Sometimes it can be tricky to find the time to create delicious, healthy meals from scratch. If you’re working a lot and need to eat when you get home, grilled cheese or a grocery store frozen dinner will often suffice. Although these meals are great for a one-off quick treat, the lack of nutrients will leave you feeling sluggish and could even have an impact on your concentration.
It is no secret that the more nutritionally dense your food is, the better you will feel. Yes, we know it can sometimes be a chore to prepare food during a busy week – that’s why we’ve prepared an article with a few shortcuts you can try.
Preparing meals can often take longer than the actual cooking, and if you lack the right appliances, your meal preparation is probably taking longer than it should. Investing in a mini-chopper could be the solution if you find that preparing healthy food is time-consuming. All you have to do is place your vegetables into the chopper, and the rotating blade does all the work. You’ll be able to create curry pastes, pestos, and even sofrito bases for Italian sauces and, best of all, it will take a matter of minutes and you won’t even have to sharpen a knife.
If you’re finding that you need to eat as soon as you come in from work, put some ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning, and by the time you arrive home, you’ll have a steaming pot of goodness waiting for you. Crockpots are great for creating anything from stews to kinds of pasta, and you can even use your crockpot to make a giant gooey cookie if you’re feeling particularly naughty.
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If you’re a little kitchen shy, you might want to consider using a meal kit. For those who are short on time, meal kits are a great way to get a lot of flavor into a dish without having to spend time chopping herbs or shopping for specialty ingredients.
For example, the Martha and Marley Spoon recipe kit brings you some of the most popular recipes straight from Martha Stewart’s cookbooks, so expect classic dishes with bold flavors and ready portioned ingredients to make a show-stopping weeknight meal in a heartbeat. This Martha & Marley Spoon review explains exactly how the meal kits work and, with everything weighed out already, you just have to add the fresh ingredients in a pan and serve.
If you’re struggling to create healthy midweek dishes and find that you’re relying on ready-made frozen foods too often, you could try making your own TV dinners at home. Ready-made dinners from the grocery store are often heavily processed and contain lots of additives, which can be harmful to the body.
If you set aside some time on a weekend, you could cook your meals for the month and portion individually, so that you can pull out what you need when you’re hungry. This easy solution is perfect for those who might not even have time to do anything other than turn on an oven. You could even create whole meals, such as ramen and fresh vegetables, which can be stored in the fridge until you’re ready to boil a kettle and throw some water over the top. But the real beauty of this system is that you can also freeze several meals to enjoy in the next few weeks, for more variety.
For those with busy lifestyles, eating healthily isn’t often a top priority or possibility. Yet, with a few simple changes, you can create healthy midweek meals which will leave you feeling energized and nourished without a sink full of dishes.
You might be a grilled cheese fanatic at the moment, but wait until you’re jumping out of bed with gusto in the morning because you’re feeding your body delicious, nutritious food. You’ll love the change in your energy levels.