What do you do when you play the roles of a career woman and a homemaker with daily routines to fulfill? While many opt for the simple solution of buying ready-made dishes every day, the available menu options can sometimes become monotonous. Hence, tricks are needed to prepare healthy and practical meals even when you’re busy.

Having a busy schedule is not an excuse not to cook your own food. Come on, check out effective tricks for preparing healthy and practical food during busy times!

Tricks for Preparing Healthy and Practical Meals for Busy Individuals

Cooking a meal indeed requires a considerable amount of time and effort, especially when preparing multiple dishes simultaneously. Nonetheless, there are tricks you can employ to prepare your own meals at home even when you’re busy. These tricks are not only applicable to those with busy schedules outside the home but also to those with high demands even when working from home.

1. Stock Up on Frozen Foods

The first trick is to stock frozen foods in your freezer. If you’re hesitant about using commercially produced frozen foods, there are now many homemade frozen foods available that are carefully balanced in terms of nutrition. You can choose frozen foods to serve healthy and convenient meals even when you’re busy.

There are several categories of frozen foods you can stock in your freezer, including:

• Fruits: Avocado, mango, dragon fruit, melon, and others can be frozen to make delicious smoothies.
• Vegetables: Carrots, corn, peas, spring onions, and others, already chopped into small pieces.
• Legumes: Dry peas, green beans, lentils, refried beans, and others.
• Frozen meats: Lean ground chicken/beef, chicken breast, sliced chicken/beef.
• Processed foods: Homemade sausages or nuggets.
• Aromatic spices stored in sliced, chopped, or powdered form.

2. Prepare Ready-to-Use Seasonings

You can also prepare aromatic seasonings used for cooking so they’re ready to use when needed. For example, prepare thinly sliced onions, bell peppers, spring onions, etc., and place them in small containers for single-use when cooking. You can also prepare ready-to-use powdered seasonings for various dishes and store them in the freezer for long-term use.

3. Cook and Freeze Main Dishes

You can also employ the trick of storing several portions of cooked food to be consumed at a later time. For instance, cook a large batch of beef stew, separate it into individual portions in separate containers, and freeze them. You can reheat them quickly when you need to prepare a meal in a hurry due to time constraints.

You can execute this method all at once or gradually, depending on the time available. Cooking all at once means dedicating specific time to cook all the dishes and then packaging them per serving for easier serving when needed. If you choose the gradual cooking method, you can do it every day but cook larger portions to set aside.

See also : Tips for Achieving Work-Life Balance

4. Simplify Meals

You can still prepare healthy and practical meals for breakfast, for example. Prepare peanut butter sandwiches or with egg or grilled meat filling. Serve with yogurt and fresh fruit to complete the breakfast for your daily activities.

5. Purchase Packaged Food Ingredients

Some businesses provide packaged food ingredients complete with main ingredients and required seasonings. This idea can significantly simplify your meal preparation process, saving you from the hassle of thinking too much about preparing various types of ingredients. Moreover, if implemented effectively, it can even save costs by not having to buy unnecessary ingredients or seasonings.

6. Plan Meal Menus

Meal menu planning is typically done once a week, although some people do it monthly. Planning a meal menu for a week will greatly assist you in preparing meals quickly. Moreover, well-prepared menus will help you shop accurately according to your needs.

7. Shop for Groceries Regularly

Try to allocate at least once a week to shop for kitchen necessities such as spices, vegetables, meats, and various other food ingredients. Don’t forget to make a shopping list based on the menu planned for the upcoming week to avoid buying unnecessary items. However, sometimes certain ingredients may not be available during shopping, so the planned menu might change based on the purchased items.

Some items that should be available in your kitchen include:

• Baking ingredients such as baking soda, baking powder, yeast, flour, cheese, chocolate, etc.
• Canned foods including canned vegetables or fruits, canned sardines, tuna, or salmon, and nuts.
• Broth and coconut milk in liquid or powder form. If you want to be healthier, coconut milk can be replaced with fiber cream.

8. Have an Organized Kitchen Area

To cook quickly yet produce healthy and delicious meals, you need a more organized kitchen area. As illustrated in the ideal kitchen space guide, the preparation table, vegetable and dish washing area, stove, and refrigerator should be properly arranged. This way, you won’t waste time going back and forth to retrieve ingredients because they’re placed far apart.

Ensure you have adequate space to prepare meals, and prepare the necessary equipment and ingredients for the cooking process. Having all these available can make you work faster, enabling you to prepare healthy meals conveniently and save time.

See also : Smart Ways to Save Money When Dining Out

9. Utilize Electronic Appliances

There are now many specialized electronic cooking appliances available that can help ease kitchen work. Examples include rice cookers, slow cookers, dishwashers, electric pots, and air fryers. You can serve warm white rice conveniently using a rice cooker.

If you want to eat fried foods healthily without using much oil, there’s an air fryer that’s convenient because you just need to press a button and wait until the food is cooked automatically. For those who want to prepare food with complex flavors, a slow cooker can be used; just put the ingredients and seasonings in at night, and the next day, the dish is ready to be enjoyed.

So, isn’t it practical enough? Don’t let a hectic schedule deter you from cooking your meals! Hopefully, this can inspire you to prepare healthy and convenient meals when you’re busy. Happy cooking and don’t let your belly crawl for help!