We live in a world that is often driven by our jobs. Some people work 9-5 others 8-6 or even strange hours like 11-9. The questions that so many of us ask are how we are supposed to look after our diet and continue to work these hours. It’s not uncommon to get home after a long day and work and think you really can’t be bothered making dinner so for the 3rd time that week you order takeaway.
This is understandable when you have a busy day, week or life with so many other things going on that having to make dinner every night can become too much. However, you simply don’t have to resort to getting takeaway most nights of the week. Yes, takeaway is a great option every now and again so that you can indulge in a delicious meal, at home, without having to do anything. But, the reality is that takeaway food is often not very healthy as it contains high levels of salt, sugars and fats.
Below is a list of things that you can do so that you don’t have to cook dinner every night of the week or so that you have a plan for when you simply cannot be bothered.
#1 Find a food delivery service
There are so many food delivery services now that you have a wide range of choices to suit your needs. HelloFresh is a great service that allows you to choose your meal types and then cook your own meals with the HelloFresh delicious recipes but all of the ingredients and recipes are delivered straight to your door. These sorts of meal delivery services are great for people who don’t want to waste money on food, have limited time but still want to have a home cooked meal.
These plans provide flexibility to pick and choose the types of foods you want to eat and each recipe has a rough estimate of the amount of time it takes to make. They are all designed to be quick, easy meals to make, perfectly suiting the busy business man or woman. The plans are flexible and enable you to fit within your budget whilst eating delicious meals.
#2 Meal preparation
Preparing your meals in advance is a great way to relieve the chore of doing it after a long day at work. Understandably you don’t want your weekend ton be filled with jobs but come Sunday afternoon or evening it is worth spending a few hours preparing some meals for the week ahead.
Curries, pastas, salads and stir fry’s can all be made in advance and then heated up on a given weeknight. For those who are super lazy on weeknights you can make the whole dish on a Sunday including the pasta and rice for the dishes. However, if you have a little more time during the week, just prepare the curry itself or the pasta sauce and then make the rice on the night. This makes it super easy for when you get home after a long day at work knowing you can just pull the food out of the freezer, throw it in the microwave and dinner will be ready in a matter of minutes.
If you live with friends or are in a share house, a great way to reduce the chore of cooking dinner is to take it in turns cooking meals for the house throughout the week. This enables you to only have to cook 2-3 times a week meaning you can all work out which nights work best for each other.
In addition to relieving each other of cooking every night, it also holds each person accountable for cooking reducing the likelihood of takeaway (unless you’re happy to pay for the whole house which can be very expensive). It also creates variety in the meals prepared and means that you get the most out of each dinner.
#4 Make a little extra each night
If you find yourself cooking only a few nights and week and getting takeaway or eating out most other nights because you can’t be bothered, it may be worthwhile cooking extra on the nights you do make your dinner at home. By making a little extra you are essentially preparing food for future nights when you can’t be bothered to prepare your dinner.
Yes, this does mean that you will be eating the same thing a few times a week but it ensures that none of the food you buy and make goes to waste and helps to keep you healthy by not eating out or getting regular takeaway.