Lockdown Tips for Eating Well

Lockdown can really mess with our eating routines and habits, leaving us feeling less than optimal, and sometimes, downright overwhelmed and exhausted. Not only is there the transition to working-from-home to cope with (again), but you may also be wrangling the kids schoolwork and at-home lunches, while supermarket trips take forever. As ordering in after a busy day isn’t an option, you may even be cooking more than ever and feeling the effects of ‘culinary burnout’.  Today we’ve got three practical tips for keeping your nutrition on track when your routine is disrupted.

1. Be strict about breaks! Working from home can feel like working 24/7, and part of that is the loss of break times and ability to leave the office at the end of the day.  Break times either disappear, or morph into eating at your desk while continuing to check emails, followed by working until it’s time to cook dinner. You may skip lunch, only to dive into the chocolate mid-afternoon when the hangries hit. A good habit is to stick to your regular break and meal times. If possible, get away from your desk to create a mental separation between your work space and your relaxation zone. Eating to a schedule also helps keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day, helping you stay focused and productive.
2. Shop for convenience and think ahead. If you’re in the habit of popping into the supermarket regularly, lockdown shopping procedures can really eat into your day and it could be wise to approach shopping a bit differently for the moment – fewer trips with more shelf-stable items. Taking 10 minutes to plan out a week or two of meal ideas, then making a shopping list can help streamline the process and reduce the number of shopping trips you need to navigate. Think about foods that are easy to prepare and store well. In particular canned and frozen items are so handy to have in the house, and in most cases they are just as nutritious as the fresh version. Think about long-life versions of staples like milk. If you have foods that go bad quickly, think about freezing them. Bananas for smoothies and avocadoes are prime candidates for this.
3. Rethink your concept of ‘a meal’. If the thought of messing up a kitchen that you have to look at all day is making you want to cry, think laterally. A meal does not have to require pots and pans or an hour of your time. Here are some ideas:

• Breakfast for lunch. Nobody is going to arrest you for eating muesli at noon. Throw in some fruit and yogurt and that’s a perfectly balanced meal.
• Smoothies! If the fresh fruit is looking a bit sad, throw some frozen fruit into your blender, along with some plant milk, protein powder and of course your Puraz Raw Collagen powder, Pro-d or Probiotic, and voila! You’re nourished!
• Wraps. Thinly sliced veges and some deli meat, cheese or canned fish in a wrap is an excellent meal with very little prep time.
• Ready made soup from a can or the chiller, with or without toast.
• Slow cooker meals: just throw your meat or legumes and veges in there at the start of the day and let dinner cook itself.
• Raw veges. Obviously not a meal on their own, but most veges can be eaten raw, you don’t need to be cooking them every evening! Some veges like cabbage, carrots and beetroot keep very well and can be bulk-prepped for when you need them. A bowl of veges with canned chickpeas, some nuts and a dressing is healthy, fast and delicious.
• Leftovers. When you do cook, make more than you need and pack the extra in the freezer for those days when you just can’t.
• If you’re not up to a full cook, think minimal. Boiled or scrambled eggs on toast is fine. A baked potato topped with chickpeas, salsa and shredded cheese is just great. A box pizza with a side of carrot sticks or pre-made wedges? You’re winning at life.