As I already mentioned in my previous posts, going on a diet does not mean you have to starve yourself (in fact that is not healthy at all!). We want to do a healthy diet here, so please I ask you not to get yourself sick and/or weak! Eating (well and the right portion) is one of the main ingredients in a healthy diet.

But what to eat? How much? Can I buy ready made food and still be healthy? Let’s get this straight, in this post I will not be telling you what to eat and how much you should eat. Understand that we are all different, this also depends on what exercises you do and I am NOT a nutritionist so I cannot give you such advice. As I always recommended, the best choice would be to seek professional advice and have a diet specifically based on your needs.

But if I am not going to give you advise on what to eat, why am I writing this? Most people argument that they cannot follow a healthy diet because they cannot/have not time to prepare their food. I understand that when buying ready cooked meals, you do not have to deal with cleaning up, preparing your meal, etc.. but come on! Can’t you just spare 1.5 hours of your time in 2 days? That is how long it takes for me to prepare my meals. Yes! 1.5 hours to cook for the next two days (as I cannot afford to find time to cook every day). If time is the biggest issue (which I totally understand), preparing food for 2 days at one go could be the best option.

When I buy my food, I split it into the right portions for each meal before I put it in the freezer. This will make life easier when you need to take out your food before you start cooking (easier to take our the right amount according to your portions). First thing in the morning (in summer) or last thing before I go to sleep a day before I cook (in winter), I take out the portion I need to cook and place it in the fridge to thaw by the evening. When I get back home, I prepare food in the Griglioso /Oven and once I start cooking, I’ll take a quick shower (Yes you do have to multitask. Women say that only they have such power. Don’t believe them! It’s NOT true :P). When I’m done with the shower, I’ll check the food state (you might need to adjust time/temperature) and have my evening meal which I prepared before when I last cooked.

In summer one should be more careful when preparing food since bacteria tends to grow much faster so be careful what to cook and make sure that you place the food in the fridge as soon as it is ready. Don’t worry this will not cause any damage to your fridge. (TIP: Try to avoid using deep containers as they tend to take longer to cool.) You may find more information on how long you should keep food in your fridge to avoid food poison on foodsafety.gov.

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Do take your time to make your food look nice, believe it or not when something looks nice, it also taste better! (don’t ask me about this, it’s how our mind works) Should you find yourself in a situation were you are too busy to cook and prepare your mail, you might have to opt for a quick meal. DON’T go for junk food or decide to skip a meal as non of these option are healthy. My favorite ‘Saver Meal’ or ‘Quick Meal’ (whatever you would like to call it) is Oats, Protein, Fruit & Almond Milk! (as per the above image).

Preparing your meals is an important step in your diet because a balanced diet is based on Food, Exercise and Rest. If you do not eat well/enough, you will become weak and you will end up burning your muscle instead of building it. And remember this, when you are around the table, always opt for the healthier option (even though sometimes it is not that healthy).