You don’t have time to cook yourself a gourmet and healthy meal at the same time? Do not panic ! The Leenkus editorial team reveals some advice from Jennifer Quénard, nutritionist and dietician. Below are all her recommendations for healthy eating even when you don’t have time to cook.
Plan your meals by making a shopping list
The first thing to do before cooking a meal is to go buy all the necessary ingredients. However, before heading to your supermarket, prepare your shopping list first and do it right.
Nutritionist Jennifer Quénard recommends “knowing what you are going to cook in the week or over 3 days before making your shopping list. Thus, we are not led to eat just anything”.
Indeed, when you go shopping without really knowing what you are going to cook, you do not always buy the right ingredients. And suddenly, it becomes a problem since it suffers on the quality of our meals. “Knowing easy and quick recipes to make is ideal. Then you just have to plan the ingredients in advance to have everything you need at home”, advises the nutritionist and dietician.
Buy non-perishable or long-spoiling foods
When preparing your shopping list, be sure to choose foods that last and don’t go bad the next day.
Jennifer Quénard also explains: “a good reflex to have is to buy non-perishable foods such as rice, pasta, semolina, quinoa but also certain canned vegetables and legumes that we keep aside, just in case. we no longer have any at home. When you don’t have time to make a meal, you can turn to canned vegetables or fried vegetables because they keep longer. But you have to know how to choose them well because they may contain too many additives”.
Prepare a few meals in advance or do batch cooking
Indeed, in addition to planning your shopping list… You can also start preparing your meals in advance.
Indeed, if you do not have too much time to look into it, you are not obliged to fully prepare your meals. Nor to prepare them all in advance. First start by preparing your legumes and pulses, the ingredients that take time to prepare and cook and those that keep well once cooked. Indeed, it allows you to cook good healthy dishes even when you don’t have time.
Stock up on spices and herbs for recipes full of flavor
Coquillette-white ham, rice-meat… Flavorless meals when you don’t have time…. we say no!
In fact, Jennifer Quénard recommends “having a panoply of spices and herbs to spruce up recipes without being tempted by industrial sauces which are not necessarily healthy. Curry, turmeric, pepper, thyme, dill, there are plenty. They have several advantages; they keep well, they flavor dishes and have many health benefits. ”
It is therefore the best trick for colorful and above all delicious recipes.
Favor vegetables and respect the right proportions
Many of us neglect vegetables in our meals. Indeed, according to the French fruit and vegetable interprofession… Only a third of adults comply with these recommendations.
So to avoid this, you have to start writing them directly on the shopping list so you don’t forget them. “There are no ingredients to avoid but you have to watch and respect the quantity of what you consume. In other words, you don’t finish the pot of pesto in one meal”, specifies Jennifer Quénard.
