How to eat healthy when you’re too busy

Cooking three healthy meals from scratch every single day seems like a noble aspiration, in theory, but for most of us, figuring out how to eat healthily when we’re busy doesn’t seem so feasible.

When you have to untangle yourself between work, children, family, friends and all the other commitments marked during the day, you often wonder how to find the time to order even just takeaway foodlet alone cook a meal from A to Z.

There are some though time-saving tricks that allow you to quickly prepare balanced dishes, to avoid giving in to the temptation of resorting to so-called ready-made junk food, as convenient and practical as it is harmful, not only for the figure but also for health.

It’s about finding creative and intelligent ways to shorten (or even completely eliminate) the preparation and subsequent cleaning, so you can always enjoy a good, fresh and healthy meal.

Here are some simple tips to follow right away.

Buy pre-cut and pre-cooked foods

There is no denying that the cheapest option is to buy the ingredients whole and prepare them yourself. But if you’re really short on time and need a quick way to get healthy food on your table, you can buy pre-cut vegetables. frozen or precooked. Sure, they’re a little more expensive, but they save time and space in the fridge.

Store full meals in your freezer only for reheating

To avoid getting stuck at home after a long day with nothing on hand, get into the habit of keeping a few meals in the freezer that you can simply open, reheat and eat, without even having to think about preparation. You can make them when you have some time (and inspiration), perhaps on the weekend, divide them into portions and freeze them. The microwave oven will do the rest.

Aim for simplicity

Even if being creative in the kitchen helps to discover new flavors and combinations – let’s think about the use of spices – it is not always essential to brainstorm to be imaginative, especially when time is not an available resource. Just because you haven’t spent much time in the kitchen doesn’t mean what you’re eating isn’t healthy. A simple slice of whole grain bread smeared with butter peanuts, along with a fruit and yogurt makes for a great lunch in terms of nutrition, and is healthy.

Prepare a cookbook

It can be frustrating and time-consuming try to remember or find your favorite healthy dishes online or dig through old recipe books. To keep track of what you like best and would like to prepare again, create your own healthy cooking notebook and keep it in a designated place for quick reference at any time.

Other tips can be found in the gallery above. They were drawn up with the support of Dr. Chiara Manzi, an Italian nutritionist and university professor, expert in Culinary Nutrition in Europe and author of the book Cucina Evolution. Fit Without Diet, published by Art Joins Nutrition.