Guest post by Leon Collier

We all move fast in a high-speed carousel and with that haste, we forget that one of our vital necessities is to feed ourselves.

Even if we can't change the way we work at the moment, we can use a few tricks when we don't have the time to cook a lavish meal.

It seems that we have no choice but to identify quick and effective ways to integrate healthy eating habits into the busy daily schedule. You’ll discover it in our recommendations, and along the way, you’ll also find ingenious solutions that can work for you.    

1. Cook during the weekend!

Cooking over the weekend can be one of those relaxing activities that bring the whole family together around one goal. In addition, their help will save your precious time. One easy thing you can do is to prepare steamed or baked goodies that you can then distribute in three separate boxes. You can take them with you for three consecutive lunches during the week.

Meanwhile, prepare a large portion of creamy soup: use mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and zucchini, beets, and whatever other vegetables you like to ensure delicious dinners in the coming days.

When you have finished the lunch pans ready for the weekend, make quick and easy choices. For example, a pita with spicy meat, salad, and dressing of fresh cottage cheese with skimmed cream and mustard.

Try to make your weekend cooking activity as fun as possible and don’t forget to rest.

2. Arrange salads and snacks in separate containers

If you want to have quick access to various ingredients and dishes, organize them as you buy them so that it will be easy for you to take them out of the fridge. 

Right after you buy vegetables and fruits, wash them and organize them in containers for each day of the week. Salad cabbage, for example, should be chopped in advance.

Let’s suppose you have prepared everything for dinner but you have half a portion of ingredients left; you shouldn’t throw them away because it would be a waste.

Put them in a pot and snack on them the next day. Otherwise, you can heat them and reuse them for your next dinner—maybe in a different and more interesting way.

3. Drink a green smoothie every day

Green smoothies are full of nutrients and antioxidants and you can keep them handy for the entire day if you put them in an airtight bottle.

One of the simplest recipes for a green smoothie is the following: a handful of fresh parsley, half a banana (the other half may be useful for your next smoothie), 1 grapefruit, 1 kiwi, and 250 ml of water.

The interesting part of these smoothies is that they can contain a huge amount of calories, which means more energy for the rest of the day. If you are not a breakfast lover then this can become your quick and healthy morning meal.

Healthy eating is not difficult and does not have to consume a large chunk of your time every day if you are doing it the right way.

4. What do you do when you have nothing ready after you get home?

1st option:

Make a large salad of fresh vegetables. The salad greens should have been previously washed and cleaned. Just add a few pieces of cheese and spices on top.

2nd option:

Unwrap a box of fresh skimmed cheese, mix it with various herbs and spices and fill two halves of red bell pepper with it. This quickly prepared  meal is both sophisticated and appetizing.

3rd option:

Throw some frozen vegetables in the pan, cover and leave them on low heat for 10 minutes while you take a shower. Come back, season them with herbs and a drop of olive oil and serve them with smoked fish or some low fat, dried pemmican.

5. Healthy snacks from the store & healthy reserve from the bag

It's a matter of habit but always try to have something in your bag for unforeseen cases when you're hungry. A box of raw almonds and nuts, raisins, or other candied fruits can withstand any kind of temperature and is also very nutritious.

Another option is digestive biscuits (preferably without sugar), crackers, vegan biscuits or rice cakes — the ones that are without chocolate, but are salted are best to prevent you from becoming even hungrier after snacking on them. Some brands on the market offer a wide range of products without additives and added sugar, which can be a great option for a healthy snack.

6. Stick to the recipes you know and love!

Trying new recipes is thrilling and fun most of the time. When you are very hungry and you want to prepare something as fast as possible, however it may not be wise to freestyle and cook something new. Maybe you discover that the new recipe is not at all to your taste and you may end up ordering fast food.

Stick to the recipes you already know and like!

Don't be afraid of some prepackaged products or canned food. Some of the companies offering these products help us not to waste time cutting vegetables.

Also, if we look carefully at the ingredients of some cans and jars, we will see that many are very "clean" with low sodium, including sardines, some canned tuna, baked peppers, beans, and pickles.

7. Order your meals, but no more than twice a week

As it concerns saving time, this method could be one of the best because while you wait for your order to be delivered you can do the things that prevent you from cooking your food.

Although you may be tempted to ask for foods such as pizza, pasta or burgers, you should know that there are many other options from vegetarian food, meat chunks cooked in tandoor-dishes, or many other atypical recipes that you might not normally think to try.

So, the next time you think about ordering, try to choose something different than you normally do; you might surprise yourself!

Bon appetit!

Leon Collier is a college paper writer and blogger from the UK, who loves to write about everything: pop-culture, history, travel, self-development, education, marketing. When not writing, you can find him behind a book or playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12

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