Gotta love a shortcut!

It can be hard to have enough time to eat healthily. We have so much easy, quick to prepare processed foods or takeaways available to us, that sometimes it can seem impossible to have enough time to do everything you need to eat well. I find that if you can get some pre prepared meals in the freezer and have some partially prepared ingredients to add to your daily cooking it can make a huge difference. This way if I really can’t be bothered cooking that night I can reheat something instead of buying a not so healthy takeaway.

What tips and tricks do you use to help fit a healthy lifestyle into your busy schedule?

Here are some of mine:

Batch cooking afternoon. If I am able to I map out a block of time on a Sunday afternoon to do prep. Make a stock, cook a double batch of curry or bake banana bread. Sometimes I do all three.
Freeze single serving amounts of cooked quinoa. Quinoa needs to be rinsed and soaked overnight before cooking, so it can be hard to get together quickly sometimes. I cook a big batch, and then freeze portions ready to pair with a curry or stew. Anna Chisholm discusses the phytic acid that prevents nutrient absorption from grains in Why Soak your grains?
Cook a healthy curry or stew and freeze in portions instead of takeaway.
Pre-cook kale and freeze. If you blanch the kale, It helps to make the vitamins and minerals more available to the body and removes the goitrogens which can interfere with iodine uptake. I chop and cook a big bunch every couple of weeks. then separate into smaller portions to add to smoothies , eggs or curry’s and stews. (This works well with spinach and other veges too).
Freeze chopped banana for smoothies. Don’t throw out those over ripe bananas! Chop them and freeze. They are great in smoothies and give it some thickness.
Bake banana bread and freeze in portions. This and other baked goods will usually defrost well when toasted.
Make bliss balls and freeze. These defrost in 5 minutes. They are great to grab on the way to work for breakfast or a snack.
Freeze veges that are on the way out. Limp vegetables can been thrown in the freezer to use later for stock. I also keep a bag with leftover chopped herbs, carrots, onions etc for stock.
Get a slow cooker. There are a lot of great recipes around, look for ones that don’t involve searing the meat before putting it in the slowcooker. I like slow cooked Tuscan lamb shanks from Anthia Koullouros. You can throw everything in the night before and its ready in the morning. My fave is to pre chop and prep everything the night before. Then in the morning just put everything in the slow cooker and dinner is ready when you get home. I also love the Vietnamese chicken curry recipe from the I Quit Sugar – Slowcooker Cookbook.