I could do it in one time. Planning and cooking 🍳, especially if I have a few minutes while one product will be ready)
Keep a few prepared things in the freezer or cabinet that don’t require anytime. Microwaveable breakfast burritos, granola bars, hard boiled eggs.
Two options: multitasking or fast but healthy recipes. Multitasking means that i will reduce the precision of my daily schedule in order to do it while i’m eating / fast but healthy means smoothie or similar, something i can do in a few minute, in order to reduce time cooking anda have time for schedule. Anyway, i don’t care which of the two things will have less time than usual, i will do both of us.
Start small. Make changes that are manageable and move you closer to your goal. Don’t try to change everything about the way you eat at once. Also, put yourself in a situation to have great food nearby. Don’t get junk food from the grocery store. Get food that is good for you that you have time to prepare. Don’t go to fast food restaurants, or if you do have to, only go to ones that you feel are acceptable and have a plan going in to get only food that you feel good about eating.
Hmm I could make it the night before, so that I’d be able to take it and eat it on the go. Or I could eat something smaller but effective like an apple or nuts.
Having something that’s easy to eat rather than cook. The more options the better. For ex- a banana (easy to peel and eat), peanut butter on toast, yoghurt with fruit...
As a single mom, grad student, and bartender I COMPLETELY feel ya on this. This probably isn’t a recommended avenue, but I’ve found that eating at Zoe’s kitchen or other healthy quick places is incredibly helpful (Whole Foods, Panera, etc). I can order and pay for it on their apps and quickly pick it up on lunch break. I can usually stretch it out to last for 2 meals too! I wouldn’t say I’m picky but I hate tradition “healthy” fast foods like McDonalds salads. At these places I can get a meal that feels REAL. And I check the meal options with the app LifeSum to make sure I’m getting a healthy balance of macros and avoiding heavily processed foods.
I like to make things simple. For breakfast, I’ll often eat yogurt with granola and fruit or oatmeal (microwaved oatmeal is much easier than cooking it on the stovetop), hardboiled eggs with fruit, smoothies (pre-freeze them and blend in the morning), and overnight oats (takes less than 3mins to prepare the night before). For lunch and dinner, I like meal prepping. So, I’ll get a roasted chicken or bake a whole sheet of salmon fillets. I’ll also cook a ton of brown rice or quinoa and veggies. If I don’t have time for meal prepping, I’ll just cook a larger batch of food for dinner so that I can have extra for lunch tomorrow. For more veggies, I like buying frozen veggies and then dumping that into my lunch box as well. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m assuming you can also freeze quinoa or brown rice. So, in conclusion, keep your meals simple and the freezer is your friend.
If my schedule is tight I prepare food once a week for the whole week. Where I live (in Denmark) it is also possible to buy food from food delivery businesses. You can pick wether you would like vegetarian, vegan or just healthy food. They deliver it prepacked once a week and it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
You need to make sure that you always have healthy choices on hand. Possibly protein bars or yogurt or fruit. Prepare some things in advance for the week, such as putting cottage cheese & fruit into containers you can grab on the go. Or even snack foods that you have trouble eating a lot of. Make individual 'serving size' snack bags. That way when you reach for them, they are already portioned out & when the bag is done, you have to discipline yourself to say, "that’s all I’m going to eat of that food for now. I will not get another bag."
Answers reflect the personal experiences of Fabulous community members. They are not medical or professional advice — for guidance about your health, talk to a qualified professional.
