Emily Miner

If you’re anything like me, you’re always short on time. So, 20 steps to dinner on the table is not an option… ever. Not only am I short on time, but I like to enjoy the food I’m eating. And since two-a-day takeout meals from Whole Foods salad bar (or whatever) aren’t exactly in the budget, I wanted to share some of my best hacks to #lovehowyoueat without spending hours in the kitchen. Hopefully, adopting even just one or a few of the below will help free up some of your time (and mental energy) for other more important things. Here ya go:

Buy pre-washed greens. I don’t love spinach (personal preference), but baby kale, arugula, and mixed greens are some of my faves. If they’re washed and ready-to-eat, you’re more likely to eat them and they’re less likely to go bad than  options you must wash yourself. This also accelerates salad assembly, if #BASlife (BAS = big ass salad) is your thing.

Invest in a salad spinner (for the greens that you don’t buy pre-washed e.g. romaine). Save time, paper towels, and hassle. Save even more time and pre-wash for a few days at a time. Store in a Ziploc with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Buy pre-washed/chopped veggies. This convenience typically costs, but if your budget allows and you know yourself well enough to know that you’re not one to wash/chop yourself, it’s worth it (I think) if it means you eat them versus not.

Keep your freezer stocked with frozen veggies. Roast, steam, stir-fry, or prep however you like, but these are clutch for when you’re short on time, low on groceries, don’t feel like cooking, or anytime. My weekly staples include bell peppers, cauliflower rice, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and haricot verts (they’re thinner than green beans and roast well). Not sure how to prep ’em? Check out my Instagram feed!

Use my 2×2 Method to prep your midday meal. Whether you work in an office, from home, on-the-go, not at all, are a student, or just interested in gaining a little time back in your day, prepping two meals at a time helps me save time, energy, and money.

Prep protein in bulk… Keep it plain and flavor as you go with things, like fresh/dried herbs, spices, and low sugar condiments. Examples: Chicken, ground turkey, grass-fed beef, chicken or pork sausage, egg bake or hard-boiled eggs (eat at least some of the yolks), salmon burgers. NOTE: If you’re buying conventional animal products, lean cuts are best. 

… and/or stock up on minimally-processed convenience options for protein in a pinch. Pair with veggies and a fat, carb, or both #doyou for quick meal assembly. Some of my faves are below: 

• Rotisserie chicken
• Canned tuna – I love the Wild Planet Foods brand. It’s pricier than others, but also wild, sustainably pole and line-caught and high in EPA + DHA Omega 3 and I almost always buy mine on sale and in bulk. Safe Catch is another high quality option, but I have not yet tried it and so cannot speak to it personally.
• Protein powder – This is by no means required, but if it’s something you know/think could help you, the most economical approach is to buy a tub. If needed, portion out single servings yourself for on-the-go. If the individual packets work better for you and you can afford them, do that. Regardless of which you choose, remember that supplements, including but not limited to protein powder, are only as good as the food they’re supplementing. 
• Jerky/jerky bars – I love Chomps, Steve’s Paleo Goods, and DNX (use code EMILY for 20% off & free shipping). There are plenty of other brands out there, but it’s important to read nutrition labels and avoid added sugars. Sugar is naturally occurring in some foods (e.g. fruit) and, in moderation, this is fine. Added sugars listed and/or disguised as such in ingredient lists, however, are something I reco my clients do their best to limit/avoid.

Turn the oven on once and prep ALLTHETHINGS. I cook almost everything at the 400F and adjust cook time accordingly. An example of what any given “prep” might look like for me (quotes because, other than lunches for my four- day office week, I don’t prep meals ahead of time; rather menu prep):

• Chicken: 30 minutes or to internal temperature of 165F (slow cooker: 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low)
• Spaghetti squash: 40 minutes sliced in half the long way, face down
• Roasted veggies, to desired crispiness (I like crispy, so usually 30-40 minutes-ish; the smaller the pieces, the less time it takes)
• Salmon: 20-22 minutes for one piece
• Egg bake (written by me for my friends at Vukoo Nutrition)– an #EmTribe fave.

Protein smoothies + protein bars. Real food always trumps, but these can make for a quick meal replacement or snack on-the-go.

Grind your coffee beans the night before. If you have a programmable pot, use it!

Keep a running list [of items you need] on the fridge. This helps minimize trips to/from the store so that you’re not running out every time you need something. On that note – If you have an Amazon Prime, use it! I am not domestic and hate errands (other than grocery shopping), so totally love the one-click, delivered straight to your door option whenever possible.

Invest in a slow cooker and/or Instant Pot if you don’t have one already. An IP is definitely on my Black Friday list for this year, but I often prep the crock pot the night before, throw it in the fridge overnight, set it to low when I leave for work the next morning, and dinner is ready when I get home. #winning

Learn to love leftovers. I’ll often cook double of whatever I’m making for dinner and take leftovers for my work lunch the next day (if it’s not a #5 from above kind of week). Or, I’ll prep enough for two dinners and alternate days (e.g. option #1 Monday + Wednesday and option #2 Tuesday + Thursday). This can be a great option if you’re someone who craves nutritional variety. 

Use the dishwasher… if you have one. This sounds silly, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I know that don’t! Wash big or handwash-only type stuff, but other than that, load it up. It’s also likely more economical than letting the water run while you wash everything by hand.

Which of these tips did you find most helpful? Did I forget something? Let me know on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram (@iamemilyminer). I’ll re-post some of my faves so that we can all benefit! 

As always, if you have a question, shoot me a DM – it’s my fave way to communicate and I love hearing from y’all! If you’re not on Instagram (you can create an account for free and keep it private, if you just want to follow), you can always message me directly on my Facebook biz page or email me. 🙂

I don’t know about you, but I find myself having less and less time to spend on food. Actually, I have the time, but choose to spend it elsewhere. Not because I don’t care about the food I choose to fuel with; hardly. I actually care quite a bit. In fact, my health is my #1 priority because in good health, you can BE, DO and HAVE anything you want to be. 

But, focus is finite. You can do everything, but not everything all at once. It’s why I’m a huge proponent of automating your process around food and eating. It allows you to actually create time for other higher priority tasks (e.g. health, family, work/school). You know, those things you keep saying you’ll do, but aren’t actually doing? Yeah, those.

I know time is precious and we’re all short on it, so I’ll keep this brief. Since yours truly is hungry always and I juggle a lot in my day-to-day (we all do #noexcuses), it’s important for me to keep healthy snacks on hand that are just as easy as the convenient options so that I don’t start reaching for handfuls of this, or handfuls of that (i.e. mindless snacking) on every pass by the fridge or the pantry, just because. And, to avoid heading straight to the store, spending entirely way too much #impulsebuys and wasting even more time. *Flashbacks to that time in my life when I literally shopped snack-by-snack, meal-by-meal and made multiple trips to the store in the same day?!* Um, ain’t nobody got time for that anymore… or ever!

Below you’ll find some quick and easy snack/mini-meal/drink ideas that I enjoy #doyou and that satisfy my one and only food “rule:” SIMPLE + SATISFYING = SUSTAINABLE.

Oh, and for anything with a label,* quickie refresher on the Metabolic Effect (ME) Label Rule. Certainly not the end-all-be-all, but a good tool to have in your back pocket to help you decipher whether that packaged snack staring you in the face will support your health and physique goals; also balanced biofeedback (i.e. hunger, energy and cravings or HEC a la Metabolic Effect):

Total carbs-fiber-sugar alcohols (if applicable)-protein <10

The lower the number, the better; negative numbers are best for fat loss. Look for fat <15g. *per one serving Even if you don’t apply the label rule, please please please read your labels, watch for and avoid ADDED sugars. For your convenience, I’ve starred items below that are often sources of hidden sugar. 

Without further adieu… here are some ideas to help get you started. Let me know if this was helpful, or if you have a favorite snack that should be on the list, but is not.

Food

• Nuts and/or seeds – raw or dry roasted (e.g. almonds, cashews, macadamias, walnuts, pistachios; peanuts are not nuts) 
• Fruit (esp. apples, pears and berries) or veggies with nut* or coconut butter – (e.g. almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or my fave – NuttZo). [If fat loss is your primary goal, limit fruit to 1x/day.] 
• Hummus (if you tolerate legumes okay – my belly doesn’t love on the reg, but this one is delish!), baba ghannouj or guacomole – eat with raw veggies of choice for a lower starch option (e.g. celery, bell pepper, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes); or plantain or sweet potato chips, mindfully
• Tuna with tahini or mashed avocado
• Canned wild salmon with primal mayo
• Sustainably-caught, wild sardines (this is the only brand I will eat; there are others, but this is the least “fishy” I’ve found) 
• Apple/pear or celery with nut butter* (single-serve packs are great for your purse, desk or diaper bag)
• Hard-boiled eggs (or eggs in any form)
• Jerky*
• Leftovers
• Nitrate-free deli meat* roll-ups – plain, or around a pickle, apple or avocado (e.g. turkey breast or ham)
• Quality cured meat roll-ups (e.g. salami, pepperoni, prosciutto) plain or around a little cheese or asparagus
• Rotisserie chicken
• If you can tolerate dairy ok, full fat, quality dairy* (e.g. plain yogurt – add a few crushed nuts, berries, cinnamon and/or stevia if you want; cheese) 
• Old fashioned oats or oat bran with a scoop of protein (add dry ingredients to a ziploc – another great option for on-the-go – you can get hot water anywhere)
• Dried fruit* (watch serving size; limit to 1/4 c.)
• Dark chocolate (the darker the better in terms of sugar; look for options at least 72% cocoa)

Drinks

• Kombucha* – I like GTs and Health Ade; some Kevita (read your labels; some are loaded with sugar)
• Coconut water
• Suja* (again, read your labels – I love the Lemongrass Lime Drinking Vinegar)
• Unsweetened teas; organic coffee (coffee is a heavily pesticide-sprayed crop – do your best)
• Seltzer water
• Craving Cocoa, or healthier cocoa drink: 1-2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, 6-8 oz. hot water and stevia, to taste- I prefer liquid stevia, in terms of taste) if you’re going the DIY route vs. the Craving Cocoa)
• BCAAs

Convenience options 

• Healthier homemade baked “treats” (e.g. healthy bread); still treats, and should be enjoyed in moderation 
• Protein smoothie (use unsweetened dairy milk alternative; watch your mix-ins)
• Protein pancakes/muffins (freeze well and defrost quickly)
• Protein balls
• Protein bars

And, in case that wasn’t enough, here’s a list of 39 Paleo snacks you might enjoy. 

Today’s post was inspired by a new friend (and brand new mama!) over coffee last weekend. I asked her about her #1 biggest healthy living struggle as a new mom. Her response? Snacking. Short on time in between feedings and life, coupled with all the information that’s out there a la ‘eat this, not that’, she said it can be overwhelming trying to decide who and what to believe, and then do, in the context of her nutrition. And she’s not alone. Snacking can be a tough thing for a lot of people and making healthy choices for snacks can be difficult.

If you struggle with snacking – knowing what to eat, whether it’s right for you or if you’d be better off increasing the #SatisfactionFactor of your meals – feel free to send me an email and let me know how I can help you! Or, leave a comment or message me directly on my Facebook page or on Instagram, where I post lots of mindset insights around eating and exercise, in addition to freebie workouts and recipes themselves. Come say ‘hey!’