Diet Tips for Busy People

Being healthy can be hard when you're busy and don't have time to spend ages preparing healthy and nutritious meals. It can be easy to reach for the quick, unhealthy option instead.

This article will provide you with quick recipe ideas and tips to eat healthily when you have time constraints.

"Avoiding breakfast increases the consumption of snack products high in fat and sugar"
-World Health Organization

Curried Eggs require less than five minutes to prepare! (Plus the time it takes to boil an egg)

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Missing breakfast can lead to increased snacking during the day, and breakfast also gives you energy. Healthy and filling breakfast options are best.

Cereal: One of the quickest breakfasts to prepare is cereal. Dump the cereal in a bowl and just add milk (or soy milk). Healthy cereal options include ingredients such as whole grain, for example Weet-Bix. Muesli can also be healthy, but this varies depending on the brand you purchase. If you want, you can even make your own muesli and choose yummy healthy ingredients such as almonds to put in.

Fruit: Fruit is delicious and naturally sweet. Studies have shown that apples are better than coffee at waking you up in the morning due to its natural sugar (fructose). Eat fruit by itself, or put some strawberries and banana on top of your cereal!

Yogurt: A healthy breakfast choice, but not filling enough on its own. Combine it with something else.

Eggs: Eggs have been shown to have numerous health benefits, including preventing macular degeneration. They encourage healthy hair and nails because of the minerals and vitamins they contain. Among other things, eggs contain protein, Vitamin D and amino acids. Eggs are fairly quick to prepare and you can prepare them in numerous ways, including poached, scrambled, boiled or even curried.

The bane of dieters everywhere. The desire to have a quick snack when you're hungry often leads to an unhealthy option, such as chips. But with the purchase of a few healthy snack items, you can turn snacking into an opportunity to eat healthily. And these, like their unhealthy counterparts, require no preparation so it won't cost you any extra time!

Nuts: Nuts are healthy and require no preparation. They have protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, which also means they are able to stop you feeling peckish and fill you up. Be aware that nuts that have been cooked may have lost some of their nutrients. If you are going to buy salted nuts, try to buy ones that have been lightly salted.

Some nuts you may want to try include:

• cashews
• almonds
• peanut
• pistachios
• walnuts

Popcorn: Popcorn, when prepared in a certain way, is a quick snack that is yummy, but not unhealthy. I'm not talking about the popcorn you get at the movies with all the unhealthy butter on it, I'm talking about corn kernels that have been heated until becoming popcorn, and served by themselves. I make my popcorn using a Cornelius popcorn maker, which is by the brand Sunbeam. I've had it for seven years and it still works perfectly.

Carrot and Celery sticks: Chop up some celery and carrots. Pair it with a healthy dip such as tzatziki or hummus. This is delicious! You can even make your own tzatziki or hummus if you want.

Fruit: Fresh fruit is great for any time of the day, and is usually available at a reasonable price when it is in season. Buy it at the grocery store instead of a supermarket if possible for fresher fruit. Have a single piece of fruit by itself, or chop up a few for a delicious fruit platter!

Yogurt: Perfect for a light snack. Yogurt is also delicious when paired with muesli- sprinkle the muesli on top of the yogurt.