22 Healthy Eating Tips For Busy Moms

Here’s a list of 22 healthy eating tips for busy moms who desire to transition into a healthier lifestyle.

Busy Moms

I never knew just how busy life could get until I became of mom of two VERY active and energetic children. My days of perfectionism and thoughtful planning suddenly seemed to come to a halt the moment my sweet little ones entered the world.

So many things changed once I became a mother for the first time. And although my overall schedule, free time, and just about every area of life transitioned into something new, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

One surprising change for me was actually regarding my diet. Growing up I had a slight interest in eating healthy and being aware of what I was putting into my body. (I may or may not have memorized the nutrition facts of my rotational go to foods just for the fun of it).

Food Is Fuel

However, it wasn’t until I became pregnant with my daughter that I truly began looking at food as fuel. I became fascinated by the nutrients found in the wholesome foods that our Creator has provided us.

Realizing that the healthy (ahem…or not so healthy) choices I made were affecting the precious child growing within me played a major role in my desire to eat a clean diet. And realizing that those choices are still affecting my family several years later keeps propelling me in the right direction.

Our kiddos pick up on our habits and absorb things that we often don’t notice. Our decision to live a healthy lifestyle, fueled by nutrition and activity, impacts the choices they make too.

I thoroughly enjoy cooking and prepping meals for my family, but I’ve realized that if I’m not intentional in this area, it can easily begin to feel like a dreaded chore after a long day instead of a genuine joy.

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10 Healthy Eating Tips

These healthy eating tips below help to keep me on track and make eating healthy truly enjoyable.

1. Make a Weekly Menu Plan and Grocery List

I picked up this easy habit as a teenager from watching my mom make a weekly list if meals she planned to cook for our family. If you already have each dinner planned as well as the ingredients, staple items, and necessities listed for the rest of your meals and snacks, there is no need to purchase anything that you don’t need.

This can help to make your shopping trip quicker, save money, and discourage those not-so-healthy on a whim purchases.

2. Prepare Bulk Meat For The Week

This one little step can save a good hour or two in the kitchen each week. At the beginning of each week you can prepare bulk quantities of meat. You may choose to grill, pan fry, or bake chicken, pork, lamb, and fish, and saute ground beef or turkey etc. You may even want to use a slow cooker to save more time!

Add a few simple seasonings to your meat initially (salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and an herb of choice is what I typically use.) You can doctor it up some more later, if needed, for certain recipes.

Ideally it’s best when planning out your menu for the week to only have 2-3 different types of meat if you’re going to be cooking in bulk. If done this way then you’re actually not adding any extra time in the kitchen at all. You’re literally only adding a larger amount to the pan or grill which doesn’t add extra time.

3. Wash and Prep Fruits and Vegetables

After your weekly shopping trip gather up your hardy fruits (not berries or anything soft) and vegetables and wash them in a solution of warm water, baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Then chop them up and put in air tight containers for easy grab and go snacking.

4. Prepare Some Healthy Snacks

This one will take a little bit of extra time initially, but the healthy homemade treats are more than worth it. Pick out a few delicious snacks to whip up and have on hand for the week. We love fruit popsicles, hummus (for our already chopped up veggies 😉 ), protein bars, and hard boiled eggs.

Related Posts: 20 Gluten and Dairy Free Snack Ideas

25 Healthy Snacks For Kids

5. Cook Extra One Night For Leftovers

I have no idea why this one took me so long to realize. But if you simply make a double portion of dinner one night, then you can eat it for leftovers a few nights later!

There may be a few exceptions to his but overall leftovers are still perfectly delicious meal options and make for an easy dinner and cleanup. You could also choose to freeze the extras instead to enjoy at a later time.

6. Prep Smoothie Packs

If you’re looking for a quick and healthy breakfast idea, smoothie freezer packs are the way to go! Smoothies have been my go to breakfast for several years now. They’re an easy way to get in protein, healthy fats, fruits, veggies, greens, and seeds to name a few.

Gather up your ingredients (minus the protein powder, if using, and milk of choice) and add them to freezer baggies for individual servings. In the morning grab your blender. Dump in your freezer pack ingredients, a scoop of your favorite protein powder, and milk (Silk Protein Nut Milk is my favorite!) Blend and enjoy!

7. Prepare Large Quantity Of Starches

Cooking extra sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, etc. one night makes for an easy side dish to quickly grab for another meal.

8. Purchase Healthy Convenience Food

Although it’s best to purchase fresh produce, meat, and bread, it’s not always possible. There are some healthy convenience food options, so don’t feel bad for opting for these when you’re short on time.

You can try frozen riced cauliflower in place of rice. Frozen fruit and veggies, canned tuna fish, and beans are all great options as well.

9. Download My Fitness Pal App

I’m not a huge fan of counting calories, more so of simply focusing on eating fresh and wholesome foods to provide our bodies with the nutrients we need to thrive. BUT there are benefits to this approach in certain circumstances.

A couple of years ago I was counting macros and the FREE My Fitness Pal App came in handy! This app will keep track of your favorite snacks and meals so you can quickly add an entire meal instead of individually adding ingredients.

It also allows you to scan a barcode which automatically uploads all of the nutrition information for that food! Overall, it’s a pretty impressive app which can offer some accountability if needed.

10. Eat A “Snack Lunch”

We often eat “snack lunches” around here, and they happen to be my daughter’s absolute favorite! Our favorites include some delicious fruit and veggies, hummus or cashew “cheese”, nuts, seed crackers, organic lunch meat, and hard-boiled eggs.

The fiber makes this a very filling meal and it’s a sure way to help reduce the amount of produce waste.

Eating Healthy Is A Lifestyle

I’d like to point out that eating healthy shouldn’t be looked upon as consistently maintaining a strict diet. It should be a lifestyle that you enjoy.

And I fully believe that it’s okay to enjoy a not as healthy treat every once in a while. Don’t completely deprive yourself or you’ll create a negative mindset about it all, which makes it much harder to stick to.

Tips For Eating Out Healthy

Eating at home isn’t always doable if you’re on the road or out and about around meal time. Here are a few healthy tips for eating out.

1. Portion Your Food

Ask your server to bring you a to-go box at the same time that your meal arrives. Before you even take your first bite, portion off half of your meal into the take home box to enjoy tomorrow.

Restaurant portions are generally extremely large, often 2-3 times the recommended serving size. If you’re unsure of what a normal serving size should be you can check out this helpful article by Food Network for clarification.

2. Swap In Healthy Sides

Even when ordering grilled chicken at your favorite restaurant you’re likely to be offered French fries as a side dish. You can easily ask the waiter to swap out an unhealthy side for a healthier option such as rice, steamed vegetables, or a plain baked potato.

3. Bring Your Own Salad Dressing

Salads can be a healthy choice while dining out.

However, those healthy greens piled high with fresh veggies are typically drenched in a dressing full of added sugar, unhealthy fat, and unwanted calories.

Instead, simply opt for making your own all natural salad dressing to bring along with you. (I’ve done this before and I promise it’s not as awkward as it may seem).

4. Ask the Chef to Cook Your Food A Certain Way

I never wanted to be that person who has special requests for the chef when dining out, but when my allergy prone little guy arrived on the scene I had no choice. And I’ve learned that servers, chefs, and managers are typically more than happy to assist you in staying within your dietary needs.

It could be a simple as asking for meat to be cooked in olive oil rather than butter (or grilled instead of fried) or asking for no butter on your steamed vegetables, etc. They may not always be able to comply, but don’t be afraid to kindly ask.

5. Plan Ahead

When we’re super hungry we have a tendency to make rash (and not so healthy) decisions in our food choices. Planning ahead and even asking someone to keep you accountable can help prevent that.

Once you know where you’re going, decide then and there what you’re going to eat (or at least what you’re going to stay away from) and stick to it. You’ll be grateful you did.

6. Don’t Load Up On the Extras

I’ve always been a fan of flavor! … And by default this also means sauces, dips, and dressings! Although you can certainly make healthy homemade condiments at home or even find tasty swaps at the grocery store, you’re not as likely to find healthy versions of your favorite “extras” at a restaurant.

I’d encourage you to tread lightly when it comes to all of the extras- because sometimes those additional calories are hiding precisely there.

Scrape off some mayo if you need to. Don’t use the entire little saucer of BBQ sauce on your plate. Skip the loaded baked potato and opt for a plain one instead. (As a side note nutritional yeast tastes delicious on a baked potato. Yum!)

7. Use the My Fitness Pal App

The same app mentioned above is also preloaded with many entrees from popular restaurants. Take a look at the nutritional information of a certain meal before ordering and choose wisely 😉

Healthy Holiday Eating

As I write this the holidays are quickly approaching, which can be another stumbling block for some when it comes to eating. Below are just a few quick tips for healthy holiday eating.

1. Do A Mental Shift

I believe that most of our eating struggles stem from the way we view food. We shouldn’t primarily see food as a reward or a comfort.

We should view food as fuel for our bodies.

Fuel that can be both nutritious and delicious! As the holidays approach it’s important to not feel as though you have to deny yourself all of these mouth-watering goodies that surround you.

Instead, look at it as being able to give your body the fuel it needs while enjoying a special treat every once in a while. Enjoy your turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and then a little slice of pie to finish it off. And then be satisfied.

2. Grab A Smaller Plate

Studies have shown that our portion sizes are often a direct correlation to the size of our plates. Again this goes back to it all being a mental game. Use a smaller plate with appropriate serving sizes.

This little tip should help trick your mind into eating a bit less and still being completely satisfied.

3. Eat Slowly

It takes time for our bodies to digest food. This means that we often don’t realize how full we are until after we’ve finished eating. This is especially true if we’ve made a habit of eating quickly.

Try to focus on eating slowly and you’ll have a better time recognizing when you’re genuinely full.

4. Drink Plenty Of Water

This one may seem obvious, but water plays a crucial role in many aspects of our health. It’s entirely possible that what you think is hunger is actually thirst.

Staying well hydrated will help your body tell the difference between hunger pangs and thirst and also assist in multiple other functions throughout the day.

5. Realize That Stress May Be Playing A Factor

Saying that the holidays can be a busy time of year is quite the understatement for many American families. Unfortunately, this busyness often leads to stress. Stress that can lead to overeating and comfort food if we’re not careful.

During this time it is vital that we’re faithfully fueling our bodies with wholesome foods to fight the stress, not fuel it.

Matthew J. Kuchan, Ph.D., a scientist at Abbott Nutrition states that “Eating a healthy diet can reduce the negative effects of stress on your body… A healthy diet builds a solid, more enduring foundation for your body by reducing oxidation and inflammation and by helping to reduce weight gain.”

Life gets busy. It’s not always easy to make those healthy decisions when we’re feeling rushed with a million other things on our plate. However, I’ve learned that when we do take the time to feed our bodies the nutrients they were designed to crave, we can handle the busyness much easier.

I hope that these healthy eating tips have been helpful for you as you begin your journey to living a healthier lifestyle. With a little bit of effort, accountability, and focus we can honor God with the health He has so graciously given us.