How to Eat Healthy When Life Is Busy (Simple Tips That Actually Work)

Of Course We Want To Eat Healthy…

Eating healthy. It’s usually included in our yearly goals, we have Pinterest boards filled with recipes, and we even have a grocery list that we put together using ChatGPT! We seem to have everything in order for success…and yet, many of us end up with Tim Hortons for breakfast (shout out to our fellow Canadians) and a bowl of chips for dinner. Okay, maybe you’ve never done that, but we’ve certainly been there. Let’s be real: life is busy and meal prep isn’t easy for everyone.

We didn’t write this article to convince you that healthy eating isn’t possible though! On the contrary, we wanted to share some of our tips and tricks to help you follow through on your health goals. In this post we’ll be going over some of the appliances and prep methods we use to keep our eating on track!

Making Healthy Eating Possible

Just to clear things up, this is not a sponsored post, but we will be mentioning some specific brands that we enjoy. 

1. The pressure cooker 

The pressure cooker has become one of our absolute favourite appliances for when time (or patience) is limited. Pressure cookers are great for making things such as brown rice, quinoa, soups, stews, cooking beans, vegetables—we’ve even used them to make Karahi-style curry! 

Traditionally, these foods require long cooking times and attention. Pressure cookers alleviate some strain since they can be preset and they often don’t require much involvement during the cooking process (which is usually 10-20 minutes). We’ve been able to use the time for quick tasks while still having our meals turn out delicious and char free. 

We personally recommend the Instant Pot; it’s very simple to use, has several common presets, and has a safe pressure release system. 

2. The air fryer

Okay, this is our ABSOLUTE favourite express appliance. 

While air fryers are smaller than traditional ovens, we’ve found that they cook things in half the time or less. For example, our favourite sweet potato fries need 30-40 minutes in the oven, but only 16 minutes in the air fryer (depending on the thickness of the fries). 

Air fryers can also add a nice crisp to foods with significantly less oil than traditional frying. About 1 Tbsp of oil goes a long way in that bad boy! 

They’re simple to use, and only require a little shake at the most to cook evenly.

We’ve used air fryers for vegetables, proteins, fries, reheating leftovers, and even to make some savoury pastries. 

We are personally fans of the Ninja air fryers. They have a variety of styles, sizes, and materials that suit any space or lifestyle

3. As-needed chopping and frozen vegetables 

Now that we’ve discussed our go-to appliances, we’re going to discuss how we deal with vegetables! While batch prep may work for some, it’s not for everyone, and that’s okay. 

We’ve found chopping vegetables as needed has served us best. Taking 5-10 minutes to prepare what we need, when we need it, has made making meals less daunting. 

Cutting up veggies closer to the cooking time has also kept them fresher, giving them a longer fridge life. We tend to eat a lot of our veggies raw, so freshness is important to us!

Frozen vegetables are also a great alternative, since they retain many of their nutrients during the freezing process. This option is quick, and no knives are required. 

A quick note: some vitamins and nutrients are not heat stable and can be lost during the cooking process. 

4. The Bowl Method

The final tip we’d like to share with you is what we call, the Bowl Method. Bowls have become increasingly popular in the last 10 years. They are easy to make and are fundamentally balanced meals with little effort required. 

What we appreciate about bowls is the variety! There is essentially no limit to the kinds of bowls you can make, which keeps them from getting boring. They also tend to travel well, which makes them great lunches! 

While there’s no “right way” to make a bowl, there is a formula that we use to maximize the nutrition: 
  •  ½ - 1 cup of a grain or carb as a base
  • 1 complete protein ***pairing proteins may be necessary for those on plant based diets***
  • 2-3 vegetables (about a handful each)
  • A drizzle of sauce/dressing
This gives you a good balance of carbs, proteins, and fats, which is truly at the core of what we classify as healthy eating. 

Wrapping It Up

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be an impossible task. With a bit of creativity and know-how, it can fit into even the busiest of schedules. 

Why does this matter?

Because you matter. 

We don’t want this post to get twisted; fuelling yourself well isn’t about a waist size or a measure of success. 

It’s about taking care of you. 

Why?

Because you deserve it! 

Question Time!


Do you have a food prep hack that helps you save time? 

Tell us about it by leaving a comment below! 






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