. Not only are they filled with vitamins that are essential to your health, but they taste good, too. And the best part is that they are easy to prepare. Wash and cut and they are ready to go. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, and celery are all easy choices that you can throw in your bag and add to your stash. They can be added to a salad or even to a noodle dish to bulk it up, too. Don’t forget to add some lettuce for salads, too. There’s a whole world of lettuce out there beside romaine so try something different!

Carbs

Wait – aren’t carbs bad for you? Nope – not if you pick the right ones. And the best thing is that carbs are what will give you energy. Eat something with some good, high density carbs half an hour or so before you hit the stage or hit the gym and you’ll find that you have way more energy than you did before. Multi-grain bread, wild rice/brown rice (or mix it up!), and whole wheat pasta are all great carbs to give you a boost.

Protein

Finally, you need your protein! Protein is great for long lasting energy. Cook up some chicken breasts with a little bit of herbs and spices and some olive oil, cut it up, and you have a good source of protein that you can add to almost anything for flavor and texture. Lean beef is tasty in sandwiches or salads. Shrimp, crab, and fish are great additions to salads.  Vegetarian? That’s ok. You still need your protein. Organic peanut butter, almonds, cashews, and other nuts, legumes, and spinach are all great animal free sources of protein. Want something with more of a meat-like texture? Try some of the tofu products on the market. You can find almost anything you want to fool your brain into thinking you’re eating a burger!

We know that dancing is important – it’s your job and it is what pays the bills! But we also know that many of you have other things going on in your life. Whether it is school or raising kids or volunteer work or something else, make sure that you have enough energy to do all the things you do each day by having healthy food options available to you. When you’re not prepared you end up picking up fast food or worse yet, binging at the end of the day. Plan ahead to be successful no matter what you’re doing – eat right!