You’re a busy bee. There are so many things going on – you might have work, the kids, social obligations, and the list goes on. So sometimes, you feel like you just don’t have the time to eat healthy food. But never fear – I’m going to share all of the time-saving tricks I use when life gets busy.
Use frozen fruit and veggies
Preparing fresh produce can take up a lot of time, with washing, peeling, and chopping or grating it up. But we know that fruit and veggies are an essential part of a healthy diet.
The solution here is to make the most of frozen fruit and veggies. These are already prepared, and only need defrosting or cooking. This makes them a much quicker option! And because they are usually frozen not long after they are harvested, they are still packed full of nutrition. In some cases, they might even have more nutrients than fresh produce.
Another way that they save time is by reducing the frequency of your shopping trips. Stocking up on frozen options every week or two is much quicker than picking up fresh produce every other day.
Meal prep on the weekend
It’s easy to come home exhausted, not know what to cook, and reach for the convenient options like takeaway. That’s because when we are tired, it is harder to choose the less convenient (but healthier) option.
The way that you get around this is to take the choice out of the equation by having a convenient AND healthy option. And we do that by meal prepping on the weekend.
Decide on a few meals that you want to eat during the week, and pick up the ingredients on the weekend. Then, either cook them completely, or prepare all of the ingredients for them.
You might whip up a stirfry and pop it into containers ready to reheat. Or you might chop up the vegetables and marinate the meat to make cooking much quicker. Either way, it makes it easier to choose healthy foods during the week when you are tired.
Batch cook your meals
There are some meals that are great for batch cook – think bolognese, stirfry, and curries. Instead of doing just one serve per person, double, triple or even quadruple the ingredients. Then portion the leftovers into containers, and pop into the freezer.
These frozen meals can be defrosted as a lunch option. Or if you know you have a busy day and won’t have time to cook when you get home, they can be a healthy no-effort option to feed your family.
Utilise the slow cooker
I love the slow cooker as a way to make a meal with minimal effort! Add a high-protein cut of meat, some vegetables and some sauce ingredients such as tomato paste or stock. Then leave it on low during the day.
You get to come home to a meal that is packed full of nutrition, and all you have to do is serve it up! As a mum who works, this is a dream for me.
If you want to save even more time, make sure you check out The Lifestyle Collective. You’ll have access to weekly meal plans and recipes designed to be healthy and easy to fit into a busy lifestyle. To learn more, click here.
