Quarantine tips + 5 meals under $5
Like most of us, you're probably stuck at home either by yourself or with the whole family. Regardless of your situation, your daily nutrition plays a vital role in your ability to fight infection and maintain your health and well being. This post will provide some helpful tips and tricks to ensure that you and the whole family are staying healthy.
The 3 keys to home health
Water
This is easily the single most important part of your whole health routine. Adults should aim to drink a minimum of 2-3L of water each day. This may seem daunting but can easily be broken up into drinking tea, flavored water and just plain water. A great way to ensure you are getting enough water is to take a look at the color of your urine. It should be a pale yellow color with little to no odor.
Setting a timer to drink water and having a water bottle or full cup of water around you will ensure that you are taking several sips throughout your busy day.
Exercise
Did you know that 80% of Americans aren't getting enough exercise? Now is the perfect time to change that statistic and get your activity up. Here is a 10 minute routine with 3 simple exercises that you can do in your living room, bedroom or in your backyard.
Get your heart rate up:
If you have a wearable device that measures your heart rate, aim to get your heart rate elevated to above 165 for 5 minutes. If you don't have one of these devices, try to sing your favorite song while exercising. You shouldn't be completely out of breath but it should be difficult to carry on the song.
Mountain climbers, jumping jacks, jogging in place, burpees or a combo of all of these will get you there.
Push-aways or push-ups
On your knees, against the wall, on the edge of your desk or off the side of the couch. Try to keep your core tight while maintaining a good pace and remember to breathe.
Start with a set of 18-20 reps then move to next exercise.
Sit backs
Get your feet under the couch, bed or under your dog and with your knees bent and back straight, lean back until your start to feel a quiver in your abs. It doesn't take much for this exercise. Hold for 18-20 seconds and then go back to the push-aways. Alternate these exercises for 5 minutes.
If at anytime during these exercises you feel light headed or out of breath, stop and rest. You can perform these exercises every day or every other day if you like.
Daily Nutrition
What we put into our mouths 3-6 times a day has the single largest impact on our health. When trying to fight disease, we should take extra measures to ensure our nutritional needs are being met. Here are 5 recipes under $5 each that you can make at home and are easily customizable.
Power oats:
1/2 quick oats, steal cut oats, rolled oats, whatever kind of oats you like
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 cup non dairy milk; soy, almond, oat, coconut, whatever you prefer or water
1/2 cup fresh/frozen fruit or berries; mixed berries, blue berries, raspberries, blackberries. (If you use fresh fruit, add after cooking)
1tsp coconut sugar, regular sugar, maple syrup, date syrup or 2 chopped dates
Add ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 3 minutes. Add more liquid to desired consistency. Top with fresh fruit; more berries, banana, dash of chocolate chips, peanut butter
Oat cake roll ups:
1/2 cup oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 cup non dairy milk; soy, almond, oat, coconut, whatever you prefer
1 tsp coconut sugar, regular sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 banana
Add ingredients to blender bullet and blend until smooth.
Heat pan over medium heat and add a small amount of vegan butter or other plant oil to stop the oat cakes from sticking.
Add 1/4c of mixture to pan and flip when all the bubbles have popped. Top with fresh fruit, maple syrup, non dairy yogurt, etc.
Snacks:
Small, SMALL handful of nuts. 5-6 cashews, almonds, walnuts, or 1-2 Brazil nuts
Whatever fresh fruit you will eat - Fruit snacks and juice do not count as fruit. Apples, bananas, pears, nectarines, peaches, kiwis, mango, pineapple. Buy 5 different varieties and alternate each day.
Fruit smoothies are also perfect snacks
Hummus and veggies. There are TONS of varieties of hummus and even sweet hummus that you can eat with fruit
Lunch:
Chkn sandwich
Buffalo or regular Morning Star vegan patty
Sliced red onion
Greens; spinach, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, whichever you like or have on hand
Sliced tomato
Vegan mayo, mustard, fresh cracked pepper
Sour dough bread or 100% whole grain bread
Oven roasted potatoes - Russet, Yukon gold, sweet, red; whichever you prefer
Cut into wedges and bake at 375 for 45 mins turning half way
Eat with hummus, organic ketchup or whatever you like with fries
Dinner:
Spaghetti
1 package Whole grain pasta, bean pasta, whatever pasta you have on hand
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 Chopped bell pepper
1/2 chopped yellow/white onion
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
1 pack field roast Italian sausages - chopped in quarters
1\2 tub hummus - 16 oz package
3-4 cups spinach or other greens. Baby chard, kale, etc.
Sautee onion and garlic over medium heat in a splash of water to keep from sticking. Once onions are translucent and fragrant, add bell pepper and sauce. Cook sausages in separate pan over medium heat until crispy - about 10-15 minutes. Boil pasta according to directions and drain. Once sauce is simmering, about 10 minutes, add hummus and greens. Stir in pasta and serve topped with sausages.
Dessert:
Sorbet
1-2 frozen bananas
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
Pick 3 frozen fruits and use frozen banana as the base. If you don't like bananas, use a different fruit. Add fruits to food processor or blender and blend until creamy.
Supplements
Vitamin D3 - 2000iu/day - If you are not getting at least 20-30 minutes of sun on your arms, legs and face in at least a 2-3UV index, you need to supplement. Vitamin D plays a vital role in everything from disease prevention to energy production and mood regulation. The brand I recommend is: https://www.vivolife.com/products/d3-plant-based-d3-with-k2
Vitamin C - 1000mg daily - helps promote wound healing and has been shown to reduce the number of sick days after becoming ill.
Make sure it's from ascorbic acid - available at nearly all health food stores and pharmacies
B12 - cyanocobalamin - adults 65 and under should take at least one 2000mcg supplement each week or 50mcg per day. B12 is vital for arterial health and nervous system function. For just pennies a day, you can ensure your body is functioning in tip-top shape. Here is the brand I recommend: https://www.vivolife.com/products/b12-vegan-liquid-b12-complex
Note, supplements are not intended to treat, prevent or cure any illnesses. Do not be fooled by anyone claiming to sell or offer products that claim to treat, prevent or cure any illness. I am not affiliated with Vivolife but believe in their products and recommend them based on my own opinion of their business practices and ingredient sourcing.
I hope you found this helpful and if you are in need of more recipes, fitness tips or just need more information on how to improve your overall health and well-being, please reach out here or on Instagram.
Here is to you and your health!