LETS EAT: Quality Food Time in a Pandemic

LET'S EAT: QUALITY FOOD TIME while in a PANDEMIC by Julia Sick Illustration by Mirror Al

Staying at home for an extended period of time can be difficult, and healthy eating can be extra challenging due to the more relaxed “weekend atmosphere”. But worry not, because the Edulia team are here to share TIPS on how to make quality food time whilst in quarantine.

1-Eat fruits and vegetables and contribute a healthy and balanced diet

Try to keep your diet varied each meal

Try to keep a varied diet and don’t forget to drink an adequate amount of water throughout the day.

It can be difficult to keep up a healthy and balanced diet in these times, but you have a lot done if you focus on fruit and vegetables.

Choose fruits and vegetables that last longer

When it is not possible to frequently go to the supermarket, it may be challenging to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables that last longer in the fridge include: apples, carrots, celery, cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, salad, zucchini. Fruits and vegetables that can be stored out of the fridge include: beets, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, avocado, bananas, onions, pears, lemons and oranges.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are good alternatives

Frozen fruits and vegetables have been found to contain similar and sometimes even more nutrients than fresh produce. They are a good choice as they can be stored longer, and may also be cheaper.

Plan your meals

Planning meals can help you to cut costs and avoid food waste.

2-Make healthy snacking attractive

When we are bored at home, it is tempting to mindlessly snack on foods. We may struggle to choose healthy snacks, especially for children who find unhealthy options more appealing. However, encouraging our children to choose healthier snacks may be easier than it looks. Here are some tips to help you:

Make healthy snacks available and easily accessible

Your child will be more likely to eat healthy snacks if these snacks are easy to reach and to consume. Keep healthy snacks in children’s eyesight, like in a fruit basket on the dining table. Also, you can cut healthy snacks in pieces so that it is ready and easy to eat.

Cut healthy snacks into funny shapes

Did you know that children are likely to eat more visually appealing fruit compared to regular fruit? For example, you can cut vegetables in funny shapes.

Combine different fruits or vegetables

Serving a variety of fruits or vegetables rather than providing a single fruit or vegetable may increase the intake of your child. For example, you can combine different fruits in a bowl so that your child is able to choose from multiple types of fruit and select their preferred ones.

3-Cook and eat together

Normally, our busy lifestyle can make family meals a challenge. But we can take advantage of the current situation and make time to eat together, and even cook together. Research has shown that more frequent family meals are associated with many benefits for the child, like a decreased risk of obesity, a higher intake of healthy food, better linguistic and academic performance, and improved well-being. Involvement in cooking activities can increase children’s food acceptance and improve their diet quality. Through cooking, knowledge about ingredients is built, fine-motor skills are trained, and the senses are sharpened.

Model healthy and positive eating behavior at the table

Set a good example. Children are more likely to eat and try foods when they see their parents eat and enjoy the same foods.

Make healthy snacks available and easily accessible

Focus on enjoying each other’s company, not on what or how much each child is eating. Encourage children to talk about their day, this helps to develop more communication. between family members. Turn off distractions like the TV, computer, tablets, and phones during mealtimes.

Brainstorm for the meals of the week

The current situation might bring the need to plan your meals in advance. Brainstorm meals of the week together using post its and have a family voting to make meal planning more engaging.

Do a Creative Cooking session with your family

Set a theme for the menu to increase the collaborative energy. Define a Kitchen Captain for each meal. Create your own names for dishes. Personalize meals according to the preferences of each family member. Be curious and explore the reasons and methods for different cooking steps.

4-Play with your food, for young and old

It’s perhaps counter intuitive to what we were taught as children, but recent research has demonstrated that encouraging children to play and interact with food actually increases their willingness to taste. Playing with our food encourages children, not solely to learn about what’s on their plate, but also to taste different foods. There are many creative ways to interact with food, but here are just a few suggestions.

Create artistic stamp pictures

For younger children, or children who are very reluctant to try fruits and vegetables, begin with an art activity to get them exploring feared foods in a fun and ‘safe’ way. Use chopped vegetables with different textures to make artistic stamp pictures,

Create and eat it!

Most children love animals. Why not have a go at creating different animals with the products you have in the fridge, like fruits and vegetables, then eat them together after. Involving children in artistic plating of food has been shown to improve mood and that visually appealing food can increase the intake of new foods.