Eating healthy with a busy lifestyle can be challenging. Whether in an office, working from home, or bustling back and forth between meetings, many of us can find ourselves struggling to consistently eat healthy during the work day. We get it—it can oftentimes be difficult to find healthy lunch options in the cafeteria at work. You don’t have time to meal prep complicated meals at home, let alone spend money on random ingredients you’ll never use again. And let’s be honest, sometimes the fast food place across the street just seems more appealing than the salad you brought.
Sound like you? You aren’t alone. There are tons of people who struggle to keep the balance between their busy lives and healthy eating. Kim, from 4 Ingredients, felt the same way when she created the 4 Ingredients brand. She was a busy mom who found many recipes to be complicated, contain ingredients not readily available, and simply take too much time to prepare and knew there was a way to save time and money. The goal of 4 Ingredients is to simplify cooking by creating quick, easy, and delicious recipes that are:
Eating healthy at work isn’t impossible. In fact, it’s not even hard to do. It just takes a little preparation, planning, and determination. But we know it isn’t that easy, so we’ve come up with four tips and four recipes for you.
4 Tips for Eating Healthy
1 | Plan Your Meals
Buying your lunch on the fly daily has two consequences: a limited selection of filling, tasty, and nutritious foods and an empty wallet. This is why meal-planning and meal prepping is a good idea for busy professionals. It sounds daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
Making double the amount of dinner so you can have some left over for packed lunches and prepping simple meals ahead of time are two easy ways to ensure you’re continuing to eat healthy at work.
2 | Stock Up on Snacks
Most of us snack during the day, and it’s totally fine. However, if you’re trying to stay healthy at work, the last thing you want to do is snack on all of the sweet treats in the break room. Instead, bring your own healthy alternative to have healthy snacks at work. Stock up on some rice cakes, fruit, hummus and veggies, nuts — whatever works for you. Keep them at your desk so they’re at an easy reach.
3 | Say No To Peer Pressure
We’ve all accepted the donut or homemade baked good from a colleague because we didn’t want to offend them or be the odd one out. Peer pressure didn’t stay in high school, and it can be difficult to stay healthy at work when you’re surrounded by people who don’t share the same mindset. It’s ok to graciously refuse the dessert. And if you’d like, try bringing in some of your healthy alternatives to share with your colleagues.
4 | Everything In Moderation
And if you really want the donut, eat the donut. Healthy eating isn’t a diet. Depriving yourself of meals and treats can create a really unhealthy psychological effect on you. You can still eat healthy without restricting yourself every moment of the day. Forget your salad and get some French fries if you want. Just don’t do that every day of the week!
4 Ingredient Approved Recipes to Make Ahead of Time
According to Kim, the main reason we tend to eat unhealthier foods at work comes down to a real lack of time. “It’s much easier to go and buy something, order takeout, or skip meals all together! But with just 4 ingredients, simple methods, utensils and appliances you probably already have, you will be AMAZED what you can make at home (and work) so easily,” she explained, “and we all know the healthiest restaurant in the world is our very own kitchen.”
Check out a few of Kim’s favorite 4 Ingredient recipes that are perfect for weekly meal prepping and even sweet snacking!
1 | Apple Pie & Chia Pudding
2 | Chicken Salad
3 | Roast Pumpkin & Pesto Frittata
4 | Zucchini Linguine
