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Ideally, health-conscious people like many of our users (and you) feel satisfied when all three meals are cooked at home without too many taste-enhancing yet unhealthy ingredients. But eating healthy when you are juggling work, family time, and other responsibilities is difficult. Looking after kids, meeting friends and other professional obligations take up a lot of time, and preparing a good meal at home from scratch seems just so far away.
Where there is a will, there are tricks to eat well. With a few simple ways, you can make healthy eating easier when you are busy. The idea is to find effective and clever ways to prepare food and clean up after it. You can enjoy your meal and even eliminate pre- and post-cooking things. When it comes to what to eat when to eat, and in what amount to eat, consult certified nutritionists who customize diet plans that suit your weight and nutrition goals. Activate FITFEAST to consult your personal nutritionist on call or chat.
5 Tips to Eat Healthy with Busy Schedules
Although freshly cut vegetables are preferable, you can chop up whole onions, carrots, celery, peppers, etc. that last for more than a meal or day. When you have some time, use it to fill up the free space in your fridge with ingredients for when you know or anticipate you might not have time. When you know you have veggies ready to be cooked, you will not even think of ordering from outside even though it may be from a “healthy” restaurant. It gets easier for you to make a soup, stew, stir-fried veggies or egg scramble when you have chopped veggies ready. And if you end up chopping too many, you can put them in a zip lock bag, flatten them, and store them in the freezer. Frozen onions and peppers are good for making a quick stew or soup.
Having a combination of healthy snack foods for a meal is an easy way to eat healthy when you have to rush to work or help move things around at home. Plus, having a variety of snacks offers various nutrients, flavors, and textures in a meal. You do not have to cook; no or minimal prepping or cleaning. Moreover, you can create a new kind of meal each time and not have the same boring meal for the sake of eating. Keep your stores replete with different types of cheese, cold cuts, raw veggies, healthy crackers, nuts, seeds, dried and fresh fruits, and raw veggies to create a wholesome meal whenever you want one.
To be able to have something healthy for all the meals on a busy day, you should cook meals in good quantities and divide them into batches for later. Buy meal-sized containers that you can stack up in your freezer. Look up foods that do not go bad for up to a week, cook them in enough quantities that would last a few days, and stock up your refrigerator. Whenever you’re in a hurry, you can just take one out, defrost, heat, and enjoy a healthy meal. You can easily cook a batch of meatballs or other chicken-based dishes alongside stir-fried veggies and have them when you do not have time to make breakfast and dinner. For that matter, you can cook soups and stews in batches as well and freeze them for later use.
When you must get to an early meeting in the morning and to come to an unorganized or cluttered kitchen, you will take longer than usual to prepare a meal. Moreover, it can make you anxious and even late. But if your cooking space is organized and clean, it is easier to find ingredients and tools, it enables you to cook in shorter periods. Make sure your countertop is clear and you have dedicated spots to prepare your meals and to place appliances, gadgets, and utensils. All in all, create a space that is easy to clean and manage. Make sure that the important condiments are easily accessible in your cabinets.
Sticking to a set pattern, a rigid diet plan, or a proper set of meals can be quite hard when you are struggling to meet deadlines as it is. It does not only drain you physically but takes up a lot of mental space as well. Also, you never know when you’re going to be facing a packed schedule. So instead of meal plans, have ideas about meals that you can make in about 15 to 20 minutes and clean up after them accordingly. Shop as per these meals and keep options open; leave mental planning for when you have more time.
