‘What the hell is that???’ My high school best mate shrieked at me as I pulled my lunch out of my locker.
‘A capsicum! Why?’ I replied.
‘Are you just going to eat it like an apple???’
‘Yep!’ I said as I bit into it.
When I was in high school I used to pack my own lunches and I was health conscious from a very early age (thanks shit metabolism!) so my lunch box was always full of fresh veggies. When I had the time to cut everything into little sticks, I would but I was a theatre kid doing shows every evening, working at a newsagency on the weekend and going to school every day, I didn’t have time to be freaking julienning carrots before I left the house in the morning. Most days I packed a washed, whole cucumber and carrot and ate them straight at lunchtime. This was amusing to everyone but I couldn’t see the difference – it all ended up in my stomach anyway so why waste the time?
I do quite a lot of food-related content on Smaggle but it’s not aimed at foodies. It’s for people who want the best bang for their health buck in the shortest amount of time. I like fast and healthy food. If you’re looking for a gooey, amazing chocolate cake recipe, go visit my mate Baby Mac. If you want quick and healthy dinner ideas, I’m your gal.
Here are a few food hacks that keep me healthy, fed and way less cranky…
1. Greek yogurt with 8 almonds, 8 macadamias and a teaspoon of cinnamon is an excellent snack.
2. Get a pressure cooker. Most nights I chuck in some chicken, chopped vegetables and a curry sauce and I have a fragrant, delicious dinner ready in 10 minutes and I don’t have even have to watch it cook.
3. If you’re not a foodie and you don’t really care about food, don’t be obsessed with variety. I’ve been eating the same shit every day for the last two years and I’ve never felt/looked better. If you function the best when you’ve had a healthy omelette for breakfast but you crash and burn two hours after a breakfast smoothie, just have the omelette every day.
4. Peanut butter on celery sticks is a fabulous afternoon pick me up if you’re trying to avoid sugary biscuits or chocolate.
5. Always remember to JERF – Just Eat Real Food. It can be tempting to grab a health food bar or a pre-packaged mini meal but you’ll always feel better if you choose something real like nuts, fruit or some veggies.
6. Pack your lunch for work. It’s really not as time-consuming as you may think. It saves you so much money and you can pack nourishing food that keeps you satisfied all day rather than eating a disappointing cafe salad and being hungry five minutes later. If you need ideas you can look here, here, here, here, here, and here.
7. These bliss balls are excellent and you should make some to have with a cup of tea in the afternoons.
8. Track your calories every now and then. I usually track everything I eat for a month a couple of times a year and I’ve recently been doing Weight Watchers (they’ve sponsored me over on Instagram but I’ve not been paid for this mention) and it’s such a good eye opener. Reminds you that there’s a big difference between 8 almonds and a giant handful of almonds, amiright?
9. Make sure that at least half of every meal you eat is vegetables. And no, chips don’t count as vegetables you scally wag!
10. If you absolutely HAVE to have something sweet after dinner have a low fat (Jarrah) or low sugar (Avalanche) hot chocolate. I mean a fake hot chocolate isn’t going to hit the spot like half a packet of Tim Tams would but isn’t fun/healthy/boring to pretend like it does?
11. Double every dinner you make. I would NEVER cook a meal for two and there are only two adults in my house. I always make meals for at least 6 people, usually 8 so we can pop them in the fridge and eat them over the next coupld of days.
12. Boiled eggs are the most underated snack in the world. They’re totally portable, they fill you right up and they also smell like farts. What’s not to love?
13. If you have a super busy week coming up, taco and buddha bowls are all you need.
What are your favourite food hacks? Time and money saving ones?
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