Time Crunch Cooking

Diet is hard. For me, it is the most difficult part of living a healthy lifestyle. Why? Well, probably for the same reasons that it is hard for most people. I would think convenience sits right at the very top of the list of reasons for diet difficulty. Cooking takes time. A lot of time when you consider that you have to shop, prep, and clean the dishes for every meal that you make. So, what do people do instead? Reach for the cheese and crackers (my husbands favorite meal, as of late).

Luckily, there are ways to manage meal prep and cooking time quite easily. There are a few things that I do to make sure that I am getting healthy meals without sacrificing my time:

1. Prepare your food in bulk!!! I do this to a bit of an extreme right now, because I eat the exact same six meals every day for a week at a time. I don't mind doing it, because I like the meals that I have prepared; however, I know that most people don't love eating the same meals over and over and over. So, instead... plan your meals at the beginning of every week and have a big cooking party. You wont have to cook again all week! In a couple of hours you can make all the food you need for the week and you can simply portion it out every day. Cook the noodles, rice, chicken, and fish that you will be using in your meals. Bag or box them up...and thank goodness for the microwave. Serious life saver.

2. Use a slow cooker. This is a magic pot...a cauldron? But, really. Stick a few ingredients in, push the on button, go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you will have a nice week's worth of lunches with hardly any effort (...and the scent to wake you).

3. George Foreman Grill. Oh, my Georgie Porgie. I love my grill. Frozen meat will be cooked through in ten-ish minutes. So easy to clean up (I just wipe mine down with a paper towel immediately after I take the meat off). If you aren't cooking your meat in bulk in the crock pot...this is a pretty nice alternative. I like the plain grilled chicken flavor...but you can season or cook your meats with veggies...the possibilities are limitless:)

4. Boil eggs. Boil a lot of eggs. Boiled eggs are incredibly easy to pack! Keep a bowl full in the fridge to grab for a mid-workday/school day snack...portable protein. I usually boil about two dozen at the beginning of each week...sometimes more (hubby likes to take them).

5. Supplement with protein powder (less cooking, more shaking!). Protein is vital in weight loss. You can lose weight...you cannot build muscle mass. Eat enough protein. I recommend between 1-1.2 g/ lb of body weight/ day for anyone who is participating in a weight training program. Solid proteins (meat) can be expensive to purchase when your intake is that high (although, it isn't much higher than the absolute minimum....7 g/lb body weight/day). Protein powder is a less expensive, and more convenient alternative. Look for powders low in sugar (less than 5 g per serving...0 g per serving if possible). Pack it. Like eggs, it is easy. Keep it in a bag...mix it with water (this isn't always very yummy...but do it...chug, chug, chug). Mix it into your pancakes (whole grain...right?). A scoop in your oatmeal in the morning...mix it with some Greek yogurt (chocolate pudding replacement?). There are lots of ways to supplement with protein powder:) I use the brand and flavor shown in the above image:) Seriously yummy.