Last Updated on December 11, 2024
With diabetes, type 1 or type 2, it’s typically healthier to cook a meal at home than it is to go out to eat, but between juggling work, errands, family, and friends when are you going to find time to cook a meal every night of the week? After a long day at work, the idea of cooking a healthy meal can be exhausting. It’s easier to pick something up in a drive-through and bring it home. But not only is this expensive, but it’s also not as healthy. There are a couple of things you can do to make it easier.
Plan Ahead
Start each week by planning out your meals and deciding what you’re going to cook. One of the reasons that a lot of people don’t cook their meals is that they “don’t know what to cook”. If you can’t think of any tasty recipes, the Internet is full of easy ideas that you can whip up in no time.
After that, make sure that you have everything you need to make those meals. If you have to go to the grocery store before you cook, it’s going to add an hour to the mealtime. If you don’t have time to go to the store, plan your meals around what you already have stocked in the fridge. Because it can be difficult to come up with random recipes with what you have, some websites can help you out like Supercook.com.
Prepare Ahead of Time
Aside from deciding what you want to eat ahead of time, you can also cut down your cooking time by preparing your meals the night before. All of the cutting, spices, washing, dicing, and anything else you can do ahead of time… do it! Chop all the vegetables, open up all the cans and divide all of the spices. If you can prepare the whole meal beforehand, think of all the time you’ll save when you just have to pop it in the oven.
Slow Cooker – Your New Best Friend
Imagine what your evenings would be like if you came home and your meal was already cooked for you? Sounds awesome, right? You probably can’t hire a professional chef to do all of your cooking for you, but you can have your meals already cook when you get home – thanks to the wonderful device, the slow cooker.
Before you head off to work in the morning, toss all of your ingredients into the cooker and set it on low. By the time you get home after your long day, the whole meal will be ready to eat. There is nothing better than opening your front door to smell that delicious meal.
One of the best parts about a slow cooker, aside from how easy it is, is that you can cook just about anything in one. Anything that you can cook in the oven, you can probably make in a slow cooker. Your options are almost endless. If you’re at a loss for ideas, Pinterest is filled with easy slow cooker recipes that you can use for a quick and healthy meal.
Saving Time Cooking at Home
It’s easy to fall into the drive through the trap. It’s quick and easy. But cooking can be quick and easy too. There are plenty of ways that you can eat healthily and not spend hours cooking and cleaning every night. Planning ahead of time and doing all the prep work the night before can save you an hour or more every night, not to mention all the money it will save you from eating out.
