Guidelines For Proper Nutrition During COVID-19 Quarantine

Maintaining a healthy diet during quarantine involves eating a variety of food from different food groups. You can easily become too snacky while in quarantine. It is essential that you fill your body with the food that it needs to avoid being too hungry or snacky and at the same time maintaining good nutrition. Eating three meals a day will help you to avoid being snacky during quarantine. Nutritionists at Cathay Pacific help you understand the proper quarantine meal for you and the issues surrounding the quarantine meal. 

Know The healthy diet during the COVID-19 pandemic

A healthy diet comprises plenty of fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts, and whole grains. Healthy diets help to improve the immune system to fight infections such as COVID-19. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends eating fruits and vegetables five times and pulses three times each day. 

Planning meals in advance help you to avoid waste of food and save money in the long run. While maintaining a healthy diet, it is essential to make smart choices, for example, drinking plain water over soft drinks. Also, it would be a great idea to replace pastries such as cookies and cakes with fruits and vegetables.

You should not purchase nonperishable foods only; instead, buy vegetables, fruits, and legumes. If you are buying surplus fruits, vegetables, and legumes, clean thoroughly, cut, and freeze in the refrigerator. Essentially, you should only buy what you need. Nonetheless, there are some long-lasting fruits and vegetables that you may consider buying during quarantine. 

Long-lasting fruits, vegetables, and pulses to buy during quarantine 

Fruits such as oranges, apples, grapefruits, bananas, and clementine would go a long way. You may cut the fruits into smaller chunks and freeze them to eat later or make smoothies with them. Similarly, vegetables such as turnips, beets, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots may last for long without going bad. Pulses include lentils, chickpeas, and beans.

Good nutrition is essential for your health, especially when you intend to boost your immune system amidst the inaccessibility of perishable fruits and vegetables. At the same time, pulses may either come dried or canned and act as good nonperishable options to boost immunity. 

However, purchasing the fruits, vegetables, and pulses from the grocery may risk spreading the COVID-19 infection. Several people might have handled the food commodities and, therefore, increased the chances of coronavirus presence on the food. It is essential to thoroughly wash the fruits and vegetables to reduce the possibility of infection. 

How to prevent COVID-19 during grocery shopping

While COVID-19 has changed many things, activities such as shopping from the grocery store must continue because feeding is a basic need. When shopping for groceries in a store, there are things that you should pay attention to before entering the store. They include:

The status of the store

The store might be a pick-up store, open for shoppers or home delivery. Some stores may also be for senior people and those that have health challenges. 

Shopping list

Making a shopping list in advance helps you to take the shortest time possible in the store. Spending the least time helps to protect you and the grocery store staff. It is advisable to buy groceries that may last for up to two weeks. 

Protect yourself

While shopping in the grocery store, always wear your face mask and observe the six feet rule. Also, use the disinfecting wipes offered by the grocery store if you did not carry your own to wipe the handles of the shopping basket or cart.

Shopping bags

If you are using reusable shopping bags, always wash them regularly after use. Essentially, do not forget to wash your hands once you are home. 

It is important to note that there is no evidence of the spread of COVID-19 through food or food packaging. Although to be cautious enough, you may wipe your groceries and allow them to dry out in the air as an extra precaution. 

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