7 Quick Tips For Healthy Eating

Whether it’s because of our kids, jobs, school, housework, errands or aging parents, life gets hectic!  But that’s no excuse for poor eating habits.  We have to make our health a priority no matter what.  The fact is eating right will provide you with WAY more energy for your busy life than eating poorly.  The key is to find ways to make it easy to eat healthy.  Yes, eating right takes some time and effort, but a little effort goes a long way.  Here are 7 tips to help:

1.  Prep your produce.  After grocery shopping, take a few minutes to prep your produce so it’s easy to grab and eat!!  Wash and slice peppers, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon, etc. and put them in glass containers in your refrigerator.  This way, when it comes time to make a meal or grab a snack, the frutis and vegetables are ready to go.  Time Commitment:  10 minutes
2. Buy ready-to-eat produce.  If Tip #1 doesn’t sound realistic for you, then purchase convenient ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables.  Bags of baby carrots, mini peppers, sugar snap peas, pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower, grape tomatoes, bagged salads, pre-cut fruit…these require no prep at all!  Just open and munch! Time Commitment: 0 minutes
3. Keep your house stocked with healthy staples for quick throw-together meals. Keeping healthy staples in your house makes it easy to throw together a quick meal. Stock the freezer with individually-wrapped chicken breasts, ground turkey and vegetables; be sure the pantry has quinoa and brown rice, canned beans and dried lentils, vegetable and chicken broth, spices and sauces like pesto, teriyaki and barbecue, canned goods like artichoke hearts, olives, hearts of palm; and of course load the refrigerator with lots of fresh vegetables, flavorful cheese and eggs.  Time Commitment:  you’re grocery shopping anyways, so buying extra things takes 0 extra minutes.
4. Use time-saving kitchen tools. The Vidalia Chop Wizard is a fantastic tool that makes chopping vegetables a breeze!  Also a slow cooker or pressure cooker can be a big help on a busy day. Time Commitment:  negative because these SAVE you time!
5. Cook extra and freeze. When you do cook, double the recipe and freeze extras in small portions.  Then you can have leftover soup, chili or stew for lunch or dinner any time.  This can also be helpful when your family orders in deep-dish pizza or fried chicken, but you prefer a healthy choice! Time Commitment: you’re cooking anyways, so 0 extra minutes.
6. Pick 1 day per week to cook and prep. Many people who make meal prep work choose one day a week like Sunday to cook a lot of food that can be eaten for much of the next week.  Grill a batch of chicken breasts, assemble a few sets of salads and put them in individual mason jars, make some quinoa, cook up a pot of soup.  Then enjoy these all week long!  Time Commitment: 1-2 hours
7. Take advantage of companies that exist to help. Peapod can deliver groceries, while companies like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron send healthy meal kit dinners right to your home.  Time Commitment:  15 minutes on the computer to order

And to save you some time in the morning, here’s a recipe for Delicious Overnight Oats. Simply put all of the ingredients in a mason jar or container in the evening, and place in the refrigerator.  Grab and go in the morning!