Sure, living like Martha Stewart is everyone’s dream, but there’s no way you can find time to grow your food, chop things, pickle others and cook elaborate meals when you’re hella busy. However, you don’t have to eat complete garbage every when you’re stuck in the office for half of your day and feel beat the other half. Here are some easy ways you can eat healthy on a busy schedule.
Throw all junk food out of your home
If you have a bag of chips in the pantry and a tub of ice cream in the freezer, there’s a great possibility it will disappear before that frozen broccoli or baby carrots. So, if you know you can’t resist the temptation, eliminate it from your home and voila!
Prep easy and healthy snacks
Packing healthy snacks is a piece of cake. Try prepping snacks for the entire week or just pack enough for the next day. Whatever you choose, it will take you half an hour tops and help you eat better. For instance, you can opt for chopped apples with almond butter, Greek yogurt and granola, popcorn, trail mix or veggies with sweet potato hummus.
Try meal prep
Of course, you don’t want to cook dinner when you come back home after 8 hours of work and some overtime. But, if you have some pre-made food, you will have an easy time popping it into the microwave and having a healthy meal. Decide on two or three easy dishes you can make on a weekend and you’ll have delicious food all through the work week.
Opt for healthy catering
If you’re having an event or an important work meeting, you can still choose a healthy option. Instead of ordering a bunch of pizza pies, you can opt for delicious and healthy catering that will provide you with everything from chicken and veggie wraps, avocado sandwiches and gourmet salads to tasty, low-cal treats. Everyone at your event will love your healthy catering and you’ll get to stay true to your new dietary habits.
Try making one-pot dishes
Aside from all the chopping and peeling, cooking also leaves a bunch of dirty dishes behind. Nobody has time to clean all of that! Luckily, there are dishes you can prepare in exactly one (1) pot, pan or bowl. These one-dish wonders are delicious yet usually healthy and nutritious. You can find various recipes online from seafood stews and chicken noodle soups to casseroles and risottos. These will leave you with some delicious food, practical leftovers and only one dish to take care of!
Stack your fridge at work
Sure, not everyone works at a traditional office, but if you do, you can easily boost your healthy diet. Put your work fridge to good use and fill it with healthy snacks, easy lunch ideas and low-sugar, high-nutrition drinks. For instance, you can pop some sweet potatoes into your work microwave, steam some veggies and finish your meal with some delicious lemonade. You can also grab a bowl, fill it with fruit and keep it on your desk. You will find yourself reaching for fruit much more often than if you keep it in the fridge. Apples, pears, oranges and pomegranates have a long shelf life and will always be available when you feel like snacking on something tasty and healthy.
Don’t eat and work
Multitasking might seem like a great idea when you’re super busy, but it can be a killer for your waistline. If you’re staring at the screen while stuffing your face, you can completely lose track of portions. There’s no way you’re that busy that you can’t set 10 minutes aside to have your meal at peace. Take your meal to the break room or bring it outside to enjoy it with some fresh air and sunlight. Concentrate on tastes, textures and aromas and you’ll have a much more pleasurable eating experience and go back to work refreshed and full of new energy.
Create a food calendar
There are people who swear by this technique, so feel free to try it. For instance, you can do pasta on Monday, tacos on Tuesday, rice on Wednesday, salads on Tuesday and so on. You can make weekends your soup days because that’s when you have more time for food prep. Collect a few recipes from every category that you like and put them in the rotation. This way, you’ll have a much easier time deciding on what to eat and know exactly what you need when it comes to groceries. Plus, you’ll always have meals you like and know how to prepare!
Being busy shouldn’t stop you from taking care of your wellbeing. Eating healthy or at least healthy-ish is not so hard when you have a good strategy and put some work into it. With these tips and ideas, you’ll always have healthy food options at your disposal—you only need some willpower to stick to them!