No matter what business you are in your time is a premium. Taking time to eat and eating right is a challenge. Here are five steps to save time and reduce your mealtime stress.

1. Cost-

Fact:
Whether you have an expense account that allots you a certain amount per day for meals or you own your own company, eating out at a restaurant is expensive and very stressful.

Solution:
Breakfast has always been the most important and most effective meal of the day. You get a jump start on your success for the day by having a quality breakfast. The quality will out weigh the expense. The rest of your meals can be light, inexpensive, and more relaxed.

2. Guilt-

Fact:
Usually guilt comes from knowing you have other options that are available to you, that make better sense, but you choose not to take those options.

Solution:
Opting to have one lunchtime meal at a restaurant once a week, if you can schedule it away from your office. The other four days bring a brown bag lunch and eat at a local park.

3. Fast food rut-

Fact:
Fast food is quickly prepared food and you eat it just as quickly. The flavor is usually not pleasant; the atmosphere of the restaurant is noisy as well. This leads to a great deal of stress.

Solution:
The menu option of a salad with fruit may be just be the fast food that takes you out of the rut and into a more relaxed state of being. You can still take your meal to a quiet location to reduce your stress.

4. Take it home-

Fact:
Very busy business people do not want to cook or they cannot cook.

Solution:
Many food stores now have deli prepared meals that are convenient and less expensive then restaurants. Planning your day to make the time to stop at the store is better and less stressful then waiting for a table at a local crowded restaurant. The process for clean up is minimal and if you plan, things well you will have food for the next days lunch.

5. Healthy-

Fact:
We all know the importance of eating healthy. Changing your habits may be a bit more of a challenge.

Solution:
Eating out or buying prepared foods take some research into what is healthy for you, specifically. If you are used to meat and potatoes three times a week at a restaurant that serves a 16 oz steak, then perhaps you need to consider portion control. Then tapering off to once a week is a suggestion. Using your great brain that is stress reduced by now will help you consider the healthiest alternatives. You have to start somewhere and now is the time.