Do you struggle with making healthy choices when you’re busy? I know that a lot of people feel more prone to grab for junk food when they only have a few minutes and need to eat. I’ve found that simply being aware of how a busy schedule influences my eating habits has helped me be more prepared for those busy days and find ways to eat healthy even when I am busy. Here are 5 ways to eat healthy even when you’re busy.
- Schedule for cooking and eating. When working on your schedule for each day, if your list is too long to leave any room for eating work to move one of your ‘to do’ list items to another day when possible. Eating is important and worth carving out the time for whenever possible.
- Make food ahead of time. If you know you’ll have a busy day at work prepare your lunch before leaving home to cut out cooking time at the office.
- Have a healthy snack to push back meal time if you know you’ll have time later on.
- Eat while you work. If you really can’t carve out the time to stop working to eat, then plan to eat while doing tasks that don’t require both hands. I sometimes eat while blogging or doing work online if I’m really in a pinch for time.
- Have healthy convenience food on hand for busy days. I recently tried Healthy Choice Simply cafe steamers. Healthy Choice is the only major brand of frozen meals that is allowed to call 100% of its products healthy as approved by the FDA. The entrée I picked up was the Southwestern Style Chicken. It cooks in the microwave in under 5 minutes and has 23g of protein and is just 200 calories.
As a petite female I have a pretty low-calorie allowance so I love that Healthy Choice meals are very low in calorie. In fact, all Healthy Choice simply cafe steamers have at least 18 grams of protein and are 310 calories or less. Plus, each entrée including all natural ingredients such as chicken and veggies and no artificial ingredients. It has a unique container called a “tray in tray” system that holds the meat and veggies slightly above the sauce when cooking so they steam cook nicely and stay crisp. I am sensitive to food textures so I loved that the veggies and beans didn’t get too soft or mushy. Once it’s finished the inner tray comes up and you spill the meat and veggies down into the sauce and mix it up. It was really filling thanks to the 23g of protein and the flavor was really well pronounced. Look for Healthy Choice Simply Steamers in the freezer aisle.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 10 responses.
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Holly B
Great suggestions. I agree that having healthy items on hand is important. I try not to snack in general and that helps.
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Sarah L
Haven’t tried those dinners. I keep good granola bars in my car.
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We really enjoy eating those Healthy Choice steamers on Saturdays for a special lunch treat. My husband and son like all of the rice varieties and I really like the ravioli ones.
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nutfull.com offers portion controlled healthy snacks that I strongly recommend. I enjoy them while at work.
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Sue Hull
These are great suggestions! I like to have fruit in a baggie or a granola bar if Im busy with errands.
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Amber Ludwig
Such great suggestions!! I find that if I prep and have healthy snacks on hand Im way more apt to eat them instead of other poor choices!! Most of out poor choices come from convenience!!
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Dandi D
These are great tips–it’s hard not to just grab something unhealthy when you’re in a hurry!
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Deb E
Yep for me it’s all about meal prep. I don’t have a family so I often don’t want to waste time on making food. I love eating seeds and nuts with oats and protein powder, so if all else fails with no time, I never get tired of that. I don’t have a freezer, so can’t keep those processed meals. I do have some canned food in case there’s no power, and yes, that has happened. I have had their Healthy Choice soups and do think they have some good products.
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kathy downey
Its so easy to grab something unhealthy when you’re in a hurry,we like to take a weekend a month and cook meals and bake bread and cookies/squares so there is always something fast for those rushed days.
I couldn’t agree more! On the days when the kids and I are out and about all day, it can be hard to eat healthy and not get fast food! I find bringing healthy snacks and drinks really helps us stay on track. 🙂