Think You Don’t Have Enough Time to Cook Healthy Meals?

Why does everyone think they don’t have enough time to eat healthy?

It’s not about time, it’s about motivation and a little planning ahead.  

I’d like to argue that it takes the same amount of time to prepare something healthy as it does to drive through your favorite fast food establishment.

All it takes is what I call the 3 P’s: Plan, Purchase and Prepare.

Plan – Pick a day and time of the week that you will sit down, think about five dinners to make and write a grocery list. This can take five minutes or an hour; it depends on if you are looking up new recipes in cookbooks or online or if you have a mental list of meals you like to make.

Purchase – Sounds easy. But it can be difficult, I understand. Plan on a time that you will go to the grocery store – WITH your list (do not leave it on the kitchen counter!). Get everything you need for the five dinners as well as fresh fruit for snacks.

Prepare – Decide on a time to do some prep work for the week. Look through your recipes and determine what can be done ahead of time. For example, do your meals require chopped vegetables, minced garlic, blended sauces or whole grains? If so, take one or two hours to do this for all of the meals.

Some will argue that vegetables may lose some of their nutrients once they are cut and chopped. That may be true, but they will still have great health benefits, far outweighing burgers and fries. Put each component in a sealed container or Ziploc bag in the fridge labeled with the day you’ll make it.

Ideally, do your three P’s on the weekend when you have more time. Then, when weekday dinner times creep up on you, you will be ready. Simply take out the labeled day and finish it off!

For quick and healthy dinner ideas, please e-mail me at Debbie@NutritionAndHealthCounseling.com.

Bon appetit!