Healthy living doesn’t have to be hard. When we make it complicated, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Let’s face it, most of us lead busy lifestyles and struggle to fit everything in as it is. We need to find ways to make it easier to meet our goal to live healthier, or we may end up failing. Every Thursday, I will share with you one tip, or trick I currently use to ensure that I keep my life simple.
I love to cook and want to eat healthy dinners, but I work a full time job that requires long hours. I’ve had to learn some new tricks to ensure I get healthy food on my plate each night. Realistically, I can’t walk in the door at 6:00 PM and start cooking a full meal as we would be eating dinner way too late. I need quick, healthy, home cooked meals on my plate in 30 minutes or less.
I want to eat home cooked food each night, but usually arrive home hungry. My meals need to be simple, quick and healthy because if they aren’t, I’m going to go down that rabbit hole of eating junk instead. Gone are the days of ordering dinner in each night, or picking something up on my way home. That only led to unwanted weight gain and feeling just plain lousy.
This week’s tip is to invest in a well made, easy to clean grill. If you live in a climate that allows outdoor barbecuing all year round, lucky you! If you don’t, and don’t mind standing outside in the freezing cold, or rain, more power to you. If you’re like me and prefer to cook inside, you should invest in an easy to clean indoor grill. This will become your most used kitchen tool, that will enable you to have a healthy dinner on your plate in 30 minutes or less.
I’ve tried so many different grills and the sticking point for me was always the clean up. I don’t want to eat fast and then struggle to clean the mess. I also don’t want something that spritzes up my kitchen, so prefer a closed grill. I want something compact, preferably portable, that comes apart for cleaning.
I have settled on the Optigrill for many reasons. First and foremost, the food tastes amazing and there is no more cutting into it to check it’s doneness. The machine has an automatic setting that tells you when your food is ready. No turning or bothering with it once it’s on the grill. Second, the whole grill comes apart and goes right in the dishwasher. No scrubbing at all and it comes out perfectly clean each time I use it. Third, if I forget to take something out, I can use the frozen setting and cook without defrosting. Great for quick hamburgers or turkey burgers. Finally, grilled vegetables or panini come out so good.
The possibilities for cooking on this grill, or any grill you own, are endless. Our favorites are grilled chicken and salad, or quinoa, or spinach, etc. Today, we had hamburger with lettuce, tomato and avocado and a side salad. Easy and on the plate in under 15 minutes. There’s also a fish setting that allows you to grill delicious tuna steak or salmon. I’m not a huge fan of fish, but it does come perfect anytime I’ve tried it. I’ve also never had a bad filet mignon grilled on it. Just set it and watch the color coding for the finish you want.
For all of these reasons and to ensure I can cook dinner without relying on a microwave oven, my tip is to make sure you have a working grill ready to use in your home. It may seem like an expensive investment, but I’ve had mine for 3 years and use it at least 4-5 nights a week to cook. It was worth every penny and I’ve certainly saved money not ordering in so much anymore. Here’s a link to see what the Optigrill looks like. (*I don’t work for Optigrill and was not paid to recommend it.)
What’s your tip for healthy eating during the week? Please consider leaving a comment below.
Reclaiming My Health 