How to eat healthier with a super busy job

I LOVE cooking.

When I was back at uni, I would spend at least a few hours a day in the kitchen.

I really enjoyed looking up new recipes, doing groceries and coming back home with bags full of fresh, colourful veg and fruit and then having this cosy and homey feeling when the smells of a delicious meal spread in the kitchen.

At the time, making healthy but delicious meals wasn't as mainstream as it is now (it was 9 years ago), and it was quite mindblowing to me that you could make something that was truly very tasty but also nutrient-dense.

So, while my breakfasts were usually fairly quick and standard (at the time, my go-to was oats with some nuts and fruits), my lunches and dinners were something I would spend at least an hour preparing.

This was largely thanks to flexible class times and a fairly independent teaching curriculum, which allowed me to spend so much time preparing my meals.

Ironically, things started to shift when I began my MSc in Clinical Nutrition as it wasn’t as flexible as my undergrad schedule. Then, when I started working as a strategy consultant, everything changed even more because I suddenly had almost no time to cook during the weekdays.

I got so caught up in trying to optimise my time, get things done as quickly as possible, and cover just the basics that cooking got pushed all the way to the back burner and became a rarity.

But, as someone with a MSc in nutrition, I knew it was important to keep eating well, especially when I was busy and needed energy. Plus, having always enjoyed tasty meals, I wasn’t ready to give up on the flavour either.

In response to this lifestyle change, my eating and meal-prep habits changed to accommodate eating well with a hectic schedule.

And that's what I'd like to share with you today: here are 5 observations/habits that help me eat well, even though my days can get very busy.

1) Cleaning my fridge on a weekend

First things first: if you want to eat better, you need the right ingredients.

And I don't just mean having healthy foods on hand. To me, it's also about creating an environment that actually supports me and makes me want to make healthier meals.

When my fridge is cluttered, everything is crammed together, and there are all kinds of smells hitting me as soon as I open the fridge, cooking feels like a daunting, unenjoyable task, and it's not very encouraging to actually start eating better, especially when I'm super busy.

I just hate it when I have to reorganise the whole fridge just to grab some cheese. It completely kills my motivation to make anything at all, and it's less than optimal time-wise.

So I invested in a few glass food containers from IKEA, which help me organise all foods in a way that's easily accessible. For example, I store salads, cherry tomatoes, or dinner leftovers in these containers and have a few smaller ones for cold cuts and cheeses.

I dare to say this also helps keep things fresh for longer, as the foods don't dry as much.

So now, every weekend, I try to do a quick fridge clean, taking almost everything out, wiping the shelves, chucking anything that's not edible anymore and organising the rest into my glass containers.

I don't love doing this, but once it's done, it feels so good.

Once the fridge is fresh and clean, you actually know what’s in it, which makes prepping meals much easier during the week and if you do it before your weekly grocery run, you'll likely avoid re-buying things you already have because you have a good inventory of what you already have.

So, if you want to start eating better, try to make sure that your cooking environment is pleasant because it will make the whole experience so much more enjoyable.

2) Have meal formulas you can default to when you're busy

When you’re deep in the middle of solving a work problem or super focused on a task, figuring out what to eat can feel like the last thing you want to deal with.

During a long day of making decisions, your mental energy is drained, and the idea of planning, prepping, or even thinking about a healthy meal can feel like just too much.

That’s usually when we fall back on whatever’s easiest, which might not always be aligned with our intention of eating healthier.

So, on days when I know I won't have the mental space to think about food, I find it super helpful to have go-to meal formulas that require almost no thought during the day.

For example, my go-to lunch when I’m at home is an avocado toast with 3 poached eggs + some tabasco. It's so good, pretty quick (10 mins max to prep) and since I literally make it almost every day, I make it completely on autopilot, which means I don't need to expand any mental energy on thinking what to eat.

For an afternoon snack, I almost always have Greek yoghurt with store-bought granola, some fruit, and a piece of dark chocolate or some nut butter. When I need something even faster, I just grab a handful of nuts and dried fruit.

Dinner is no different. If I'm cooking (which is quite rare tbh, as my boyfriend almost always makes dinner when I'm swamped), I stick to simple formulas to save time and mental energy.

One of my favourites is cooked chicken, a whole wheat tortilla, salad, some raw veggies (because raw are quicker than cooked), and yoghurt dressing. Or alternatively, chopped veg + potato/sweet potato with my protein of choice (usually chicken or turkey), all baked in the oven, requiring a minimal amount of effort or attention but still being super tasty.

So, I encourage you to try a few easy formulas that could work for you—simple, default meals you can make without much thought when life gets busy.

They’ll save you time and decision fatigue but also help you eat healthier in a sustainable way - let me know if you'd like me to prepare example meal formulas you could fall back on.

3) Always have canned foods on hand

Even if I have my meal formulas at hand, sometimes the fridge is looking empty midweek, or I'm too tired to whip up a full meal after a long day.

That’s where canned foods are a great option.

They last for ages, can be nutritious, and require minimal effort to turn into a meal because often no cooking is required.

For example, I love making a quick tortilla with canned tuna mixed with canned black beans, corn, capers and some Greek yoghurt. It’s filling, nutritious, and takes no more than five minutes to prep.

Another good example is a quick pasta dish with whole wheat pasta, which also lasts forever, canned tomato passata, garlic and olive oil + some parmesan if I have it. It’s simple but tastes amazing and comes together in under 15 minutes.

So, when doing groceries next time, stock up on a couple of canned food options and have them handy when life gets hectic.

With a few staples in your pantry, you’re always just minutes away from a meal, no matter how chaotic your day has been.

4) Set an alarm

I'm sure strategy consulting people can relate, but sometimes, when my schedule is packed, I forget to eat.

I might be so deep into work or be in back-to-back meetings that I either don’t have time or completely forget to eat.

But I’ve noticed that when I skip meals, it usually backfires. I end up feeling low on energy, and I get super hungry later, grabbing whatever’s quickest, whether it’s healthy or not.

If you've noticed a similar pattern, one easy thing you could do is set up alarms to roughly remind you of meal times.

While it's not about having a rigid eating schedule, it could help you make sure that you're giving your body the energy it needs throughout the day.

For example, you could schedule reminders or even time block your calendar for lunch around 12 PM, and an afternoon snack at 4 PM. That way, you don’t lose track of time or let work completely take over.

Even if you're in back-to-back calls, you could sometimes turn off your camera to grab a quick snack like some yoghurt with nuts and fruit.

By planning these mini-breaks to eat, I feel much better and can focus better throughout the day, even if it's a busy one.

5) Make sure you eat enough

At the office, I’ve noticed many people gravitate toward loading their lunch plates with greens and salads.

On the surface, you might say, that's great—after all, veggies are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibre, which support a healthy gut and reduce the risk of chronic conditions.

That said, unless these salads are paired with something more substantial—like protein, healthy fats, and possibly some complex carbs—they might not be very filling or provide enough energy until the next meal.

This is because, while greens and salads are nutrient-dense, they’re also low in calories, meaning they’re unlikely to keep you satisfied for hours.

Protein and fats, on the other hand, are digested more slowly and influence hunger-satiety hormones to keep you feeling full and energised longer.

Adding foods like chicken, fish, beans, tofu, avocado, or nuts to your salad can make a huge difference without making you feel sluggish and like all you want to do is nap.

Personally, when I’m at the office, I go for a plate full of veggies alongside a solid piece of fish, like salmon, which provides both protein and healthy fats. It keeps me full and fairly focused without feeling weighed down (of course, influenced by many other factors, like how much I slept last night).

So, I encourage you to experiment with adding some extra protein or fat to your lunches and noting how it makes you feel throughout the day.

Final thoughts

That's about it for this week - these are 5 strategies I use to eat well while having a busy schedule. While not completely bulletproof, they definitely help me eat better, even in situations in which I would otherwise default to something that's not the best for my long-term health.

Hope this was helpful, speak next week xx