It can be hard to eat healthy when you're short on time. That's why Barbara Sherwood, a registered dietician with Intermountain Medical Center stopped by with the following tips, ahead of the 2018 My Heart Challenge: Teachers' Edition.
The Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute is helping the teachers in the My Heart Challenge competition become heart healthy 100 days by helping them to achieve healthier lifestyles. One of the challenges for these 14 Salt Lake Valley high school teachers participating in the 100-day Challenge is eating healthy while maintaining their busy lifestyles.
A good rule of thumb when you are trying to eat healthier is trying to stick to foods that have 5 ingredients or less – if you look at store-bought salad dressings they can have many ingredients
Another benefit besides all of the nutrition ones is that it can be a lot less expensive!
Below are some of Barbara's favorite time-saving tips that help her and her family eat healthy while maintaining a busy schedule:
Prepare meals by cutting up your fruits and veggies in advance.
Have a “cut day” when you prepare your fruits and vegetables. Make fruit slices, carrot sticks, cut up celery, cauliflower, or green peppers, then put them in baggies ready to grab. Individual hummus packs are great to take on-the-go with veggies. Cut up hearts of romaine lettuce and use a salad spinner (get one for around $15). Salad keeps fresh in the fridge in a salad spinner for many days.
Make enough healthy meals for leftovers.
You can have premade healthy snacks for your family in just 15 minutes. I recommend making a batch of high-energy, healthy snacks that you can grab throughout the day to keep everyone happy. Breakfast is another meal you can prepare the night before. With just a few minutes of preparation, you can have breakfast ready and waiting in the morning (or for the next three mornings!).
Cook excess meat and store in the freezer for later.
Dinner can be tricky, but there are some standbys you can always have on hand. When you have a little extra time, cook meats in portions that can be used later in recipes. Frozen precooked chicken or ground beef can be used in casseroles and soups and save time on preparation.
