Two good bits of advice I can think of with respect to nutrition are to buy your food in bulk and to pre-prepare it in bulk. It's easy to eat clean for a period of time but nothing will derail your diet quicker than those unexpected periods when you're really busy and have to eat on the move - it can hard to find good quality, clean food to take away when you need it quick, so you need to be committed and you need to be prepared.
Buy your meat in bulk from a butcher and freeze it. I phone my local butcher and he makes me up a pack, usually 5-10kg of chicken breast and 5-10kg of steak mince (I believe you call it ground beef in the US). This way I get a discount and guarantee the quality. Chicken breasts in supermarkets are often full of water, and minced beef has a higher fat content than from the butcher - poorer quality. Just remember to defrost it before you plan to cook - because it's a bitch when you forget!
Another thing I buy in bulk is natural nuts. I order them online and usually get them in kilo packs. I buy mainly cashews, brazils and almonds and mix them in a plastic tupperware box which I use to refill a small tub that I take to work each day and a larger tub that I keep in my car. I normally keep a protein shake ready to go in the car too, these help to stop me getting caught out from time to time.
How often you spend cooking will depend on how much you prepare at a time. You can prepare enough meals for a week in just 1-2 hours on a Sunday morning, or whenever is convenient for you. If you want to cook less, you'll need to prepare more, hence spend a larger chunk of any given day doing the work. It really is worth the effort though. Every once in a while I will spend some time cooking up a lot of food for freezing, then usually I do an hour or so on a Sunday keeping my supply topped up.
There's nothing fancy about the meals - chilli or stir fried chicken/sweet potato/broccoli served into a pyrex dish. I used to use plastic for this until I read that the plastic degrades through time in the microwave and leaches chemicals into your food. To what extent I don't know but it seemed prudent to buy some decent pyrex food storers for long term peace of mind (square shaped so they fit nicely together in the freezer to maximise space). Anyway I digress.
My lunches are all prepared the night before. When I get home from work I will chop and roast 2 x sweet potatoes. Once they've cooled they go in a tub with a good helping of spinach, handful of cherry tomatoes, chunk of cucumber and good portion of whatever meat I've bought at the deli. That box is enough for 2 meals throughout the day. I will also make up a bagel with good quality deli meat. 3-4 rice cakes, small tub of nuts, banana, apple and kiwi fruit helps see me through the day.
Quality food is more expensive so I will buy my meat from the butcher, nuts and whey protein in bulk usually when I've just been paid. This keeps my weekly food bills down. My weekly shopping list would then look something like this:
2.5kg bag of sweet potatoes (around 5.5 pounds)
Rice I will have have in bulk at home
Oats I will have in bulk at home
6 pints of milk
10-15 bananas - half yellow, half greenish
Bag of apples
Box of kiwi fruit
Bagels
Good quality cold / cooked meat from the deli counter at supermarket
Celery
Avocados
Bag of spinach
Bag of kale
Ginger
A pineapple
Rice cakes
Eggs and anything else I fancy throwing in my omelettes that week
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Frozen berries
Green tea
Peanut butter
Any other ingredients I need for any food I plan to prepare on Sunday
For breakfast I make a smoothie in my blender which will include:
A banana
Handful of frozen berries
Small cup of oats
2 scoops of whey protein
Scoop of peanut butter
Milk
I train before work in the morning. I'll have a protein shake and a banana after my workout.
When I get into work I'll have my bagel and an apple - within an hour of finishing my workout.
Late morning I'll have half of my prepared lunch, the other half will be eaten mid afternoon, and in between I'll have my rice cakes, nuts and kiwi fruit.
When I get home my sweet potatoes go in the oven, I get my gym kit ready for the next day, prepare the rest of my lunch and that nights dinner - either an omelette or pre-prepared meal out the freezer.
Whilst I'm doing this I will throw a few ingredients in the blender and knock that back - 2 sticks of celery, half an avocado, a good slice of pineapple, handful of kale and some ginger.
That's pretty much how I eat, I'll relax a bit at the weekend but I'll still aim to eat 5 high protein meals a day consisting of good quality produce. I usually get 10-11 portions of fruit and veg - this balances out my diet and ensures I'm getting plenty of micronutrients.
Point to note - I was skinny growing up so I never have to worry about watching my weight or counting calories. I train and I eat as much good food as I can.
It may seem a lot of effort but it really isn't. In a nutshell - bulk buy more expensive items, shop once a week thereafter, pre-prepare your main meals and pre-prepare the next days lunch the evening before. Piece of piss.
Cut ready meals, bread, sugar and any processed food out of your diet. It's no good for you. Even so called healthy cereals have various additives that you just don't want. If you eat cereal buy some oats, seeds and dried fruit and make up your own muesli.
Consistency is key. If you fall off the wagon for a few days it doesn't matter too much if you get right back on it. It's not a diet, or a regimen, it's a lifestyle, and it's simple to maintain once you're in the groove. I've got friends who train intermittently and go though phases of trying to eat healthy then it all falls apart after a heavy weekend - ridiculous. You can still enjoy yourself, just don't let a 1-2 day hangover turn into the disintegration of your plans and progress.
Plenty of good quality protein and the right carbs in the right amounts, meals 2-3 hours apart, and lots of fruit/salad/veg - that's good enough for me.
Other guys can probably give you more detailed advice. If you need to measure portions, count calories etc buy some digital scales and factor it into your preparation. But if you find a routine that works for you similar to what I've described you will be streets ahead of 99% of the population.
As previously mentioned in this thread - slow cookers / crock pots are great! Buy one.
Buy your meat in bulk from a butcher and freeze it. I phone my local butcher and he makes me up a pack, usually 5-10kg of chicken breast and 5-10kg of steak mince (I believe you call it ground beef in the US). This way I get a discount and guarantee the quality. Chicken breasts in supermarkets are often full of water, and minced beef has a higher fat content than from the butcher - poorer quality. Just remember to defrost it before you plan to cook - because it's a bitch when you forget!
Another thing I buy in bulk is natural nuts. I order them online and usually get them in kilo packs. I buy mainly cashews, brazils and almonds and mix them in a plastic tupperware box which I use to refill a small tub that I take to work each day and a larger tub that I keep in my car. I normally keep a protein shake ready to go in the car too, these help to stop me getting caught out from time to time.
How often you spend cooking will depend on how much you prepare at a time. You can prepare enough meals for a week in just 1-2 hours on a Sunday morning, or whenever is convenient for you. If you want to cook less, you'll need to prepare more, hence spend a larger chunk of any given day doing the work. It really is worth the effort though. Every once in a while I will spend some time cooking up a lot of food for freezing, then usually I do an hour or so on a Sunday keeping my supply topped up.
There's nothing fancy about the meals - chilli or stir fried chicken/sweet potato/broccoli served into a pyrex dish. I used to use plastic for this until I read that the plastic degrades through time in the microwave and leaches chemicals into your food. To what extent I don't know but it seemed prudent to buy some decent pyrex food storers for long term peace of mind (square shaped so they fit nicely together in the freezer to maximise space). Anyway I digress.
My lunches are all prepared the night before. When I get home from work I will chop and roast 2 x sweet potatoes. Once they've cooled they go in a tub with a good helping of spinach, handful of cherry tomatoes, chunk of cucumber and good portion of whatever meat I've bought at the deli. That box is enough for 2 meals throughout the day. I will also make up a bagel with good quality deli meat. 3-4 rice cakes, small tub of nuts, banana, apple and kiwi fruit helps see me through the day.
Quality food is more expensive so I will buy my meat from the butcher, nuts and whey protein in bulk usually when I've just been paid. This keeps my weekly food bills down. My weekly shopping list would then look something like this:
2.5kg bag of sweet potatoes (around 5.5 pounds)
Rice I will have have in bulk at home
Oats I will have in bulk at home
6 pints of milk
10-15 bananas - half yellow, half greenish
Bag of apples
Box of kiwi fruit
Bagels
Good quality cold / cooked meat from the deli counter at supermarket
Celery
Avocados
Bag of spinach
Bag of kale
Ginger
A pineapple
Rice cakes
Eggs and anything else I fancy throwing in my omelettes that week
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Frozen berries
Green tea
Peanut butter
Any other ingredients I need for any food I plan to prepare on Sunday
For breakfast I make a smoothie in my blender which will include:
A banana
Handful of frozen berries
Small cup of oats
2 scoops of whey protein
Scoop of peanut butter
Milk
I train before work in the morning. I'll have a protein shake and a banana after my workout.
When I get into work I'll have my bagel and an apple - within an hour of finishing my workout.
Late morning I'll have half of my prepared lunch, the other half will be eaten mid afternoon, and in between I'll have my rice cakes, nuts and kiwi fruit.
When I get home my sweet potatoes go in the oven, I get my gym kit ready for the next day, prepare the rest of my lunch and that nights dinner - either an omelette or pre-prepared meal out the freezer.
Whilst I'm doing this I will throw a few ingredients in the blender and knock that back - 2 sticks of celery, half an avocado, a good slice of pineapple, handful of kale and some ginger.
That's pretty much how I eat, I'll relax a bit at the weekend but I'll still aim to eat 5 high protein meals a day consisting of good quality produce. I usually get 10-11 portions of fruit and veg - this balances out my diet and ensures I'm getting plenty of micronutrients.
Point to note - I was skinny growing up so I never have to worry about watching my weight or counting calories. I train and I eat as much good food as I can.
It may seem a lot of effort but it really isn't. In a nutshell - bulk buy more expensive items, shop once a week thereafter, pre-prepare your main meals and pre-prepare the next days lunch the evening before. Piece of piss.
Cut ready meals, bread, sugar and any processed food out of your diet. It's no good for you. Even so called healthy cereals have various additives that you just don't want. If you eat cereal buy some oats, seeds and dried fruit and make up your own muesli.
Consistency is key. If you fall off the wagon for a few days it doesn't matter too much if you get right back on it. It's not a diet, or a regimen, it's a lifestyle, and it's simple to maintain once you're in the groove. I've got friends who train intermittently and go though phases of trying to eat healthy then it all falls apart after a heavy weekend - ridiculous. You can still enjoy yourself, just don't let a 1-2 day hangover turn into the disintegration of your plans and progress.
Plenty of good quality protein and the right carbs in the right amounts, meals 2-3 hours apart, and lots of fruit/salad/veg - that's good enough for me.
Other guys can probably give you more detailed advice. If you need to measure portions, count calories etc buy some digital scales and factor it into your preparation. But if you find a routine that works for you similar to what I've described you will be streets ahead of 99% of the population.
As previously mentioned in this thread - slow cookers / crock pots are great! Buy one.