When your time is divided between work, kids, family, friends, and any of the other million obligations that eat up the hours in the day, you may often wonder how to find time to even order takeout, let alone chop, cook a homemade meal, and clean up after.
If you’re strapped for time, there are certain tricks that can help make eating healthier at home a little easier. It’s all about finding creative and clever ways to shorten (or even totally eliminate) prep and clean up, so you can enjoy a good meal. The tips and tricks below will help you form a game plan, and make fueling yourself fit better into your hectic schedule. Here’s how to eat healthy when you’re busy.
CREATE A MASTER GROCERY LIST
Create a reusable master shopping list of the items you always want to have on hand in your kitchen!
Products like milk, nut butters, olive oil, salad fixings, your favorite vegetables and fruits, eggs, healthy snacks, pet food, etc.
You can probably create most of the list from memory, but it’s also a good idea to go through your fridge and pantry to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
Then, type up your list on your laptop or phone. Leave some space for a few “extras.”
Every week print out a copy to keep in your kitchen…
And if you notice you’re running low on something, circle it on the list so you know it’s time to get more.
Let others in your household know about the list, too, so (at least theoretically!) they’ll also use the list.
This’ll save you so much time from recreating your list every week … and it also cuts way back on making extra trips to the store to get items you forgot.
BUY PRE-CUT AND PRE-BAGGED FOODS
Most grocery stores offer convenience items that save tons of time. For example, you can buy broccoli florets instead of a crown of broccoli, or choose shredded carrots instead of whole carrots that you have to shred yourself. Cutting down on food prep is a big time saver.
Vegetable trays pre-cut, frozen vegetables, or bagged salads that come with all the mix-ins can all help you get a meal on the table in less time.
Looking for more budget friendly options? Canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are great alternatives!
HATE LEFTOVERS?
BATCH COOK MEAL COMPONENTS
A LOT of people don’t want to meal prep because they hate leftovers. Understandable!
But guess what? It’s still possible to get all of the time-saving and stress-busting benefits of meal prepping WITHOUT having to eat last night’s dinner!
If you want to really save time when meal prepping, batch cook staple foods and use them to compile meals throughout the week. Pick proteins, carbohydrates, and veggies so you have a variety of foods to choose from. Here are some examples:
- Roasted chicken
- Salmon
- Quinoa
- Brown rice
- Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
- Roasted carrots
- Diced bell peppers
- Mixed greens
If you have batch-cooked meal components, you can throw them into a bowl and call it a meal in less than five minutes. Think about this: roasted chicken with quinoa and roasted carrots.
You could add guacamole, sriracha, low-sugar barbecue sauce, or coconut aminos.
Heat it up, and voila! It’s time to eat. Sounds good right?
BATCH COOK AND FREEZE FAVORITE RECIPES
Cook meals when you have the time and stash some in the freezer. Then, defrost and heat up as needed. For example, make a batch of turkey meatballs and keep them in your freezer for when you don’t have time to make dinner
Make big batches of soups and stews in your slow cooker and then freeze half to make future meals.
HAVE A PLAN WITHOUT STICKING TO A MEAL PLAN
When you’re busy, sticking to a rigid, planned set of meals can be challenging. It takes a lot of mental energy to think more than a few days in advance, and sometimes feels nearly impossible to predict what will sound good to you when that day comes.
Keep the ingredients a few quick and simple meals that require minimal prep or clean up and 20 minutes of cook time—or less. Keep these in mind when you’re doing your routine shopping, so that you can make sure you have options without having to do the extra mental work of planning.
Meal prepping is all about organization. And healthy meal prep is worth it. Use these tips to get organized, save time, and start enjoying healthy meal prep every week.
Join our From Stressed to Best Boot Camp if you want help in this area!
