What are Some Easy Ways to Eat Healthy?

TimeToChange007

I find it's hard to keep eating healthy when it takes a lot of time to prep foods and plan and make sure I'm not just reaching for easy, high calorie garbage. What are some easy and quick ways to make sure you keep eating healthy even when it's easier to grab something not as good?

riffraff2112

healthy is a very relative term, but I know what you mean in that some of the easiest foods to grab are high in calories and don't seem to fill you up so you tend to overeat.
I have a staple of things I always have on hand that I enjoy, and I know are low in calories and fill me up. My go-to foods are eaten pretty much everyday and are easy to prepare and have handy.
chicken, eggs (liquid eggs too!), tuna, yogurt, cottage cheese.
I make little freezer bags of chicken so I have them on hand to add to salads as well.
Protein smoothies are also easy to pre-prepare and freeze them up to take with you.

kommodevaran

TimeToChange007 wrote: »

I find it's hard to keep eating healthy when it takes a lot of time to prep foods and plan and make sure I'm not just reaching for easy, high calorie garbage. What are some easy and quick ways to make sure you keep eating healthy even when it's easier to grab something not as good?

Poster above is right, healthy is relative, and even though all foods can be eaten in moderation, some foods are more difficult to moderate. Those foods aren't "garbage" or "bad", but be careful. Conversely, there are no "super foods" or special recipesto follow or meals to eat.

So, just focus on foods you can eat to satiety, and keep it simple. Eat food you like. Don't cut out anything you like for no good reason. Eat enough, but not too much. Build your meals up from the food groups, have food from several groups for each meal, and eat something from every group every day:
Grains (often whole) and starchy vegetables.
Other vegetables.
Fruit.
Nuts and seeds.
Dairy.
Meat, fish, other seafood, eggs, pulses.
Fats and oils.

As you can see, many foods overlap. If you log in your food diary and set it to track nutrition (I suggest protein, fat, carbs), you can see how different foods provide different nutrients in different amounts. We need a good mix of nutrients every day, and a varied intake provides that. It also prevents getting tired of eating the same things day in, day out. If you get tired of doing what you are doing, you know you'll be reaching for the "easy" solution, that may not always be the best choice.

TavistockToad

picking up an apple or peeling a banana isn't really a lot of prep... :huh:

livingleanlivingclean

Plan your meals beforehand and prep in bulk - during the week I eat the same things everyday. There is a big variety during the day so it's not boring, but it makes planning, buying and prepping easier.

Having meals prepped makes me less likely to search for "easy high calorie garbage" as you call it. It also saves money as I don't need to buy meals or snacks when I'm out.

Machka9

My lunch ...

I pop one of these into the microwave for 1 minute.




While it is in the microwave, I wash my bowl from the day before ... yeah, yeah, I should probably do it right after lunch but that doesn't usually happen.

I remove the rice, and then I pop one of these into the microwave for 2.5 minutes.




While it is in the microwave, I empty the rice into my bowl, add a small tin of chicken in springwater, and mix it together. Then I fill a tall glass with water.

I remove the veggies, carefully cut them open (hot!), and dump them into the bowl. Add salt and I'm done.

4 minutes.

Machka9

For snacks, I eat fruit, yogurts, crackers and cheese, cottage cheese, raw veggies, and toast. None of those things take more than a minute or so to grab and eat.

And if I make dinner, I do slow cooker meals. Those take a little bit longer in prep time ... brown the meat, and while browning the meat, chop a bunch of veggies. Then toss it all into the slow cooker with some spices and things. Pop the lid on and walk away. That usually makes 2 meals for my husband and me.

lemurcat12

TimeToChange007 wrote: »

I find it's hard to keep eating healthy when it takes a lot of time to prep foods and plan and make sure I'm not just reaching for easy, high calorie garbage. What are some easy and quick ways to make sure you keep eating healthy even when it's easier to grab something not as good?

Make it easy to grab the foods you want to. Some ideas:

Have a standard breakfast/plan for the morning. There are things you can pre-make if that's an issue.

Make lunches ahead or take leftovers and either way pack it up the night before. If you tend to buy lunch sometimes, know what fits in your plan (I have some go-to lunches around my office that meet my goals).

Have some fast/easy dinners that you know you can prepare quickly, and if you know it will be a tough week consider focusing on making extra when you can and using leftovers (I do leftover main course -- like roast a chicken and eat it for multiple days -- and then just make sides). I also will do a vegetable omelet if I'm exhausted and want something fast. For me, a pasta with a quick sauce made of some sauteed lean protein and vegetables in olive oil or similar with rice as a stir fry are also super fast meals. Or I will pop in a chicken breast to roast and also roast potato (chop it small and it cooks faster) and some vegetables. Basically the time when it's cooking I can relax.

Related to this, have foods on hand that you can easily make. Make sure you use what you have. I never cook to recipes but am inspired by what I have and especially with vegetables (learned this by getting a farm box) I just make what I have on hand. Vegetables are extremely fast and easy to cook for the most part.

Have things you can snack on without doing anything: fruit is good for this, especially berries, apples, pears, clementines, a banana, really lots of things. Also maybe have some chopped and ready to eat raw veg. If you just want a quick snack having something like pickles on hand work to stem the hunger while you are preparing foods. If you want a quick no fuss meal sometimes you can make it from yogurt plus berries plus nuts or some such (I'd add raw veg).

Main thing is to think about it in advance and then get in the habit. I used to be tempted to order Indian or the like if I came home from work late and exhausted, and now I know I can really quickly make something. Not having to stop at the store makes a huge difference too.

lporter229

Sheet Pan Meals. You can find tons of recipes by googling it. Easy prep and clean up, lots of options and generally are going to be pretty healthy. The best part is, you can get in a quick workout of body weight exercises, yoga or pilates while it's in the oven.

cwolfman13

TimeToChange007 wrote: »

I find it's hard to keep eating healthy when it takes a lot of time to prep foods and plan and make sure I'm not just reaching for easy, high calorie garbage. What are some easy and quick ways to make sure you keep eating healthy even when it's easier to grab something not as good?

Grab an apple...grab a banana...not a whole lot of prep involved there. I'm at home today with my kids and munching on 100 grams of blueberries while I play around on MFP and plan out my new lifting routine for the foreseeable future.

But yeah, eating meals of primarily whole foods is going to require some prep...but it can also be pretty easy. I made a Spanish cod dish last night that was delicious and it took me all of 1/2 hour to prep and cook.

crzycatlady1

kommodevaran wrote: »

TimeToChange007 wrote: »

I find it's hard to keep eating healthy when it takes a lot of time to prep foods and plan and make sure I'm not just reaching for easy, high calorie garbage. What are some easy and quick ways to make sure you keep eating healthy even when it's easier to grab something not as good?

Poster above is right, healthy is relative, and even though all foods can be eaten in moderation, some foods are more difficult to moderate. Those foods aren't "garbage" or "bad", but be careful. Conversely, there are no "super foods" or special recipes to follow or meals to eat.

So, just focus on foods you can eat to satiety, and keep it simple. Eat food you like. Don't cut out anything you like for no good reason. Eat enough, but not too much. Build your meals up from the food groups, have food from several groups for each meal, and eat something from every group every day:
Grains (often whole) and starchy vegetables.
Other vegetables.
Fruit.
Nuts and seeds.
Dairy.
Meat, fish, other seafood, eggs, pulses.
Fats and oils.

As you can see, many foods overlap. If you log in your food diary and set it to track nutrition (I suggest protein, fat, carbs), you can see how different foods provide different nutrients in different amounts. We need a good mix of nutrients every day, and a varied intake provides that. It also prevents getting tired of eating the same things day in, day out. If you get tired of doing what you are doing, you know you'll be reaching for the "easy" solution, that may not always be the best choice.

This is spot on!