It’s time for another Q&A session, this one with a more practical twist.

Q: So many clients and readers have been asking me lately what I eat for lunch or nights where I get home too late to do any sort of cooking. While I try to make all my recipes quick, easy and healthy, there are definitely nights where I just don’t have the time, even for a 15-20 minute meal. What do I do?

A: It’s a understandable dilemma everyone is so busy these days. But, never fear. There is something you can do (besides complain) to help you keep eating healthy the whole week through, no matter what gets thrown your way. All it takes is just a little bit of planning before the week starts. By little bit, I mean an hour once a week at the very most. If you can do that, you can eat great for the whole week, I promise. How so?

A little Sarah tip for you all: Every Sunday I take an hour to make a few things that can keep in the fridge for the week that I can go to when I’m hungry and short on time. So while it’s not glamorous, this Chopped Greek Salad is one of my favorite go-to dishes for its ease and versatility (by itself, over salad greens, as a salsa for grilled meat, seafood or fish, you name it). A jack of all trades and all vegetable based- its easy to see why it’s in my Top 10. Save this tip for next Sunday’s prep session- using techniques like scooping out the seeds of cucumbers or tomatoes = less goop and liquid = the more time it can stay fresh in the fridge.  Make once and be done for the week!

Ingredients:

2 Cucumbers

1 Large Red Bell Pepper

8-10 Pitted Kalamata Olives

Dressing:

4 TB Olive oil

1 TB White Wine Vinegar

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Sea salt, pepper and 3 tsp dried parsley or oregano (or both)

Directions:

1. Scrape skin off of the cucumber and chop off the ends. Discard. Cut cucumbers in half, then slice lengthwise in half so you have 4 long halves. Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds and discard. Add to a large tupperware container.

2. Chop the bell pepper into strips, then small cubes. Add in with cucumbers.

3. Slice olives in half, then in quarters. Add to the cucumber and pepper mix.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper and parsley together. Pour over the veggies, shake up and serve or refrigerate. Done!

Other great additions: organic feta cheese, grilled or shredded chicken, or garbanzo beans.

Photo by Jasmine Pulley for the upcoming Simply Real Health Cookbook