Welcome to episode 12 of Wellness Wednesday’s Audio Series.

I’m Nissrine, registered holistic nutritionist, mindful nutrition & wellness coach for female entrepreneurs who are looking to prioritize their health and wellbeing without fad diets and wellness trends.

I created this series to bring a fresh perspective to nutrition and wellness, one that is centered on and lead by you.

There’s a plethora of information out there and it can be really hard to know what to do and eat to feel good in your body.

It’s easy to get caught up in fad diets and wellness trends, often questioning, doubting and second guessing your decisions when it comes to the way you nourish and care for yourself.

I wholeheartedly believe that; reconnecting with your own innate wisdom to know what your body needs to thrive is the first step to a life-changing transformation and true lasting wellness; and that progress is made by taking small steps, mindfully, intentionally and consistently.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing three strategies to eat healthy even when you’re pressed for time.

If you’ve ever felt like you just don’t have the time and energy to eat healthy or that it’s too much work and doesn’t come naturally to you you’re not alone.

I hear this often from potential clients and I get it, life is hectic with many competing priorities and eating habits can easily fall to the bottom of that list, especially if you rely on the traditional all or nothing approach to healthy eating that can feel overwhelming and frankly impossible to keep up with.

Rules are constantly changing. One day fats are villainized, the next it’s carbs. You may find yourself wondering if you should be eating this way that way or the other and nothing seems to stick so you give up on healthy eating because it feels too hard and too complicated.

You end up on the opposite end of the spectrum, completely neglecting your nutritional needs, and feeling like you just don’t have the time and energy for it all.

The Good News

The good news is that healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated, overwhelming, restrictive, all consuming and you don’t have to turn your life upside down to make it happen.

With a little planning and organization, you can make the use of the time you do have to create healthy eating habits that are sustainable and enjoyable for you and your lifestyle.

So that’s why today I’m sharing 3 strategies that I’ve used for myself and my clients that are proven and guaranteed to help you create healthy and mindful eating habits that are easy to stick with long term.

Stock your pantry & refrigerator strategically
Because a strategically stocked kitchen is your ticket to creating healthy eating habits and making healthier choices more often.
What this means is ensuring that you have a wide variety of nourishing minimally processed and/or whole foods on hand so that you can create a nutritious meal, even when you’re pressed for time without having to spend hours in the kitchen reading recipes and trying to figure out how to put it all together.
It’s a really simple process.
In fact if you head over to my website, you’ll be able to download my Simple 5 Step Framework to Nourishing Meals In Minutes where you’ll get the 5 components of a balanced meal.
You can use it to guide you when you’re stocking your pantry and refrigerator and when you’re putting together meals, especially when you’re pressed for time because you don’t need a recipe to do it.
Plan your weekly meals in advance
If you're looking to make healthier choices with ease and simplicity and confidence, meal planning is a great way to start. What this means is taking some time each week to anticipate your needs and plan for them.
So don’t let the words meal planning scare you into thinking that this is some sort of convoluted process that you have to spend hours doing.
It may involved meal preparation like batch cooking meals that you can refrigerate and freeze to use throughout the week, but it doesn’t have to be that.
It could be batch cooking just single ingredients that you can repurpose into different meals, but again, it doesn’t have to be that either.
So it can involve meal preparation in advance or just be a flexible plan of what you’re going to eat each day without having to be rigid or without having to do a ton of work in advance if you don’t want to.
But, meal preparation does help some people, because if you know that you’re not going to have time to spend more than 10 or 15 minutes in the kitchen every evening, then you might want to prepare some meals or ingredients a couple of times a week that you can use for 3 or 4 days at a time.
But again, it can be very flexible based on how much or how little time you have to spend in the kitchen and what your desire is or meal preparation.
Meal planning though helps you prioritize nourishment so that it doesn’t fall to the bottom of your list when you’re busy.
If your kitchen is well stocked and you have a plan of how you’re going to use your ingredients, you’ll feel less stressed about meal times and it becomes infinitely easier to make healthier choices when the time comes.
If you know that you have a quick solution to throw a meal together in a few minutes you’ll be less likely to get takeout or to go grab some fast food.
Keep it simple

Sound simple, but it really is that simple.

One of the things I hear most often is “I just wish I could hire a personal chef on some nights”. Trust me, I’ve been there.

I love to cook and I love to eat a ton of whole foods and vegetables but I still get burnt out from cooking too because I have a family and a business and I have to juggle it all and on some days it can feel a little bit tiring and we do end up eating some of the same foods on multiple days in a row some weeks. It gets a little bit boring, it happens.

But in general it’s important to know that you are going to feel that way sometimes.

Some days and weeks get really busy between work and mom duty and you just don’t have the motivation to spend time in the kitchen.

When I find myself low on time and energy despite my best efforts to plan and be organized, I turn to simple no fuss chop and assemble meals.

So if my refrigerator is stocked with minimally processed whole foods and plants, and my pantry has many options and I have some good healthy proteins and healthy fats on hand I can use all of that to make a meal pretty quickly without having to really spend too much time in the kitchen.

a pot of soup made from chopping up whatever you have in the fridge (you can also use pre-chopped veggies that you pick up at the supermarket if it’s more convenient or a bag of mixed frozen vegetables) and adding in a can of tomatoes, beans and a few herbs and spices; or some shredded rotisserie chicken. And you’ve got yourself a full meal and it takes you probably less than 30 minutes to put it together if not less than that.
a simple chopped salad made from a bed of greens, topped with other chopped vegetables (leftover roasted vegetables from another meal from a previous days) and sauteed chicken strips or tofu cubes; you make a homemade vinaigrette with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and dijon mustard. And you’ve got yourself a delicious meal that took you no time to prepare.
a vegetable stuffed omelet with a simple side salad; eggs to the rescue and if you don’t eat eggs you could do a chickpea socca where you take chickpea flour that you mix with water until you have a batter and you turn that into an omelet or a pancake that you stuff with delicious and nutritious ingredients.
a make your own snack plate style meal, where anything goes based on what you have in your refrigerator. We do snack plate style meals on movie nights and they usually include some form of protein like tofu cubes/smoked salmon/boiled egg/turkey breast, a variety of veggies like carrot sticks, fresh fennel and cherry tomatoes, cucumbers avocado and/or guacamole, homemade crackers (or a simple ingredient store bought cracker or sourdough bread) and homemade dips. This is a tactic I use to keep the meal fun for movie night and prevent my daughter from filling up on ONLY chips and popcorn. It gives her a variety of colourful nutrient dense foods to choose from in addition to chips and popcorn.

If you can chop and assemble a dish, you can prepare a nourishing meal in under 20 minutes.

Once you’re organized, well stocked, and have a good plan in place with a few tried and true quick chop options to fall back on, then healthy eating habits are possible, even for the most time starved person out there.

Ok??!

If time is your only obstacle, then I assure you that these strategies will solve your problem and have you well on your way to creating the healthy eating habits you desire for yourself.

To wrap it all up and summarize it:

Stock your pantry and refrigerator strategically, keep those amazing nutrient dense minimally processed whole food ingredients on hand.
Have a plan for the week ahead. It doesn’t have to be rigid, restrictive or complicated but a rough idea of what you’re going to eat what day.
And keep it simple so that you don’t burn out. Make sure that you build in plenty of really easy foods, or meals that are easy to throw together just by chopping and combining a few ingredients.

There you have it.

Another reminder, remember that you can grab my Simple 5 Step Framework to Nourishing Meals in Minutes to help you with this process and start making yourself those delicious nourishing meals in minutes.

A Simple 5 Step Framework To Nourishing Meals in Minutes

You’ve got your hands full and more than enough on your plate. Take the guess work out of what and how to eat and make meal preparation a breeze, even when you’re short on time.

Yes! I need this

On that note, thank you for tuning in.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe and share with a friend and be sure to tune in next week for another episode of Wellness Wednesday Audio Series, where I a share a short audio clip each week to inspire you to reconnect with yourself on a deeper level so you can start nourishing and caring for yourself, more mindfully and intentionally.

Until next week,

Stay healthy, happy and safe,

Nissrine

P.S. If you’d like to be a part of my pilot program, entitled (re) Awaken Your Innate Food Wisdom, a self-paced mindful nutrition program with 4 weeks of group support to help you prioritize your nutrition & wellness without fad diets and trends, get on my mailing list to get an exclusive invitation once I’m ready to launch it.

To get on my mailing list, subscribe to this audio series or download my simple 5 step framework to nourishing meals in minutes and you’ll be the first to know when the pilot program is ready for testing.

It will be a journey to learning more about your body and what it needs to thrive; A mindful approach to nutrition that will improve your relationship with food; and a wellness education program that will guide you for life so your nutrition and self-care will always be a priority.