If you find yourself challenged in the kitchen due to time constraints or fatigue and takeaway or cheese and crackers have become a dinner staple, then you may find the following tips helpful to discover your inner master chef! (That might be a little far-fetched, but at least you’ll be on the road back to healthy eating!)
Reality check
It takes less than 15 minutes (we have timed it!) to make a chicken stir-fry at home. Are your excuses getting in the way of you eating well to maximise your energy and vitality?
Cook double and have for lunch or dinner the next day
Simple and easy. No matter what you are having for dinner, cooking that little bit extra will serve for a healthy meal for the following lunch or dinner saving you lots of time. A variation of this is to cook roast chicken or lamb on a Sunday night and use the leftovers for healthy sandwich or pop into a salad.
Invest in a slow cooker or the holy grail – the Thermomix
Owners of this wonderful invention swear by them. Put all the ingredients into the cooker in the morning, arrive home and dinner is literally served, all you need to do is put it onto a plate. Healthy, handy and will do wonders for your appetite when you arrive home to the smells of a home cooked meal. The Thermomix is also said to revolutionise your time in the kitchen as it chops, heats and stirs allowing you to attend to more pressing matters!
Cook in bulk and freeze
There are plenty of meals that freeze well and can provide you with a healthy backup for those nights when cooking is the last thing on your mind. Casseroles, lasagne, stews even stir-fry’s are some of the more common meals that are frozen by those using this practice to simply life in the kitchen. You can have a dozen meals at your fingertips!
Scheduled cooking time on the weekend
Many organised, yet busy people schedule their cooking time into the diary to ensure their health remains their number one priority. A few hours on a Sunday can do wonders for easing the strain on the diary later in the week. This is where making simple easy dishes, such as roasts and casseroles can be created and left in the fridge/freezer for later in the week.
Healthy fall backs
Fresh is always best, but there are some healthy convenient food items that are far better than having cheese and crackers for dinner or takeaway when you are working long hours or are tired. Having healthy quick foods on hand in your kitchen will allow you to prepare a nutritious meal in literally minutes.
Essential staples for the pantry/fridge
- English spinach or rocket – have something green with every meal is a great rule of life to live by!
- Eggs
- Tinned tuna/salmon
- Tinned organic tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Tinned organic legumes, i.e., cannellini beans, kidney beans or chick peas
- Basic herbs, fresh or dried – oregano, basil, coriander, mint
- Gluten free pasta
- Pesto sauce
- Frozen vegetables – Fresh is always best and frozen is better than nothing!
Putting it all together:
- Eggs (ideally organic) and vegetables for a quick omelette for dinner or breakfast
- Tinned organic cannellini beans (wash first), cherry tomatoes, Spanish onion, continental parsley, dash of olive oil and lemon for a quick salad
- Tinned tuna or salmon, organic tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, basil, oregano for a quick protein dinner
- Tinned tuna, avocado, cherry tomatoes and onion served on rye crackers for a quick dinner when you aren’t too hungry
- Gluten free pasta with pesto sauce and English spinach
