Tag: how-to-meal-prep-during-a-pandemic

7 Comforting Foods To Help With COVID Stress

Stress and anxiety can create physical and mental chaos. COVID-19 has aggravated the problem globally. There is no sight of vaccination. Hope and prayers are failing to bring anything constructive. Can eating come of any help? Food items are a ‘new normal’ that is shaping pandemic recovery.

What is the connection between COVID-19 stress and food? Stress-causing pandemic is not just limited to mental abilities. It can prod indigestion and irritable bowels, which can mess with your gut causing digestive stress, heartburn, constipation, bloating, and stomach discomfort. There are many ways to lessen this stress. Correct dietary habits can keep your gut healthier and happier. Here are some uplifting food options for your health and gut. Practice them for an excellent and healthy appetite.   

1. Eat Protein-Rich Nuts

Stress eats upon vitamin B stores in our body. Nut snacking helps to replenish our system with proteins. B vitamins protect our body’s neurotransmitters and help them fight stressful situations. Eating a few servings of potassium-rich pistachios a day helps reduce blood pressure and cuts down the strain on our heart. Eat a handful of almonds and walnuts to boost your energy level and improve your mood. Nuts are rich in omega-3, zinc, and keep blood sugar levels at an optimum level.

2. Include CBD As Dietary Supplement

Quelling pandemic anxiety is not a straightforward task. Natural remedies like hemp-derived CBD are showing positive results and good recovery from stress and depression. CBD in edible forms like gummies and oils are a delicious way to get functional benefits from the cannabis plant. Buy Lazarus Naturals online to get a sense of calm, focus, and fast-acting effects from CBD and other phytocannabinoids. CBD oil tinctures use the sublingual route for quicker results.

 

3. Tuck Into A Bowl Of Oatmeal

Complex carbs like oatmeal can make you feel more relaxed and calmer. The increased serotonin production (a brain chemical) reduces stress hormones. So, instead of reaching out for a sugar-filled breakfast bowl, turn to complex carb-rich oatmeal. It doesn’t hike your spiked glucose levels and is a healthy inclusion in your diet.

4. Spoil Yourself In Raw Vegetables And Leafy Greens

Tame your stress and hassle by including crunchy raw vegetables in your diet. Celery and carrots help ward off tension. Leafy vegetables like spinach contain folate, a dopamine-inducing brain chemical that helps you keep calm. The Journal of Affective Disorders published a research study done on 2,800 middle-aged people and senior citizens, which revealed that folate eaters had lower depression symptoms than those who ate the least. 

Folate and fiber-rich vegetables like cabbage, collard greens, spinach help stabilize mood. Aside from the green diet, root-based veggies like sweet potatoes have plenty of vitamins, fiber, and minerals that boost serotonin neurotransmitters.

 

5. Treat Yourself To Fruits

Most of you like to end your meals with something sugary. Sodas and sugary drinks are sweet-led and refreshing takeaways. But they are calorie-rich and have no health benefits. Fresh fruits have natural sugars that are harmless to the body. They complete your body’s fiber, health, and energy needs and give you a nutritious and wholesome advantage. They also keep you feeling fuller for a more extended period.    

 

6. Bite Into Stress-Relieving Dark Chocolate

The healthful flavonoids in dark chocolate improve blood vessel flow. Just a bite of the pampering dark cocoa reduces stress hormones, including cortisol. It also reduces the ‘fight-or-flight’ hormones known as catecholamines in stressed individuals. Dark chocolate also has a seductive reputation as an aphrodisiac. Choose dark chocolate that has 70 percent cocoa. Remember to eat it in moderation to help you seek comfort from stress, not as regular milk chocolate that increases calories.    

  

7. Sip Herbal Tea

The University College London showed exciting research findings on tea and anti-stress. A UCH study revealed that tea drinkers de-stressed faster and experienced lower cortisol levels than those who drank a placebo. Although black tea came into use in the research study, herbal and decaffeinated teas score an edge over ordinary teas in stress-fighting abilities. Have a cup of chamomile tea. It has an apigenin antioxidant that enables good sleep by binding to sleep receptors. Peppermint tea also brings a soothing effect to the digestive tract.

 

Mindful Food Choices That Can Drive Corona Anxiety Away  

Here are some slight changes you need to bring in your dietary habits to avoid pandemic stress and strain.

● Devise a daily meal plan for yourself and your family and follow it relentlessly.
● Buy fewer processed foods like cheese, cakes, slices of bread, and edibles containing high-salt and high-sugar.  
● Load up your diet with low-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, yogurt, and lean proteins. It will help build up immunity and resistance.  
● Flavor drinking water with citrus fruits and berries to add a health approach to it.
● Include comfort foods at least once a day in your meals to enjoy the most benefit.  
● Make clear soups an essential part of dinner.
● Substitute carb dishes at night, such as rice with healthy chapatis.    

Conclusion

Welcome, 2021, with the power of anti-stress comfort foods. Eating healthy food, and that’s a conscious choice, can help you come out of COVID stress and brace optimism. Give up eating a calorie-rich and oily diet alone or with your friends and family. Switch to healthy, organic, and fat-free choices for an active heart and abundant wellness. Make a persistent effort in the New Year to eat healthy and organic food, and you will love your decision.

 

About The Author

Lisa Dinh is a thorough and meticulous Content Analyst. She commits herself to continuous learning and focuses on sharing ideas and techniques learned from her experiences.  And she is a passionate writer who loves writing about health and wellness. She writes in a concise manner so that the information is helpful for everyone.

Tips For Cooking While Under Lockdown

It is difficult to figure out what is and is not open during a pandemic. There’s also the concern about whether lockdown orders will be imposed in your area, or if your region could return to such orders. That’s why it is important to consider how you’re going to cook foods while under lockdown. Here’s a look at how you can manage your cooking plans the right way.

Planning the Cooking Process

You have to establish your cooking efforts with a three-part process:

1. Preparing foods
2. Cooking them
3. Finishing them off

You have to establish a sensible flow for cooking while also recalling what you will require. The effort ensures you don’t gather more items than what are necessary for your work.

Shopping the Right Way

You can shop for meals effectively by planning your foods for the next few weeks. Figure out what you plan on cooking, and use the three-part process for figuring out what is necessary. You can then gather those items at your local grocery store as soon as possible. The key should be to get enough items without having to make many trips.

You also have to focus on the most important items first when you shop for groceries. Some of the things you can purchase first when finding groceries include:

• Flour, preferably wheat
• Rice
• Lentils
• Potatoes
• Various vegetables, including carrots and onions

Shopping guide specialist from The Reviews Insider advice, don’t be concerned if you don’t find what you are looking for the first time around. While stores are starting to keep things in check, that doesn’t mean it won’t be around for long.

Planning Meals for the Week

You should look at the meals you wish to plan for the work by looking at how you’re going to establish your meals and make them work throughout the week. There are a few things that work here:

• You can establish a menu showing what works.
• Add enough grains and other items that can last for a while. You need a bit of versatility to make things work.
• Review whatever seasonal items are available. Consider seasonal produce that may be available and arrange that as part of your menu.
• Allow for enough room for leftovers if possible. You can add enough leftovers to prepare a healthy meal without being complex.
• Never cook what you’re going to eat right away. Preserve the foods and figure out how much you’re going to prepare before you go overboard on anything.

Maintain Your Equipment

You have to keep your cooking equipment in check when preparing foods. Poorly managed equipment could cause you to waste more food than necessary.

Some of the things you can do when handling your equipment include these points:

• Check on how well the pots and pans in your kitchen work. Make sure the surfaces are smooth enough to where they can handle your foods without leaving any residues or causing things to stick.
• Sharpen your knives and other cutting tools. Dull knives can tear your food.
• Check on your oven, microwave, and other features around your kitchen. Be sure these spots are clean and that their heating features are working well.

Clear the Air

A vacuum-sealed may be useful when you’re cooking foods. A sealer can remove excess air from inside a bag while preparing foods. Excess air can cause the food to spoil and weaken.

Removing the air makes it easier for you to store things in a space for later use. You can keep the air under control before it can be tougher to manage.

Find Things without Water

Foods that don’t have lots of water inside them can be useful. Foods that contain water can spoil a little faster than others. This is due to the water drying up over time. The fatigue can make it harder for the food to stay healthy and secure. Buying foods that don’t have lots of water is best, especially if you need something that you can buy now and not have to use for months from now.

Be Willing To Go Without Meat

The last tip to consider is to think about the types of foods you’ll consume. While meats are critical to your diet and can be a good base for anything, you shouldn’t use them as the only things in your cooking routine. Some meats might spoil after a while, plus they could require more effort for preparation than you might expect. You can use other non-meat foods that don’t spoil as soon instead.

All of these plans are great to note surrounding how well cooking on lockdown works. You’ll find it isn’t hard for you to make it work when you’re trying to stay healthy. It doesn’t take much to keep your kitchen in check if you know how you’re going to make it work during such a timeframe.

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