Any advice on eating healthy while short on time?

Pressure cooker

Totally understand. I am one of the kids in a house of 7 (3 adults), along with 13 pets and frequent foster pets and grandkids and so on. It gets difficult for sure. We use our crock pot often, soups, meats, etc. Buying the "family size" of stuff that we can put in the oven for 30 mins and eat for the busy days. Luckily the youngest here is 10 years old and we make our own food a lot, I cook often as well. We eat a lot of fruit since its quick, maybe try canned stuff (with low sodium), and on the days when you have free time, try pre-preparing food. Make some meals and freeze them in the correct portions, then thaw them when you want to eat. Salads are always pretty easy but I'm not sure the ages of your family and some kids aren't fond of that lol. If you do sandwiches then you could try pita bread and such, celery and peanut butter was something I lived for as a kid, haha.

Crock pots, and pre-making crock pot meals ahead of time and dividing them into plastic bags; all you need to do is dump the bag of ingredients into it the day you want to "cook", set it on low, and you will have a meal waiting for you once you are home.

I would say a meal plan helps. Doesn't have to be fancy or complicated, but then you can organise your groceries and meal prep to match- no waste.
Personally I try to chop all veg on grocery day, that way they go in the fridge in containers so I can just throw together any stir fry, slow cooker meals, salads- no excuses.

Hi there. I struggle with meal planning and a busy schedule as well. What has worked well for me is to spend a hour or two on the weekend to put together a solid dinner plan for the week. Yes, there are things you can do to prep on the weekend, but I also stock my pantry with what I term "cheater ingredients" to get reasonably nutritious meals, good tasting meals on the table quickly.

Unsalted or low sodium versions of broths or stocks are great for adding a bit of flavor. I mainly use chicken or vegetable broth, but any flavor will work. Use it to cook rice and grains to add some flavor, saute leafy green vegetables like spinach or chard, or as a base to a quick soup.

Jarred minced garlic is a super time saver. Is it more expensive than garlic cloves? Yep. But in my opinion, worth the expense. So many recipes I make call for a clove or two of minced garlic.

Canned beans are ready to use and great as a source of vegetable protein. Mind the sodium, and rinse your beans before using in your recipe.

Canned diced tomatoes are another time saver. Again, mind the sodium, and opt for the 'no added salt' version if you can.

Bottled lemon juice adds a bit of acid to a dish, can be used with oil as a base for salad dressing, and is also nice splashed over steamed veggies.

Frozen veggies can be used alone as a side dish, or thawed and used in a recipe.

Herbs and spices are great for adding flavor with little to no added calories. I use cumin a lot. Curried anything is delicious. Smoked spices like smoked paprika, chipotle or ancho chili powder add a barbecue type flavor quickly. Dried herbs have their place, too. Use them to flavor vegetables or make a quick rub for meat. Dried oregano, dried basil, minced garlic, and lemon juice is wonderful on lamb and chicken for a Greek/Mediterranean flavor.

Others have already mentioned the crock pot. I also love my food processor. I have both a large (full sized, 11 cup) and a small mini-processor that I have dubbed Mr. Choppy. The small one is awesome for quickly chopping things like onions. The large one (Big Poppa Chop) has slicing and shredding blades. It comes in super handy if I'm making something like a stir fry that relies on lots of thinly sliced vegetables and meats.

A couple of good knives will really speed up your prep. I didn't realize how important a good knife was until I replaced the dull ones I had been using. It made all of the difference in the world. You do not have to spend a ton of money to get a good knife. You also don't need to start with a whole set. My 8" chef's knife is my work horse, with the paring knife the next most used.

There are a bunch of places that offer quick cooking, reasonably nutritious recipes. I am a fan of Cooking Light, particularly the "Dinner Tonight" and "Super Fast" sections.

Good luck!

I don't like most crockpot meals so not much help from me about those.

But I'd focus on making bigger batches when you cook something, and having ready to heat food in the fridge or freezer. Frozen veggies, precooked sausage/grilled chicken (still cheaper than eating out)/ham steaks... you can have a meal ready in 10 minutes.

I'm very guilty of the 'there's nothing to eat, let's order out' mentality when I don't feel like cooking, so having something I can reheat fast is very important. I made big batches of soup that we ate for a week, and when I make something like lasagna or shepherd's pie, I make enough for 2/3 meals (basically a whole bag of potatoes and 2lbs of meat plus veggies).

Super fast meals to make - tacos (just need to cook the ground meat, really, and you can make 2-3 lbs at a time for leftovers), spaghetti and meatballs (once you have frozen cooked meatballs, pop those in the oven while the pasta cooks), fresh ravioli/tortellini (just add a bag of frozen veggies).. stir fry's too don't take a lot of time. I do have an instant pot so you can have stew or chili ready in less than 90 minutes too, and it keeps warm so you could start it before working out and it would be ready after.

I like just baking a bunch of chicken thighs as well - takes about one hour in the oven, it won't dry it if it stays a bit too long, and it's great for leftovers.

I'm totally horrible at thawing the meat too, so I don't even bother freezing it anymore, lol.

We have lowered our standards for week night meals. We are perfectly happy with oatmeal & toast, eggs & pancakes, taco salad, stir fry, spaghetti, etc. All can be thrown together in a very short time.