There's nothing quite like drinking from a glass that's actually sterilising a nipple shield, to bring the reality of parenthood into focus.

Fortunately this didn't happen to me – after all, I had put the shield in to sterilise and I knew where the glass was.

But at 3 a.m. in a dimly lit nursery, all my weary husband saw was a refreshing glass of water that just so happened to be sitting by the rocker.

Amazingly, despite being two weeks into the sleep deprivation, he still found this funny.

So it is then that our world has been turned upside down.

Since baby Chloe's arrival, the house has become overrun with tiny clothes, rattles, pacifiers and an alarming number of bibs.

There also appears to be a burp cloth breeding programme taking place behind the cushions on our sofa… I swear I only bought six! Unfortunately, there's now less wine in the fridge too – in fact, for a long time there was less of everything in the fridge as it took me ages to recover from Chloe having a monumental meltdown in the middle of Lindos.Even when our little girl is tucked up in bed for the night, the evenings are not quite what they once were.

Sleep has become the Holy Grail and as soon as we have the opportunity to hop into bed, we do.

Staying up to watch 'American Idol' is, for me, very rock n roll these days.

Laughably, I thought I'd start writing again a few weeks after Chloe was born.

As it is, this is my first column and she is now nearly four months old.

Nevertheless, she is of course worth it! I'm desperately trying to avoid clichés but it's true that life has a whole new meaning now. I have loved this little girl from the moment she was born and then when she started smiling... well, game over.

Fortunately too, whilst I wondered if all aspects of our normal lives were gone, bits and pieces are now falling back in to place – and happily, eating healthily is one of them. For the first six weeks of Chloe's life, we had take-out almost every night.

I became expert at finding healthy options on take-out menus but I still felt unhealthy, not to mention guilty as I was breastfeeding too.

However, once we began to emerge from the baby-fog, cooking became an option again, although we needed meals that could be thrown together superquickly, before our energy and will-power ran out!

So if like us, you have a 10 minute window for preparing dinner, but you still want healthy fresh food, try out some of the suggestions below.

The key is to shop well at the weekends so you have meals easily available during your busy week. Just remember, each time you pull a meal together, try and include a quality source of protein and complex carb – both are important for sustained energy release.

Healthy meals ... –in minutes

Soup

Try the fresh Covent Garden soups (Lindos, Miles), found in cartons in the refrigerator.

They have great seasonal varieties and a helpful red-amber-green labelling guide to help you pick ones that are low in saturated fat, sugar and salt.

For protein, look for soups that contain chicken, lentils, ham or beans. If you want to add protein to a vegetable-based soup, then try adding in a desert spoon of hummus or some chopped, cooked chicken.

Serve with wholewheat toast, whole-grain crackers or a green salad.

Deli

Deli meals are often the easiest thing to pull together at a moments notice.

If you keep deli fresh ham, turkey or smoked salmon in the fridge and also a bag of salad leaves and some cherry tomatoes, then you can easily assemble a quick salad.

Have with whole-grain bread, rye crackers or fruit for carbs.

Note: if you buy smoked salmon, try the Ducktrap Wild smoked salmon which is naturally lean but still rich in valuable Omega 3 oils.

As for deli meats, try and buy freshly roasted or baked ham/turkey so that you avoid the artificial preservatives.

Scrambled eggs

Try scrambled eggs with either whole-grain toast, salad leaves or even pasta.

For a one-pan-wonder, try draining pasta and then stirring in two beaten eggs (or eggbeaters) over a gentle heat.

Add paprika or Italian herbs for seasoning and then serve with a handful of spinach leaves. Sounds odd but it tastes great.

Pasta with hummus and tomato sauce

This is an old favourite of mine. Cook the pasta, drain and then stir in deli-fresh hummus and some organic tomato pasta sauce (e.g. Amy's or Muir Glen) over a gentle heat.

You can either serve this with salad leaves or add some broccoli into the pan three minutes before the pasta has finished cooking.

Baked potatoes

You can obviously microwave a baked potato but they taste so much better straight from the oven – you just need to remember to put it in, in time!

Try baking sweet potatoes for a nutritious change and note they generally take a little less time to cook than an ordinary white potato. When it's done, try low-fat organic cottage cheese and alfalfa sprouts as a topping.

Salads

Salads make great evening meals, especially as we are moving into summer.

If you keep a good supply of salad veg in the fridge it's easy to throw something together at the last minute.

For protein, I like adding roasted chicken or baked salmon – try cooking some in advance, say over the weekend so that you have some to use during the week.

If you don't have time to cook your own, then the Miles deli sells great pre-cooked chicken and salmon.

Their barbequed tofu is surprisingly good too. Beware however or pre-cooked chicken that's pre-packaged at the grocery store.

These brands often add in sugar and other nasties as preservatives.

Salads are so easy to make, but if you are looking for some inspiration, try out this recipe below.

I've put in so many shortcuts it's definitely easier and healthier than picking up take-out:

Roast chicken salad with maple syrup dressing

Per person:

1 small roasted chicken breast, chopped

½ cup grated carrot (if you can, buy the Bolthouse Farm grated carrots from Lindos)

2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

5 cherry tomatoes

1 desert spoon guacamole or ½ an avocado (chopped) if you have a ripe one handy

Dressing:

½ tablespoon olive oil,

½ tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon apple juice

1 teaspoon maple syrup

black pepper to taste

shake up together in a jar. If you make more it keeps for ages if kept airtight. Alternatively buy a good quality all natural olive oil based salad dressing.

Caesar/Ranch dressings are often far too high in saturated fat.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. Contact her at clinicalnutrition@gmail.com.