How do I eat healthily when I don’t have much time to cook?

There’s no shortage of information available on how to cook almost anything, but not all of us have the time to become the next Masterchef. With ever more hectic lifestyles, it can be difficult to resist the temptation of ready meals and snacks on the run but here are my top tips for healthy eating in a hurry.

Plan ahead

This sounds obvious, but if you plan your week’s menus and make sure you have all the right ingredients there’ll be no need for last minute decision making or grabbing something on the way home.

Buy pre chopped veg

Make sure you read the labels to check there are no added extras (such as sugar or vegetable oil) but this can save you lots of time.

Cook when you have the time

Use the weekend to make larger batches of the food you like, and then freeze it in portions. This way, all you have to do is defrost it and enjoy.

Use a slow cooker

What could be easier than just pushing a button in the morning before you go to work? You don’t need to bother with pre cooking or browning and you’ll have healthy nutritious food after a long day at the office. Put everything in the pot the night before, take out of the fridge, and turn it on. It’s that simple!

Make ‘one pot’ dishes

It’s much less time consuming to make a casserole, chilli, hearty soup or tagine which have all the ingredients cooked together. If you add vegetables at the start, it’s even quicker! You can pre cook ‘go withs’ such as quinoa (which only takes 15 minutes anyway) and heat them up when you need them.

However you choose to manage your time, there’s no disputing the health benefits of eating home cooked, unprocessed foods. Give it a try, and good luck!