ASK JILLIAN

Jillian Michaels has made it her life's work to help people lose weight and keep it off! Jillian is right here, on board with the online program, offering her best secrets on what it takes to kick the fat habit and finally get fit. The sample Q&A below is just one of the many you can access if you join Jillian's online team.

No Time to Cook

Q: I don't have time to cook — can you suggest some quick and easy breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that don't involve cooking?

JILLIAN SAYS: These suggestions depend a bit on what type of oxidizer you are, but here you go:

Breakfast: Snack-sized containers of low-fat Greek or low-fat plain yogurt (varieties with no high-fructose corn syrup!), a Health Valley Granola Bar, Arrowhead Mills Instant Oatmeal, fruit, dry whole-grain toast, or high-fiber cereal with skim milk. Each of these ideas will take less than three minutes of your time.

Lunch: Ideally, you would take some time the night before or on the weekends to prepare healthy foods to pack and carry, but if that just isn't realistic for you, try the following options. Buy prepared salads at your supermarket. I like to get chicken Caesar, tuna niçoise, and seafood salads at Trader Joe's to have on hand when I need to run out the door. Another thought is a sandwich — make sure the bread is whole grain and the meat is organic and not processed (look for fresh, low-sodium deli meat). Avoid high-fat condiments like mayo; choose mustard (it's naturally low in fat) instead.

Snacks: Try nuts, fruit, low-fat cheeses, whole-grain crackers like Kashi, low-fat yogurt, and hard-boiled eggs. You could even buy a Kashi, Luna, or Clif bar to eat on the run.

Dinner: This entails a similar effort as lunch, in that you need to buy precooked foods at the deli counter in the supermarket — but always ask for organic meat (you might have a better chance of getting this at a market like Whole Foods). Buying food like this is a bit more expensive because convenience doesn't come cheap, but it's quick, easy, and healthy. If I'm in a hurry, I like to pick up grilled chicken breasts, salmon or halibut fillets, or turkey breasts, all precooked — I toss a portion in a plastic container and run out the door with it. You can even buy veggie side dishes — grilled vegetables, for example — brown rice with shrimp, and so on.

At the end of the day, your choices are going to come down to what is more feasible for you. I've given you many options, involving varying amounts of money and time, but I urge you to find the time to plan your meals for the week and cook healthy on the weekends. This way you will know EXACTLY what is in your food — salt, fat, calories, and so forth.

Frozen entrées are a quick and calorie-controlled option, but the downside is that they're usually processed — meaning they're FULL of salt and preservatives. If you absolutely can't cook a meal and want frozen meal options, there are a couple brands that do pass the health test for me — if you choose an entrée from Amy's or Kashi, you know you're in good shape. Both brands are much lower in sodium than others.