Eating healthy when busy can be tough. No matter how much you want to eat healthy – if you have a busy schedule, are always on the go and have no time to cook, nourishing your mind and body with healthy meals can be challenging. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In this post, I’ll share with you 5 tips for eating healthy when busy so you can finally make eating healthy the priority it should be.
Eating healthy when busy tip 1: Plan ahead
Do you ever come home from work and not know what to make for dinner? It can be the most frustrating feeling. You’re already exhausted from work, no energy to think about what to cook and at worst you also have to go grocery shopping.
My tip for you is to plan ahead. If you already know what you will cook, you’re less likely to turn towards take-away or unhealthy ready-made meals. Plus, you can keep that in mind when you go grocery shopping so you don’t need to do that after work.
How to plan ahead
Take some time on a Sunday afternoon (or morning) and make a rough plan what you want to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner during the next week. I like to create a note on my phone and write down the meals for each day. Then I open my grocery list app and add the ingredients that I need to buy.
Eating healthy when busy tip 2: Prepare in advance
If you’re even more dedicated, you can take the previous tip to the next level and prep ahead. Because what is better than coming home after work and just having to re-heat a delicious, healthy meal? It takes 5 minutes, and then you have a lot of time left to exercise, read a book, watch a TV series or whatever you want to do.
What to prepare in advance
If prepping entire meals seems like too much work for you, you don’t have to. Even just precooking some quinoa or rice on a Sunday evening or chopping up your veggies makes it easier to eat healthy on a busy work night.
If you’re looking for ideas on what to meal prep, here are a few recipes you can try: Oil-Free Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad With Pumpkin Seeds And Parsley Pesto, Vegan Citrus Quinoa Salad, Vegan Chia Pudding, or this Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread.
Eating healthy when busy tip 3: Take some snacks on the go
This next tip for eating healthy when busy is really easy to implement, but it not only makes it easier to eat healthy but can also save you money. Always have some healthy snacks available when you’re on the go. I also like to have some snacks on hand in the office so if I work late, I don’t get super hungry and grab something from the vending machine.
Healthy snacks include nuts, like almonds, cashews, walnuts or hazelnuts, or dried fruit like figs, apricots or dates. Of course, fresh fruits like apples or bananas are also a great healthy snack but they also go bad faster.
Eating healthy when busy tip 4: Focus on eating
This next tip is something you might not want to hear: don’t multitask. I repeat. Do. Not. Multitask. I have to admit, I’m sometimes guilty of it, too. Especially if you have a lot of things to do and no time, eating in front of your computer or smartphone can be tempting.
The problem is, that if you’re multitasking, you’re not focusing on eating. And you don’t notice when you’re actually full so you tend to eat more than actually need. And you tend to eat faster, too. So even if it’s just 15 minutes – take the time to stop working and focus on what you’re eating.
Eating healthy when busy tip 5: Know your Plan B meals
While I like to plan and prep as much as possible, there are still evenings when I come home from work and I have nothing prepared. Or days at work where I didn’t bring lunch with me. My tip here is to know your plan b. Know where you can go for lunch where they have healthy options. Or if there is a supermarket, you can usually get some healthier options there.
Over time, I have collected a few recipes that are super easy to make. I can have them ready in 15-20 minutes with little effort. I encourage you to make a note of a couple of recipes that you really enjoy and that you can cook in under 20 minutes. Then, when you come home after a stressful day, you have a plan B.
Here are a few quick healthy recipes: Quinoa and Black Bean Buddha Bowl (Iron-Rich), Vegan Pasta Salad (healthy & oil-free), or this Warming Chickpea Bowl (oil-free).
So these are my 5 tips for eating healthy when busy. Let me know in the comments below: What is your favorite dinner recipe that you make after a busy day?
