Do you ever feel surprised at just how much work adulting can be? It’s the dishes, it’s the laundry, and the never-ending question of what’s for dinner.
And does it feel like dinner is either ordering takeout (with that expensive delivery fee) or spending way too long at the stove cooking dinner after a long day of work?
You are watching: How to Eat Healthy Without Cooking: The Ultimate Guide
Friends: there is a middle ground. As a dietitian, I can show you how to eat healthy without cooking. With my healthy meal formula and some tips about what foods to keep on hand, you’ll be able to whip up a tasty dinner that nourishes your body and have more time for your life.
Let’s launch this blog post with a quick explanation of what healthy means, so that we can know what we’re aiming for with our simple, no-cook meal strategies.
>>> FREE DOWNLOAD: 70+ Convenience Foods to Make Healthy Eating Easier
If we are going to cover a lot of tips and resources for healthy eating without spending hours at the stove, it is important to define what success actually means here. What is healthy eating, according to a dietitian?
I can tell you from experience that people have SO many misconceptions about what healthy eating means. People tend to assume that being healthy has to do with eating a lot less of things:
No salt, no sugar, fat-free, fun-free. Boringggg.
And simply unnecessary! Healthy eating should support your physical health without sacrificing your mental peace. It’s about nourishing the body and the soul in a way that feels (mostly!) enjoyable and sustainable to you.
Healthy eating to me, as a registered dietitian, means:
And just as important: healthy eating doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the kitchen and making everything from scratch. If you enjoy cooking – great! But if that were true, you might not be looking for this article – ha!
Drumroll please…yes!
It might mean sacrificing your idea of ‘perfection’…but that’s not a bad thing to let go.
In this article, I’ll show you how to cook less. If you lean on my tips, eating healthy meals will feel a lot easier for you…and more fun! Both will help you sustain these habits in the long term, which is always my goal (no fad diets, please, and thanks).
Let’s dive into the strategies to eat healthy without cooking so darn much.
When I’m planning my own meals or walking my clients through meal planning, it is less about a specific recipe and more about a way to assemble meals. The goal is to feed yourself in a way that’s satisfying, healthy, and most of all: quick!
Worry less about cooking from scratch and pay attention to how you build your plates instead. When you use a formula, ANY food (including super easy ones) can fit and be turned into a healthy balanced meal.
At most meals, you want to include:
And the cool thing is, this formula is flexible: there are so many ways to make your next dinner following this formula. Let’s explore a few examples.
Before we dive into easy examples of super-quick meals, let’s have one pep talk: I recommend that you give yourself permission to not cook five meals from scratch every week.
It is A-OK that you don’t have the time or energy to do that. Being more realistic about your bandwidth lessens shame and stigma about using your time or energy with more intention.
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Instead of unrealistic expectations of yourself, make a meal plan and grocery list that reflects the level of ease (and time in the kitchen) you’re aiming for. The more realistic your plan, the more likely you’ll be to actually implement it.
I’ll also challenge your expectation about what kinds of food should be eaten at a certain time of the day. Truly, it doesn’t matter. It is possible to be healthy while eating breakfast for dinner, smoothies for lunch, and snack plates for breakfast.
Here are some examples of EASY meals to include in your next plan:
Don’t those sound delicious, easy, and way more fun than spending hours and hours over the stove? The key to these healthy meals is to start with some convenience foods.
A big part of making easier meals (and eating healthier without cooking) is keeping easy, no-fuss ingredients on hand.
Let me tell you right now: this is NOT cheating. Using a convenience food IS the healthiest choice if it helps you get in balanced meals more consistently and leaves you feeling good.
Here are a few examples of healthy convenience foods I recommend (and always have on hand) as a dietitian:
Convenience foods aren’t the only way that your grocery store can support your goal to cook less.
Grocery stores often have an awesome prepared section with delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches. Don’t be afraid to lean on these on days you can’t be bothered to step foot into the kitchen.
You can also snag chopped veggies and fruits at the salad bar. Not only can these fruits and veggies be used for a salad (duh!) they can be used for snacks with your favorite dip or to save you time chopping veggies if that isn’t your favorite.
Speaking of snacks…let’s talk about how they can fit into a healthy eating plan.
Before you leave the grocery store, don’t forget to think about what might be easy AND enjoyable to have on hand for snacks.
Snacks can be the perfect opportunity to add nutrition without spending any extra time.
Give yourself permission to enjoy snacks between meals and keep easy snack food staples on hand. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying crunchy potato chips or pretzels as a snack, we can also look for ways to boost nutrition with snacks containing more fruits, veggies, and protein.
Here are a few snack foods I like to keep on hand:
For even more balanced snack ideas, check out this blog post: How to Build Balanced Snacks + 30 Healthy Snack Ideas.
How can we rein in that grocery budget? Let’s talk through a few strategies.
Many of us are taking a hard look at our grocery bill and looking for ways to cut back – groceries are so much more expensive than in the recent past.
In general, buying groceries is less expensive than eating out, but there is a wide range of what you spend based on your preferences and habits. For example, prepared foods, such as a rotisserie chicken, are going to cost more than raw chicken, but raw chicken will take more time to prepare.
Rest assured that it is possible to eat healthy without cooking and save money, too. The right answers for you may well vary depending on what is going on in your life in a particular season.
To prioritize cooking less and still eating on a budget, you can consider:
Here are a few of my favorite no-cook budget-friendly meals for any time of the day:
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It always helps to keep the budget in check when you waste less food too. I think we’re all guilty of tossing containers of spoiled salad greens, but the more you can use foods before they go bad, the less money you’re wasting each month.
Part of the planning is in your food prep!
If you’re feeling up to prepping or cooking a LITTLE, it can be helpful to do a little prepping in advance so you have a nourishing meal to eat all week long.
You have to do some cooking upfront, potentially, but you won’t have to cook much on busy weekdays.
This might look like:
Doing a bit of prep might also look like getting ingredients ready rather than cooking a formal recipe. This can look like chopping fresh veggies so that they’re ready to snack on, hard-boiling eggs to be used in wraps, or cooking your favorite whole grain so that it is ready to enjoy during the week.
There is no right or wrong way to do this; any activity that helps the healthy choice feel like the easy choice is a winner in my book.
There’s no shame in using tools or appliances in the kitchen that make cooking and healthy eating easier. Whatever gets nourishing foods on your plate is a healthy choice.
My three appliances that make my life so much easier are:
And if takeout is the only thing that feels doable on a given night? We can make choices to boost nutrition…let’s talk about how!
It probably isn’t a surprise that takeout tends to be higher in salt and fat than when we cook at home. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does make it a bit more calorie-dense and easier to overeat.
It is worth mentioning that we don’t have to try to boost nutrition at every single meal. There is no shame in simply ordering a meal because it satisfies a craving.
But, if you WANT to eat healthier while enjoying the convenience of takeout, you can try to order nourishing takeout options that prioritize protein and fiber.
And when you’re at home, feel free to ADD to make things even more balanced. Here are a few examples:
You may also enjoy a meal delivery service. If the meals at your favorite meal prep company come frozen, you can simply buy a few extra, stash them in your freezer, and have that easy option available when you need it.
Your future self will thank you!
I hope that this blog has been informative and inspirational for you.
Because dang, sometimes our expectations about healthy eating are outta this world. We do NOT need to cook complicated meals every single day. We don’t need to force ourselves to eat things we don’t like. And it is perfectly okay to cut corners to make healthy eating easier.
Some ways to do this are using the healthy meal formula from this article, using kitchen appliances, learning how to dress-up takeout, and learning to be okay with convenience foods and easyyyy options.
And as a gift to you, here’s a free download for you.
>>> FREE DOWNLOAD: 70+ Convenience Foods to Make Healthy Eating Easier
This dietitian-created resource will add even more ideas for you to consider as you become a healthy-eating rockstar. Yes, you can eat healthily without cooking! And this resource will help show you how.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens
This post was last modified on 26/10/2023 16:47
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