Time-Saving Ways to Help You Eat Healthier

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When I bring up healthy eating around friends and family, the most common response is it’s not doable for them. People think it’s too expensive, unbearable, or takes up too much time. While most people dread the thought of having to eat healthier, anyone will agree that they should be doing it.

So, I figured a post helping everyone get over some of these obstacles would be appreciated. Here are some ways to eat healthy that fit into your busy schedule, save you money, and are easy to do.

Learn How to Eat Healthier

If you haven’t spent much time thinking about nutrition before, I recommend getting familiar with the basics. Knowing the food groups, portion sizes, and which foods to eat in moderation will be your first step to success. Each country seems to have its own version of a food guide, so I’m not going to go into much detail. Canada’s food guide can be found here.

Personally, I try to have 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. At each meal, I eat a portion of grains, protein, and a serving of fruits or veggies. Snacks are usually a granola bar, veggies with hummus, an apple with string cheese, etc. I don’t follow a strict diet plan and recommend you don’t either. I still enjoy less nutritious foods like chips and candy almost daily, while being mindful of portion sizes.

Also, try to steer clear of any diet advice people give you. Don’t cut out entire food groups or banish bananas from your pantry. The goal here is to get as much nourishment as you can while still enjoying how you eat. It may take a bit before you find the way that works best for you.

Find Time-Saving Meals

The best thing you can do to eat healthily with a busy life is to find recipes and snacks that are quick, easy to make, and can be made in batches. Meal prepping for days in advance will save you serious time and money. Because I do 12-hour shifts and don’t feel like cooking when I get home after standing all day, meal prepping has been a blessing for me.

Aside from making grab-and-go meals and keeping them in the fridge or freezer, you can also meal prep by getting your ingredients ready for cooking. Chopping up your meats and veggies or pre-cooking things like pasta can speed up your cooking when you’re low on time. Click here for more info on meal prepping.

Batching and meal prepping are also very cost-effective if you do it right. If you buy in bulk or stock up when your ingredients are on sale, you can make each meal pretty cheap. Another good idea is to buy your fruits and vegetables canned or frozen so they don’t expire before you can use them. Canned and frozen veggies will save you time and money and are just as nutritious!

If time is a bigger issue for you than saving money, check out what your local grocery stores offer for prepared meals and salad bars. Most grocery stores offer precut produce, take-home meals, and sides. Be wary of what you buy in this situation because something can be marketed as healthier than it is.

“Our greatest currency is our time and we cannot save it. Spend it wisely and never waste another's or your own.” – Kyle Barger Click To Tweet

Eat Healthier by Planning Grocery Trips

Planning your grocery trip to eat healthier is how you make sure you stick to your goals for healthy eating. After you’ve learned about nutrition and found yourself some quick and delicious meals, it’s time to make a grocery list. To do this, you need to plan what you’ll be eating for a few days to a week. Write down all the meals and snacks you’ll be eating.

Then, you can write out a complete grocery list so you won’t forget anything while you’re out. Also, stick to the list when you get to the store, and don’t go shopping while you’re hungry. Impulse buys will fill your cart instead of healthy food. After you get all your ingredients, it’s time to meal prep! Remember to set aside time to do this, as it will save you heaps of time later.

Being able to plan what you’ll be eating for days ahead takes away any decisions you’ll have to make about food. Having the food ready for you will make eating healthier easier and more stress-free. Now, when you’re rushing the kids out the door or working late, you have the luxury of quickly grabbing your lunch from the fridge.

Fill Your Home with Healthy Food Options

Sometimes, you don’t get a chance to run to the grocery store, or you’re looking for a time-saving snack at home. When this happens, it’s good to keep some healthy food options in your house. Filling your freezer and pantry with nutritious food will help make sure you choose them when hunger strikes.

Contrarily, limit the amount of junk food you keep on hand. You don’t want the healthy snacks to be hidden behind them and forgotten. Putting the less nutritious food behind the healthy food options can help remind you to make better food choices when you get hungry.

Here are a few snack ideas to stock your pantry with:

• Almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
• Dried fruit (watch your portion sizes, dried fruit has a lot of sugar).
• Canned fruit and vegetables.
• Granola bars (here’s a great recipe!)
• Whole grain pasta and tomato sauce.
• Protein bites (here’s another great recipe!)
• Whole wheat crackers.
• Popcorn (you can get bags that have light butter or no butter that are still delicious).

A Note for Binge Eaters

Are you a binge eater who wants to eat healthier while also learning to control binge cravings? I have the perfect book to recommend! The Binge Code by Alison Kerr teaches you how to improve your eating habits. It offers techniques to stop overeating and make binge cravings disappear.

If you haven’t read The Binge Code yet, you really should! Learn how to stop being a slave to food and finally have food freedom. For more information on what the book teaches, I wrote a complete review of it here.

Click below for quick links to the book on Amazon!

• The Binge Code: Paperback
• Audiobook: The Binge Code
• The Binge Code: eBook

In Summary

When we make it easy to eat healthily, it becomes a no-brainer. That’s why it’s important to take away any excuses we have to eat poorly. Finding simple, time-saving meals and making them in batches is the best way to do that. When you plan your food and prepare it in advance, you make it convenient and cost-effective.

Don’t forget, eating well doesn’t mean eating strictly. It’s alright to enjoy junk foods when a craving hits. Learning to limit how often you eat them is the key to becoming a healthy eater. In the end, it’s all about balance!

Do you have any hacks to eat healthier with your busy life? Share them in the comments!

That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!

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References:

• https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/
• https://gatheringdreams.com/easy-healthy-meal-prep-ideas-30-minutes/
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-meal-prep#methods
• Featured image credit: Poramate/bigstockphoto.com