I do most of my work from home, but Friday was one of the rare days when I planned to be out all day. I had an appointment with a podiatrist in the morning, and then I was going straight to my client’s office for an afternoon of social media measurement and brainstorming. These folks tend to do lunch a little later then me, so I brought along a little something I call “emergency nuts.”

My “emergency nuts” consists of a small tupperware container full of raw mixed nuts and raisins. It basically lives in my backpack and I refill it whenever necessary. At one point in my life, I used to instead carry an “emergency bar”, usually of the LaraBar variety. And although Cocoa Mole LaraBars are delicious, the mixed nuts are far more economical and just as nourishing.

On Friday, I was very glad I had my mixed nuts on hand, plus a bonus banana. After cycling to work I was famished, and I still had a 2-hour meeting to sit through. The banana and nuts got me through it.

In addition to my emergency snack, work afforded me the rare opportunity to pack a lunch. I somewhat enjoy the packed-lunch food challenge, so I was a little disappointed when my afternoon meeting was cancelled and I didn’t need the lunch anymore. Instead, I cycled home, hungry but happy that I had packed my puncture repair kit – my bike tire was flat when I left the office!

Bonus recipe: If you like your emergency snacks in bar form, check out this recipe for homemade lara type bars.

• Lemon and honey tea
• Yoga
• Swim
• Breakfast: Bircher muesli with Greek yogurt and rooibos tea.
• Cycle: 6 miles (in a headwind!) from home to meeting in south London via a trip to the podiatrist
• Snack: Banana and a handful of mixed nuts. Plus a cup of hot black tea with milk which really revived me – I was knackered after my bike ride!
• Cycle: 6 miles from meeting to home. Tire was flat when I left the office so had to fix it first. Yay, had my puncture repair kit. Boo, bent my thumbnail back while working the tire lever around the tire. I was too hungry to care.
• Lunch: Couscous, chickpeas, salad and an apple. I dressed the salad with lemon and ate it with chunks of salted avocado. Simple but tasty! Again, I was famished, but managed not to eat everything in three gulps.
• Friday Beer: Hoegaarden at The Prince (our local), one of my favorite Friday traditions.
• Dinner: Pizza, tomato and onion salad, and more beer at Il Bacio. Another Friday tradition. Pizza tasted much better than it looks in the photo. Eggplant, mushrooms, onion and rocket. Sans cheese. They were a little stingy with the eggplant, but otherwise a tasty meal. Had two small bottles of beer, then went home and drank lots of water and ate a grapefruit (not shown).