If you're busy, the last thing you may want to think about after work is preparing a nutritious dinner from scratch. Instead of reaching for the phone and calling for pizza, make quick, healthy meals for you and your family with a few simple preparations beforehand. After adopting a healthier lifestyle for a few weeks, you'll have more energy to prepare the meals that are keeping you and your family going. Get into the habit of eating fresh fruits and vegetables with every meal, and out of the habit of getting fast food when work gets too busy.
Step 1
Stock your refrigerator once a week with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins like black beans, canned albacore tuna, skinless chicken breast, yogurt, low-fat cheese, chickpeas and tofu, and whole grains, like whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat tortillas, brown rice and whole-wheat bread. Use these staples throughout the week to add the essential elements to each dish.
Step 2
Make a large salad at the beginning of the week. Include nutritious items like dried cranberries, almonds, bell peppers and romaine lettuce. Use this salad as a side dish for multiple lunches or dinners, and as a topping for sandwiches.
Step 3
Prepackage nutritious snacks in plastic baggies and place them in the refrigerator before the week begins. Place easy snacks, like celery sticks, trail mix, crackers with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and low-fat cheese slices each in a separate plastic bag.
Step 4
Grab breakfast to go. Take a container of yogurt, a bag of granola or nuts and a banana in the car with you. This way, you can save time by eating on the way to work, but still eat a nutritious breakfast. Decide what you'll eat for breakfast the night before, to save time, suggests the Mayo Clinic.
Step 5
Prepare only one meal a night, advises Billy Strynkowski, executive chef of "Cooking Light." Make a nutritious meal that the entire family will enjoy, rather than preparing different dishes for every picky eater in the family. This way, you can save time and encourage family togetherness.
Tips and Warnings
- Blend bananas, frozen strawberries, ice and wheat germ to create an on-the-go smoothie, suggests the Mayo Clinic. Spread peanut butter on toast or crackers to quickly add protein to a meal.
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