The biggest hurdle most people who are trying to stay healthy have is the struggle of eating on a busy schedule, which is why we've got 12 tips for you. Because you need the energy to keep up with your busy schedule? Nourishing your body makes it function properly and keeps it from breaking down on you.
There is nothing like feeling good. Imagine what you’ll be able to accomplish you are feeling energetic, vibrant, and alive. Here are some great suggestions to help you stay on track when life gets too busy, and you feel stuck in a less-than-nutritious rut.
Plan
Plan meals ahead of time. Knowing what is going to be on the menu removes a lot of the guesswork that goes into meals and keeps you from choosing take-out or something out of a box. Do your plan once a week or once a month and make sure you grocery shop with the intended plan in mind so that you have the needed ingredients on hand.
Eat at Home
Eating at home is cheaper than going out and way more nutritious. Start adding up all your take-out dinners and lunches, all your coffee and donut/muffin stops for the week, and then compare that with a healthy grocery shopping bill and see what’s cheaper. Also compare your nutritional facts. Compare calories, sugar, sodium, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. Compare the ingredients and whether they are sourced from clean, natural sources.
Prepare
Wash and cut fruit, vegetables, and leafy greens ahead of time. This can be a huge time saver when you need to make something quick on the fly. This can also be helpful for making healthy soups, and stews. Prepare enough to freeze as ingredients for meals for the week. When preparing a recipe, double or triple it and freeze the extra. This can help keep you organized and help keep the plans you made easy to achieve.
Go Big
Make enough food for leftovers for the next day to have for breakfast or take for lunch. There is nothing wrong with dinner for breakfast and vice versa. Breakfast doesn’t have to be toast and juice in the morning. There is nothing wrong with having a warm cup of soup or a healthy stir fry for breakfast.
Get Minimalistic
Make meals that require fewer ingredients. Start a collection of quick and healthy recipes that fit your busy lifestyle. Keep them organized and where you can access them quickly and easily. Create a Pinterest account and start a quick and easy recipe board. Find healthy, easy, and quick recipes to make online and start pinning. Keep those ingredients in your pantry for easy access. Sunwarrior's shelf-stable Harvest line has many quality, clean ingredients.
Make in Advance
Decide what ingredients you want to include in your smoothies and wash, dry, and cut them and then portion them out, and freeze them in freezer-safe containers. Each time you want a quick and easy smoothie take a freezer container out and add some nut milk or water, and protein powder, and sip away. Or make a coconut blueberry chia pudding to have for a quick breakfast.
One Pot
Use a crockpot or slow cooker. This is great way to make use of a one-dish meal, which is often easier to prepare than a main dish with separate side dishes. There are endless slow cooker recipes online as well as popular cookbooks. A slow cooker is a great investment in the long run. Just set the timer before you leave the house in the morning and voila! It's ready when you get home.
Grab and Go Health
Have healthy snacks available. Something as simple as having a fresh fruit bowl or fruit basket on the table so that you have something quick and healthy to grab when you get home or on your way out to work. Additionally, keep a healthy snack stash in the car. Things like nuts and seeds, healthy protein bars, or nut and seed bars can go a long way when those hunger pangs hit.
Healthy Short-cuts are Okay
If you are short on time but still want a healthy home-cooked meal, buy pre-chopped fruits and vegetables to save on time. Toss them in a soup, stew, or stir –fry and off you go. No chopping necessary. Sometimes just that itself is enough to ease the stress from a busy day and keep things simple in the kitchen. Also sometimes you're too busy to make any sort of meal at all. In that case, shake up a scoop of Sunwarrior's Lean Meal along with some almond milk. It's quick on-the-go nutrition.
Organize
Mise en place is a French term that means “to put in place.” Now this is crucial for an organized kitchen and the best thing if you are especially a super busy person. Before you can prepare and cook food, you have to get organized. This includes assembling all the necessary ingredients, equipment, tools, and serving pieces needed to prepare food, so that you are not looking for things at the last minute. This is the best way to assemble meals quickly and effortlessly. And you don’t have to be a top-notch chef to incorporate this tip, this can help any food lover in the kitchen.
Time-savers
Having small appliances on hand can be useful for completing some of the prepping steps more efficiently and effectively. Buying an appliance can substitute money for the time and energy required to complete the task at hand. Furthermore, investing in a high-end blender can also make smoothies taste so delicious even with the added green leafy vegetables that you won’t even taste the difference.
Healthy Choices
If all fails and you really just don’t want to cook. I know we’ve all been there. You want to be served not be the server, and you are tired of being in the kitchen, and you need a break. Or you just want to treat yourself, then go for it. Just be mindful of your choices. Choose the best, freshest and healthiest restaurants and food choices possible because your body deserves nothing but the best!
