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To everyone who used to watch Masterchef, *kudos* you must have learned a thing or two, but for many of us, we have been positioned to cook and feed ourselves. Coronavirus lockdown has definitely shaken things up and obviously we were not ready with our culinary skills to cook every day for months. From doing work from home, house chores to cooking, and also making sure you consume adequate nutrition are quite a handful of tasks, honestly.
So we thought of making it easier for you to note down what your body needs and what it certainly doesn’t need. This will help you to make a wiser choice in buying groceries during the lockdown whilst keeping your diet balanced and your body well energized.
It’s never too late to get yourself and your family into healthy eating habits and what can be a better time to do that if not now? We have listed down 6 things you MUST DO to keep a healthy diet this quarantine.
1. Basics – Hydration!
Most of us are couch-bounded these days because of quarantine and not only that’s making us lazy but is also cutting down water consumption naturally. The rule of thumb says you should drink enough water regardless of you being thirsty or not. And you’d be lying if you say you’re having enough water during the quarantine. To make your hydration game interesting you can add slices of cucumber. lemon, oranges to your water. It’s refreshing, hydrating, and did I mention it’s insta-worthy?
2. Stock The Staples
Okay when we say stock, remember that we don’t mean hoard. Staples are your daily nutrients that energize your mind and body while keeping you full for a longer duration. Staples include rice, wheat, pulses, lentils, whole grain bread, oats, millet, etc. It is important to store staple food primarily because according to many nutritional researches, the above-mentioned staples provide a proportionate amount of calories to your body. They are not hard on your digestive system and due to the good quantity of carbs, it gives a feeling that your hunger is satiated. Since staple foods are the larger proportion of a standard diet, it helps your body with enough energy and some amount of protein while maintaining your weight. Considering the current pandemic situation these staple food items are economically cheap and sustains longer.
3. The Greens, Whites & Reds
This is the segment of food that your body demands in your diet to fulfill the need for micro-nutrients. They help your body to level up, boost immunity, and keep you healthy. We do understand that buying veggies can be a task during the lockdown period so it’s advised that you get plenty of them and store it in ways to prolong its shelf life. Vegetables can’t be avoided because it plays an important role in your diet and nutrition. They provide your body dietary fibers for good digestion, folic acid, vitamins, potassium, and minerals – these all add up to healthy functioning of your body and stronger immunity.
Try to include a daily intake of milk and eggs in your diet as a form of low-fat protein. Also, the tubular vegetables like carrot, beetroot, sweet potato, turnip, yams can stay fresh for a longer period when refrigerated. Tubular veggies are a powerhouse of nutrients like Vitamin A, B,C, iron, antioxidants and nitrates that helps to cleanse your body and improve your overall health.
4. Frozen and Dried Food
During the lockdown period, it can get difficult to get your hands on fresh produce and that’s when canned and packaged frozen food items can seem like a knight in shining armor. Get frozen vegetables, canned fish, beans, and frozen meat that can last you for days. This will also help your body with the necessary nutrients while adding the yummy quotient to your plate. While normally we are against ready-to-eat kits, it’s safer to store them during these tough times. We can’t miss mentioning dry fruits which are full of essential nutrients and oils that you can toss in your diet every now and then.
5. Healthy Munching
Now when your favorite fast food joint is not accessible we understand that all those cravings can be really annoying. Using it to your best of advantage, switch to healthy munching options like nuts, dry fruits, boiled eggs, yogurt, sauteed sprouts, home-made granola bars, the list just goes on. Or you can just stick to the classic whole wheat bread and peanut butter combo, oh the bliss!
6. Immunity Boosters
It’s funny how suddenly the world is forced to care about their immunity, this is probably the only thing maybe we all should be thankful to Covid-19 for – teaching us the importance of immunity! Just like the above-mentioned intake essentials, you can store immunity-boosting items like citrus fruits, papaya, kiwi, garlic, ginger, green tea, sunflower seeds, honey, etc. They can be excellent munchies or an add-on to your meals.
Needless to say that an Indian household can barely go a day without using spices so make sure you have that stored along with a little extra quantity of pepper and turmeric powder. Because that’s the super-weapon against most common illnesses like cold and cough.
With the essentials being listed above, we’d let you go make your grocery shopping list with a piece of simple advice – Anything that seems a lil too extra isn’t good for your body e.g. salt, sugar, and stress!
That’s all folks, stay home, stay safe, wear masks, gloves and keep splashing that 70% alcohol on your palms.
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