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It is important for people to understand the risks associated with sedentary lifestyles while working from home and attending school online, says registered dietitian/nutritionist Candida Khan,
Such lifestyles – characterised by sitting or lying down for long periods with little to no physical activity – increase the risk of people developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Khan said there are simple and inexpensive measures which can be adopted at home to reduce these risks.
“Because of covid19, and the lockdown, you’re not able to go out as much. The best way to work around it is to do things at home, even if it’s simple YouTube workout routines and practising balanced eating,” said Khan.
Khan runs an online nutrition consultancy, helping people manage chronic diseases and weight goals. Since some people may be less active while working and in school at home, Khan said they must boost their immune systems. This can be done by stocking up on fruits which are high in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre.
[caption id="attachment_868541" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A vendor offers watermelons at central market in Port of Spain. Seasonal produce and fruits are more affordable when they're in season. - Jeff Mayers[/caption]
For each meal, Khan advises plates should be balanced nutritionally with the different food groups and appropriate serving sizes for the foods they eat.
“Besides adding on veggies and balancing your plate, people should also add their favourite fruit into their routine every day and ensure you have at least one fruit a day....It’s more about rearranging and understanding the proper balance of plating so that it can help your plate in the longer term,” said Khan.
For some, eating healthy may seem expensive. Khan said eating healthy doesn’t have to be costly and people should be mindful of where they shop. She said local markets and vendors of locally grown foods tend to provide the best value for money. Produce and fruits in season, tend to be affordable.
“Everything costs something so, it’s either you chose the cheap veggies, or you choose the cookies and cakes,” said Khan.
Nutrition educator Gabrielle Mollineau also called on people to avoid sedentary lifestyles and pay attention to their eating habits.
“Usually, when we end up sitting in front of a (device) screen it can distract us from being in tune with our fullness and hunger cues," she said.
“If you are eating in front of the TV, you can end up eating way more than you usually should. So, aim to at least eat one meal away from a screen so that you are more in tune with your hunger and fullness cues.”
Mollineau said hunger cues can be something as familiar as a growling stomach or, in severe cases, “hunger headaches.”
If people sit for long periods and do not have structured meals, Mollineau said they may not only be ignoring their hunger cues to get nourishment, but also risk not having balanced diets.
She recommends people create a weekly menu plan to keep track of what they eat. She said eat something at least every two to three hours including snacks like fruits, granolas, yoghurts, or nuts.
And the next time you eat, Mollineau has some tips to follow.
“Make your plates as colourful as possible and when I say as colourful as possible, I am referring to including fruits and vegetables. At least half your plate should be vegetables.
[caption id="attachment_868540" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shoppers at the central market in Port of Spain pick out fresh produce for their weekend meals. - Jeff Mayers[/caption]
“Unfortunately, we don’t usually eat the recommended serving of vegetables which is six to seven servings of vegetables per day. We live in the Caribbean where we eat a lot of carbohydrates.
“What I like to do, because I usually have three days where I eat vegan out of my week, simply google how to transform your recipe into vegan recipes,” said Mollineau.
With a decrease in physical activity, people are also reminded by Mollineau to guard their immune systems.
Apart from Vitamin C boosting fruits, foods loaded with zinc are also a good choice.
“Zinc is also an important mineral that helps boost one’s immune system and you can get it in pumpkin seeds. The seeds can be placed on top of oatmeal’s, in muffins and you can even eat pumpkin seeds as a snack,” said Mollineau.
Keeping hydrated is also important.
To do so, people can use apps on their phones to remind them to drink water throughout the day, or to add bits of fruits in their water to make it more appealing to drink.
Whatever you do, Mollineau said it is necessary to pay attention to your water intake.
“What I do, just to make my dollar stretch as much as possible, is boil my pineapple peels with some ginger, clove and cinnamon. I allow that to settle and strain the next day which gives you flavoured water.”
While it is easy to advise people to eat healthy, it doesn’t have to be expensive to do so if you grow your own food.
For people who may not have much space available for planting, like those living in urban areas, agribusiness entrepreneur Jameel Phillip said growing your own food isn’t impossible.
“People can do container gardening. They can use any sought of container, even a bucket or old food container, bore some holes and fill it with soil to grow their seedlings.”
[caption id="attachment_868538" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Nutrition educator Gabrielle Mollineau said half of a balanced plate of food is usually reserved for vegetables. In this example of a meal which meets healthy plating recommendations, half is filled with vegetables, a quarter is reserved for lean protein, a quarter is used for whole grains/staples. -[/caption]
To start a home garden and offset initial costs, people can use seeds from produce they already have in their kitchen.
To sustain their garden in the long term, people can save the seeds and cutting from their crops to grow more food.
“A lot of the stuff that people may purchase can be regrown such as chive, celery and parsley.
“Even lettuce can be regrown. When you cut lettuce, you can just take the leaves and the base will keep sprouting.”
Phillip said the easiest type of crop to grow is any seasoning or leafy vegetable like chive, chadon beni, parsley, lettuce, patchoi and kale.
When it comes to growing crops with less chemicals, Phillip also has some tips such as companion planting which means planting crops that help each other grow.
“If you want to keep pests away, you can grow seasoning around your crops, she said. “Crops like chive, celery, or even flowers like marigold which are highly scented, masks the scent of the actual crops you are growing which keeps the pests away, so you don’t have to use pesticides.”
[caption id="attachment_868537" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Nutrition educator Gabrielle Mollineau says this plate of stewed red beans and fried fish, vegetable rice and potato salad is an example of an unbalanced meal. Mollineau said most people do not eat the recommended servings of vegetables which is six to seven per day. - Gabrielle Mollineau[/caption]
Phillip said growing one’s own food will always be the better option because freshly harvested food will be at the peak of nutritional content and will also be the best way to guarantee crops are grown without chemicals.
Pumpkin Sunrise Smoothie
[caption id="attachment_868539" align="alignnone" width="768"] Pumpkin sunrise smoothie is a healthy and inexpensive treat. Photos courtesy Gabrielle Mollineau -[/caption]
Nutrition educator Gabrielle Mollineau says eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive and people can get creative with simple ingredients they have around the home. Here, Mollineau shares the recipe of a simple pumpkin sunrise smoothie.
Ingredients
1 cup ripe mangoes
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup low-fat milk (Vegan substitute: unsweetened almond milk)
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1 tsp flaxseed
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
 
Directions
Steam pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg until soft.
Add all ingredients, except water, to blender and blend until smooth.
Add water to adjust thickness to your liking.
Serve and enjoy.
 
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