Many people get dinner from a drive-thru or microwaveable package every night, often claiming that they just don’t have the time to cook healthy food. While the temptation won’t go away, this will not be an option for you after medical weight loss in East Brunswick, at least if you hope to maintain your weight loss progress. Your meal replacements will make eating healthy much easier, but once you’ve lost weight and started focusing on maintaining your progress, it will be up to you to make nutritious, low-calorie meals that help your body keep weight off long-term.
Cooking a healthy meal does not have to take up hours of your time. If you find yourself struggling to get meals made every day, it may be time to reevaluate your cooking process and find new ways to save time in the kitchen. Spending less time on every meal can be as simple as:
Organizing Better
Do you start every meal searching for the perfect spatula or perusing the Internet for the right recipe? It’s time to get a little more meticulous. Rearranging your kitchen will take a few minutes now, but it can save you tons of time in the long-run.
Start by going through your drawers and cabinets to reduce clutter and any unnecessary or rarely-used items. Get rid of these things or put them in an out-of-the-way storage area. Then, organize the tools you use most frequently, putting like items together in places close to where you’ll use them.
Making a weekly meal plan can also be an essential part of becoming more organized. Instead of fumbling to find a recipe every night, dedicate one night each week to planning your meals for the week ahead. Consider what you’ll cook for each meal, figure out the ingredients you’ll need and buy everything in one grocery run. You can keep a chalkboard or whiteboard in your kitchen to plot out your meals.
Getting Technological
If you still cook everything with your oven and stove, it’s time to join the rest of us in the 21st century. There are many tools that can save you countless cooking hours without diminishing the nutritional value of your meals.
- The microwave may be the cooking tool of choice for TV dinners, but it can also be a quick and easy way to thaw frozen meat, steam vegetables and reheat leftovers from healthy meals prepared the night before.
- Crockpots are a time-saving essential, as they can be left to cook for hours without your attention. Prep the ingredients for a slow-cooked stew and throw them in the crockpot while you’re at work—you’ll come home to a delicious-smelling dinner all ready to go.
Remember: you don’t have to spend hours cooking every night to sustain the progress of your medical weight loss program in East Brunswick. How else do you save time in the kitchen? Tell us in the comments!
