Reducing your reliance on convenience foods and takeaways can be difficult. You need to be able to prepare your meals yourself and have something on hand for those times when you simply don’t feel like cooking. While it is nice to think that everyone has time to prepare delicious healthy home-cooked meals from scratch every night, the reality is that not everyone has the time, skills, or resources to do so, leading people to fallback to foods that are quick and easy to prepare but not necessarily healthy to eat.
This post looks at some ways you can help yourself eat better and reduce your need to order at the same time.
Meal Plans and Shopping Lists
As boring as this might sound, making meal plans and writing out shopping lists can help you decide what you will eat in the coming week and allow you to buy the right ingredients. For example, you can make your meal plan based on your week ahead (i.e., late work evenings or busy after-school activities where you will be pushed for time) and make choices you are more likely to follow through on. This can be especially helpful if you struggle to decide what to have to eat or don’t know what to cook.
Make More
While we’re not talking batch cooking to the extreme here, that is, unless you want to, making an extra portion or two to pop in the fridge or freeze for another night can be helpful for those times when you simply can’t or don’t have the time or resources to. Thinking ahead and making a little bit extra can be a lifesaver. Let’s say you’re making soup. A simple healthy recipe for potato leek soup is available here and allows you to make more than you need to freeze for another time. Then all you need to do is heat and eat. Easy but still nutritious.
Prepare Ahead of Time
Much like making more when cooking meals on another day, preparing ahead of time gives you an easier route to better meals. Be it making the meal in the morning when you have more time or the house is less busy for you to warm up that evening. Or prepare your fruit and veggies the night before for you to use without chopping another night. Whatever will help you get it ready ahead of time so you can reduce the process at mealtime.
Use A Slow Cooker
If you are time-poor, a slow cooker is an easy way to make meals with little to no effort. In many cases, you simply need to prep ingredients and add them all to cook on low for the day. Then when you are ready to eat, you open the lid and serve; it’s as easy as that. There are so many meals you can make in a slow cooker. It can become your most used kitchen appliance if you are clever and help you to ensure you are always ready for those times when you need a helping hand in the kitchen.
Use Meal Delivery Services
Meal delivery services are available for those who need help to collate all of the ingredients and find new recipes they can enjoy. You can choose meal prep services where you choose the meal, which comes prepared to heat up. Or you can use subscription services that send you everything you need. The best part is you can do this for as many or as few nights as required. For example, if you have a busy Friday night, having a meal to follow with all of the ingredients ready to hand can simplify meal times and reduce the stress each week as you have ordered your meal for that night.
Meal delivery services like these are essential for a healthier version of takeouts and take all of the fuss and stress out of what to make while giving you new foods and meals to try out.
Conclusion
Reducing your reliance on takeouts and convenience foods means you need to put a little thought into the prep and process ahead of time to allow yourself to put little tweaks in place to make meal times less stressful. If you are helping yourself with these tips, it will be easier to whip up something healthy and nutritious. So what are you waiting for? Put what you have read into practice and get ready to enjoy a better diet today.
