Diet & Nutrition While Staying at Home

While we stay at home it is imperative that we concentrate on our health. Concentrating on what you eat, when and how much you eat will go a long way in making sure that you stay healthy and fit. This article also contains certain essential kitchen items which you must have. Kindly avoid hoarding essential food items as these are and will continue to be available in abundance. We’ve also discussed how you can still try and maintain your ideal weight doing the simple things correctly.

What should you eat while staying at home

• Eat nutritious and light food that is easy to digest
  • Include food like daliya, dal, khicdi at least once daily
  • Avoid heavy food like paranthas or any other fried food
• Avoid over consumption of wheat
  • Do not over eat wheat
  • Avoid including wheat in every meal
• Try and include a variety of grains to get more nutrients
  • Include barley, ragi, rice, oats, besan and other millets in your daily diet
• Do not consume processed food items
  • Snack smart, eat unprocessed and natural food for snack
    • Include nuts, seeds, chana and makhana in your snacks
• Stay hydrated
  • Choose the right liquid to stay hydrated
  • Avoid too much caffeine
  • Instead have herbal tea, soups and broth
• Eat complete protein
  • Combine grains, beans and pulses
  • Also include nuts and grains in your diet
  • Make sure that the portion of dal is higher than rice

Keep your immune system strong  

• 70 % of your immunity depends upon your digestive health
• Make sure you eat light and health to maintain a good gut

How to eat while staying at home

• Use smaller plates than what you normally use
  • Keep the size of bowls and cutlery smaller as well
  • This will help you immensely to control your portion size
• Avoid continuous grazing
  • Eat at a fixed schedule
  • Do not keep munching or eating random things all the time
• This is the perfect time for intermittent fasting
  • Use the 16 : 8 method (eating window of 8 hours and fasting window of 16 hours)
• Intermittent fasting is great to improve your digestion
  • Apart from that, it will also improve your metabolism and immunity
• Not a good time for fad diets
  • Please avoid all fancy diets at this point of time
  • Avoid all low carbs, keto or GM diet (any diet)
• Eat without any distractions
  • Eat slowly, take smaller bites
  • Avoid sitting in front of your television and having food
  • Chew your food properly

Consume food with anti oxidants

• Have food rich in antioxidants
• Detailed article on food rich in anti oxidants is available on the website

Essential food items you should have in the kitchen

• Variety of whole grains
• Different atta
• Pulses
• Legumes
• Beans
• Dry roasted or puffed grain
• Healthy oils
• Healthy snacks
• Herbs and spices
• Nuts and seeds
• Dry fruits
• Natural sweeteners
• Tea / coffee
• Baking essentials
• Other condiments
• Dark chocolate

Food which you should avoid storing

• Ready to eat cereals
• Packaged food
• Ready to eat meals
• Items like noodles
• Chips / biscuits and any other processed food
• Frozen food or snacks
• Aerated drinks / soda
• Artificial sweeteners

Nutrients to focus on

• Vitamin D : spend some time in the sun
• Vitamin C : have citrus fruits, amla
• Omega 3 : Include chia seeds, almonds in your diet
• Inculde Vitamin A, E, selenium, zinc, folic acid and probiotics in your diet
• Haldi, black pepper and basil
• Fennel, lemon grass
• Clove and ginger