Filling up on healthy, nutritious food throughout the day can be quick and easy, we promise! Thinking ahead and being prepared means you won’t be slaving away for hours in the kitchen or grabbing a chocolate bar from the nearest vending machine when your sugar levels are low… read on for tips!

Plan your meals for the week ahead

A simple step to cut down on what you are spending is to plan your meals for the week ahead and do a shop up on the weekend. We would highly recommend Madeleine Shaw’s Glow Guides app, which provides you with weekly shopping lists, daily meal plans and recipes to really keep you on track. This way you will know what you will be eating in advance and your fridge will be chock full of nutritious foods to get you glowing. This is a must do for those of you who are particularly busy, in order to avoid the call of a takeaway come evening time!

Batch cook

This way you can cook big batches of scrummy meals that will last you throughout the week, such as roasted veggie and quinoa salad to pop in your Tupperware for lunch at work. This will of course take time out of your day but we promise you this saves heaps of time in the long run! We also love cooking big batches of veggie soups or curries as these can be heated up in no time and will last in the fridge for a few days. Another way to zap time preparing brekkie in the morning is to make a homemade granola full of nuts and healthy fats to get your skin glowing. We also would recommend whipping up a creamy bircher muesli to store in the fridge, which you can simply top with coconut yoghurt or fresh berries before serving – yum!

Have healthy snacks on hand

To avoid the temptation of sugary treats, we urge you to carry some healthy snacks in your handbag for when the midday munchies hit! Fix up some chocolate protein balls – these can literally be made in an instant by chucking a few ingredients into your blender. Simply blend some nuts of your choice, raw cacao, coconut oil, dates and whatever else takes your fancy (think desiccated coconut, nut butter, goji berries, cacao nibs). If you are short on time, pop some nuts, dark chocolate or a piece of fruit into your handbag; this will nab any hunger pangs and keep you on the straight and narrow!

Schedule 15 minutes of exercise each day

This is all we are asking of you, just 15 minutes. Now you really have no excuses. Just 15 minutes will enable you to get fitter, see changes and strengthen your body. In fact, studies show that smaller bouts of exercise are far more beneficial, as over exerting oneself can raise cortisol levels and this in turn can lead to weight gain! Try a circuit of 15 squats, lunges and press ups (do this three times over) to create muscle and get your heart rate pumping. Moving your body will also lighten your mood and is a proven way to relieve stress. Now get going!

Store healthy staples in your pantry

By keeping quick and easy-to-make healthy staples in your pantry, you will be satisfied and nourished with filling meals when hunger beckons. We adore Clearsprings latest range of healthy grains and flours made from the finest organic and gluten free ingredients such as buckwheat and chia seeds. These include Omega 3 rich power porridge to fuel you throughout your morning, a nutritious quinoa trio salad for lunch, and polenta or veggies crusted with brown rice bread crumbs for dinner – delicious!

Words by Flora Crichton 

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