NZ Registered Nutritionist Danijela Armitage of Nourish and Tempt. Photo: Claire Mossong
It’s about this time of year when life becomes full of noise again. The kids are back at school, you’re back juggling all the things, and it’s easy to sideline those healthy habits, with the promise to get back on the bandwagon once everything quiets down again.
NZ Registered Nutritionist Danijela Armitage of Nourish and Tempt shares her tips for supporting our health and wellbeing when life becomes busy.
Time scarcity can have a big impact on our food habits, seeing us cooking less, eating on the go, and consuming more convenience foods. Instead of a nutritious brekkie, we might grab those sweet treats at the staff meeting as we ran out of time to eat earlier, or we have a hurried deskbound lunch, grabbing whatever we can find at the cafeteria. Or we’re already arranging Uber Eats in the car on the way home because we’re too tired to think about dinner.
There is nothing wrong with life looking like this sometimes. Our health and wellbeing is influenced by what we do most of the time, not some of the time. But, with a little mindful planning and some smart tips, we can support ourselves nutritionally when we’re pressed for time, and as an extra bonus, it usually saves us a lot of money, too.
Here are five tips to get you back on track
Meal plan
Meal planning is where we think about what we’d like to eat ahead of the week and do a supermarket shop to get our kitchen organised. With a plan of action, we know exactly what to buy and prep, and ingredients are ready-to-go. This can be a lifesaver on days we don’t have the capacity to think about food.
Stock up on nutritious kitchen convenience products
Ready-to-eat or convenience food items can cut down food prep significantly, streamlining how we work in the kitchen. My favourites include microwavable quick oat sachets, instant rice, canned fish and beans, pre-made soups, pre-washed salad greens, pre-marinated meats, pre-made sauces and spice pastes, pre-cut fruit and veg, or pre-cooked deli chicken – all wholesome and nutritious options with the benefit of convenience and ease.
Cook once, eat many times
If you’re food prepping, maximise this by doubling or tripling the recipe. It’ll require a little more upfront investment in time and clean-up, but it will save oodles of hours ahead. Make use of your freezer for long-term storage of food. Future you will be so grateful to have a nutritious heat-and-eat meal available. Curries, soups, and stews freeze beautifully and are great for the chillier months ahead.
Choose the ‘better’ option
If you’re in a situation where you can’t dictate the food environment, aim to pick the better option from the bunch. At a bakery, this might be opting for a whole-grain chicken sandwich instead of a creamed bun. At the petrol station, maybe it’s nuts or a muesli bar instead of bagged lollies for a snack.
Stash snacks
When you shop, load up on your favourite shelf-stable nutritious snacks. Then, keep them accessible – at work, in your handbag, your home, wherever. Try bags of nuts, wholesome muesli bars, natural popcorn, jerky, bliss balls, or roasted chickpeas.
Remember to kind to yourself, and just do the best you can.
Danijela Armitage is an NZ Registered Nutritionist with training in the culinary arts. Her professional career has spanned community, private practice, and workplace well-being professional roles. She is the voice and content creator behind the digital platform Nourish and Tempt, where she shares nutritionally considered, delicious meal ideas. She loves bridging the gap between the nutrition and culinary world and encouraging people to try something new in the kitchen. Danijela has also released an e-book Plan Prep Eat – the ultimate quick guide to Meal Planning and Prep.
Plan, Prep, Eat is designed to help create a meal planning and prep routine that works for you. The 50-plus page digital download brings together tips and tricks to reignite (or refresh) how you meal plan and prep.
Learn about the differences between meal planning and meal prep, how to prep nutritious meals, your prep ‘personality’ and more. E-book is available for purchase online ($16).
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