I often hear my clients say “I really want to eat healthily but I just don’t have the time to cook …  When I get home from work and I am starving- I just grab whatever is around and you know what- I don’t really care if it’s healthy at that particular time”

If things were perfect, we’d all be eating healthy, delicious meals every day.

But when you are a busy woman and your hectic life is pulling you in many directions, all at once sometimes, eating healthily can feel like a massive hurdle sometimes.

 So how can you healthily when finding the time to cook is challenging?

I must admit that I love eating healthily but I don’t love spending hours especially when I am busy with work.

I believe that the secret to healthy eating is to move beyond the old thinking patterns about food preparation and be willing to do things a little differently, what I mean is transform the way you think about healthy food preparation in the first place.

If you stay until the end of this article, I promise to share with you some simple tricks and tips that will not only keep you on track and feeling on top of your busy schedule, but are easy to make a part of your regular routine.

Equipped with this information you will be able to eat healthily for stable energy, laser mental focus and clarity, and best of all manage your emotional eating.

Here are your simple tricks and tips that will keep you on the healthy eating track.

The answer: it’s all in the prep work and cooking methods!

Step 1: Preparation

Part of making healthy eating simple is making sure your environment is set up to support you. This means a bit of meal planning and preparation so you always have healthy food on hand.

• Meal planning
• Shopping
• Buy extra ingredients

Healthy Eating Meal Method: P+F+C

Include a lean protein, a (preferably) leafy vegetable with healthy fats, and a complex carbohydrate. Apply this method to all your recipes for a well-balanced macronutrient meal.

• When selecting meats – go for easy cuts and/or mince versions -I find extremely easy and quick to cook and you can add a heap of fresh veggies to it

 Keep Healthy Basics on Hand

Using these whole, local ingredients means less time spent in the supermarket and kitchen

 Stock up your pantry with these healthy basics:

• Brown Rice
• Lentils
• Quinoa
• Tinned Salmon, Tuna, Or Sardines

 Stock up your freezer with these healthy veggies:

These frozen vegetables can be added to any dish -so easy-peasy for quick and nutritious meals.

• Baby peas
• Baby beans
• Carrots, peas and corn mix
• Edamame beans (high in protein)

 Meal plan in 5 minutes a day

Jot down five recipes or meals that are easy to make and that everyone will enjoy.

• Start off with selecting a protein: meat/poultry/fish/ (tofu for vegetarians) and then build around that
• Focus on recipes that have 3-5 ingredients (not including the herbs)
• Snacks are simple to create –fruit, nuts, protein bars, dips like hummus or tzatziki (you can purchase these and divvy the into portions)

Shopping: 

Create a simple shopping list including ingredients you will need for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks plus the ingredients to make bulk batches as well.

Store this list on your computer and change ingredients for new recipes.

Note: Setting this up may take about an hour initially but once you set up it will only take about 5 minutes each week.

 “Healthy eating doesn’t mean spending hours in the kitchen!”

 Step 2: Bulk Prep

Cook Once -Eat Twice (or more)

When preparing the meal, you’re about to eat, get into the habit of making extra.

 This is seriously my favourite because it is a massive time saver and ensures that you always have healthy, nutritious, delicious food on hand.

 I always think ahead, with the view to economise my time. Enter the habit of making bigger batches of everything I cook and having enough to feed myself and the family a healthy lunch the next day.

 Here are some tips:

• Buy extras of all your dish ingredients
• Have those ingredients on hand as a quick and easy add-on to any other proteins and vegetables you prepare later in the week.

 The benefits of preparing several meals together-More Free Time to do the things you love

 Being organised will result in having to cook less dishes and less cleaning up afterwards

• You will have more time and energy to invest in your favourite activities

 And lastly Zip Up-Pre-portion single servings of healthy snacks like almonds, edamame beans, and healthy crackers into snack bags. So, when it’s time to pack your lunch or satisfy a mid-afternoon craving, you’ll be prepared with easy-peasy healthy snacks, and won’t end up having to make decisions and best of all avoid mindless snacking.

In this article I have given you the process to make healthy eating easy-peasy

• How are you going to make it happen?

If you are serious about becoming the expert in positive, healthy habits, taking control of your eating and feel good about yourself and your life, let’s chat to talk about your next steps, book a free 15-min mini-coaching session with me and I’ll show you how to transform your life.

It’s free. And it might change your life.

Irena Geller

Emotional Eating Coach

BSc (Biomed), Cert IV (PT), Wellness Coach (Level 3))

I coach 35+ women to put down their fork and pick up their life.  If you want to end your struggles with excess weight, stress, and self-belief, using your strengths and capabilities, book a free 15-minute mini-coaching session with me and I’ll show you how to transform your life.

References:

1.Essentials of Healthy Eating: A Guide

2.What you eat affects your productivity