Making Eating Easier on Busy Days
We have all been in a situation where we feel like eating does not fit in the schedule. Maybe a work meeting ran late and your next one starts in 5-minutes or you snoozed your alarm one too many times and you are late for school. Whatever the case, being busy can sometimes make sitting down for a meal seem hard. In this post we will explore ways to make eating on busy days feel less daunting.
To prepare for these recommendations, try to consider which aspect of the eating process feels the most overwhelming. Do you struggle with deciding what to eat, prepping the food, cooking, actually sitting down to eat, cleaning up after a meal? Let’s explore these 5 common barriers to eating and how to address them:
1. Deciding what to do: If you struggle with deciding what to eat, options are your friend. Trying to come up with an idea of what to eat from scratch is hard. Consider making a list of what foods you have available at the beginning of every week. You can separate these options into different categories. Some examples are hot and cold foods, 5-minute or 10-minute meals, salty or sweet meals. Having this list offers a better understanding of what you have access to, what sounds good, and what you have time for. If choosing from a list still feels too overwhelming, assign numbers to each meal option on the list and use a random number generator to pick for you.
2. Prepping food: Opening, washing, and cutting food can sometimes feel like an unsurmountable task. Something that may help reduce the burden of food prep is buying pre-washed and pre-cut foods. Having these options will cut your prep time to almost zero! If you are open to prepping foods when you aren’t busy, you can also spend some time washing, cutting, and properly storing food after returning from the grocery store. Spending the extra time on these tasks will make cooking during busy days less time consuming.
3. Cooking: Cooking or putting together a meal during a really busy day is often unachievable. This is where convenience meals come in! Stock up on your favorite frozen or precooked meals. Keep in mind that frozen meals can often be quite small. What sides can you add to ensure you are properly fueling during this meal?
If you enjoy cooking, you can also prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them for use during those busy moments.
4. Sitting down to eat: Too busy to take a break to eat? While it is ideal to make designated time to eat, sometimes our schedules do not allow for it and that’s OK! It is always better to eat while working/studying/on the go than to skip a meal. Come up with 2-3 meal options that are easily transported, can be eaten on the go, or you are comfortable eating during a meeting.
5. Cleaning up: Does the post-meal cleaning process stop you from actually eating? It may be time to consider compostable utensils, plates, and bowls. Other ways to reduce cleaning times are by buying non-stick cookware, using foil or parchment paper to line baking sheets or air fryer baskets, and soaking cooking utensils in soapy water while you eat. It is great to understand and honor your needs when it comes to tasks that make eating hard!
Did you learn anything from this post that you’re excited to try? Reply to this email and let us know!