4 Tips to Eating Healthier, Especially for Busy Individuals
As busy individuals eating healthy can sometimes feel challenging, especially when first shifting to eating foods that are nutrient-dense and health promoting. It can take longer to prepare foods that provide the body the nutrients it needs.
Foods are the building blocks for our body. They are information for your DNA to function more optimally. When we skip meals and don’t eat anything or consume unhealthy foods, such as a bagel, pizza or fast food, it puts our body in a deficit not allowing you to feel your best. Just as we don’t put crappy gasoline in our cars and expect it to perform day in and day out well, why are we okay with consuming such foods?
Skipping breakfast and eating a nutrient-less filled meal is something I see often, and can lead the individual to unwanted health concerns such as afternoon fatigue, over eating at night, sleep disturbances, hormone disruption and weight gain. And having a few bites of your kid’s leftover macaroni and cheese or French fries doesn’t give your body the tools it needs to function either.
Feeling like you have no time, try one or more of these 4 tips to making healthy eating easier:
- Prepping salads for 2-3 days at one time not only cuts the cost of buying lunch or dinner, but it saves time in making each meal individually. You also get to choose exactly what you want on your salad! I fill 2-3 large 16-ounce mason jars putting the heavier foods on the bottom (carrots, artichokes, radishes, broccoli), moderately weighted veggies in the middle (chopped palm hearts, fennel, tomatoes, cucumbers), and lightest on top (mixed greens, chopped kale, arugula, mustard greens, broccoli sprouts). I put these in the fridge for later in the week and dump the salad into a big bowl when I get home from work. Then taking the 3 minutes to add balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, left over chicken breast from the night before and slicing an avocado to throw on top. Dinner is ready in less than a handful of minutes!
- Making a soup ahead of time, especially during the winter months is a staple at our house. It’s warming for the colder days and easy to reheat up any time of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner. Adding a meat or legume protein source with a variety of vegetables, such as any winter squash or a sweet potato, carrots, bok choy, leeks, mushrooms, garlic and onion, you can have a ready made, just heat up meal in minutes while you are getting settled after walking in the door from work.
- Knives are a chef’s best friend. Cooking with knives that are easy to cut and work with makes cooking much more enjoyable. Sharpen your blades as needed or if you are in need of good, durable knives, purchasing new ones like the knives I bought can be a game changer. It makes cutting foods much faster, which means more time for other things.
- Instead of pasta noodles, try spaghetti squash. Slice a spaghetti squash in half, take a fork and scrape out the seeds, then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Place upside down on a baking sheet or baking pan. Cook for about 30 minutes until the outer skin is slightly soft to touch. Scrape with a fork from one side to the other onto a plate or bowl and add your favorite sauce (minced pine nuts, chopped arugula, olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and pepper with about 4 ounces of leftover chicken). I love this nutrient-dense pasta option as while the spaghetti squash is cooking, I can do other things before sitting down to enjoy dinner.
What are your favorite nutrient-dense and health promoting cooking quick tips? Share them with me below!
Warmly,
Stacy
