I get it, everyone is busy, running to appointment after appointment, meeting deadlines and completing projects. In those periods eating healthy might seem like an impossible task.
I often hear the sentence “I really want to start eating healthier, but I just don’t have the time for it”.
The truth is that eating healthy does not take any more extra time than eating junk. It only takes a bit of planning and you will see that it is actually much easier than you imagine.
Here are a few tips that will help you stay on track with a healthy diet, even when you have a tight schedule:
- Make a shopping list
I always take Saturday morning to sit down and prepare a shopping list. I make sure that my pantry is full with ingredients that I can use throughout the week, such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, tempeh, grains and beans, olive oil, tamari, tahini and other ingredients. This is a really good habit, because it also saves me much time in the shop, and I don’t end up buying things I don’t really need.
- Buy organic frozen vegetables
I have only started doing this recently, and already notice how convenient and easy it makes my cooking. I stock up on organic frozen spinach, broccoli, pea and blueberries. I use the greens when I cook and add frozen blueberries to my breakfast.
- Create a breakfast ritual
It might sound like something complicated, but trust me it is not. Creating a ritual in the morning is actually a great way to start your day on a positive and healthy note. My breakfast ritual revolves around preparing a juice or tea in the morning and some oats. I mix my oats with almond milk, chia seeds, frozen blueberries, banana and some nut butter. It is something that I always do, so I got really quick at preparing it, and now I do almost on auto-pilot.
- Set one day aside for meal preparation
On Sundays I prepare the following food for the week ahead, that I store in airtight containers in the fridge:
- Cooked quinoa and rice
- Homemade hummus or any other dip
- Chopped vegetables
- Soup or a stew
This really saves a lot of time, because it gets your lunch pretty much prepped for the weak ahead. I usually take some cooked rice or quinoa, cooked chickpeas, and some vegetables for my lunch. The only thing I do then is to prepare a simple tahini dressing and my lunch is ready.
- Keep your snacks simple and healthy
Here are some examples of the snacks I like to have within reach at all times:
- Dates and almond butter
- fruits and unsalted nuts
- celery and hummus
- rice crackers with avocado
- Drink your green smoothie
Green smoothies are filled with nutrients, antioxidants and fiber and will make you full and give you a nutritional boost. It only takes a few minutes to make your own smoothie at home, but if you don’t have time even for that, than you can order some from Go Gusto.
- Double your dinner for next day’s lunch
It will not cost you any extra time at all. Just prepare more food than what you need and store the leftover in the fridge for your lunch the next day. This is a great way to keep you off the fast-food lunch options.
