We are all living in an unprecedented time. You are forced to be home all day, every day. Eating out isn’t as easy as it once was, and isn’t as safe either. Everyone is being stretched and forced to do things they haven’t always had to.
Maybe you didn’t cook before because you didn’t have time, or you didn’t like to. Now, however, it’s a necessity. Eating at home isn’t always healthy, many lean on macaroni and cheese or Ramen Noodles to keep their families fed. You don’t have to though!
Eating healthier, especially now, is a key to your health and your family’s. For you, it may be a daunting task to have to cook every meal at home. We want to make eating at home and preparing healthy meals easier for you. To do so, here are some tips to help you get organized and ready for your weekly meals.
5 tips for eating healthier during the COVID – 19 Pandemic and Beyond:
1. Nutritional Balance :
Before you start planning your meals you need to keep in mind that you and your family need to maintain balance in your nutrition. Each meal needs to have fiber (this is where you will also get your carbohydrate more than likely) and protein.
2. Meal Planning:
As you plan your meal, remember that defining your sources of sticky fiber should be the base of your meal (your goal should be 8 – 10 grams per meal). What vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, rice, or other forms of fiber are you going to incorporate? Then you need to ask yourself, what will be your protein source for this meal?
Once these two questions are answered, you can determine what side dishes are necessary to ensure you are getting the nutrients you need to complete a well-rounded meal.
Planning meals each week based on what you have on hand first will allow you to maximize your shopping time. Make a list of what you need for each meal to ensure you buy what you need, not what you want.
3. Food Prep:
A key that many miss out on is preparing your food storage spaces to ensure you have access to and know what is available in your fridge and pantry. Storing too much food can lead to food spoiling, while not having ingredients on hand leads to extra trips to the store. Organize your fridge and your pantry in a way that makes healthier food more accessible and treats a bit more challenging to reach.
4. Portion Control:
At M3, we like to keep things easy for our clients. Put your hands together to form a bowl. This is how much of your meal should be plant-based and contains your fiber needs. If you are eating the equivalent of what will fit in your hands, you are going to get enough vegetables, fiber, carbohydrates, etc.
Now, look at the size of your palm. This is how much protein you need with your meal. If you are eating this much protein for each meal, you will meet your daily needs regularly.
5. Leftovers:
Many avoid leftovers or don’t want to “cook too much food” to avoid waste. However, cooking meals that will provide leftovers will allow you to plan multiple meals at once. Many times, my family will enjoy our leftovers from dinner the next day during lunch. Planning our meals as stated above ensures that we are getting what we need nutritionally at dinner time and the next day at lunch.
We are here for you! Pandemic or not, we’ve got your back. For more information about how you can eat healthier during this time go to www.mindmusclememory.com. There you will learn more about how you can learn with an online instruction course, click here!