How to Maintain A Well-Balanced Diet During Quarantine

When you’re stuck in quarantine, it’s easy to fall into lazy habits of ordering in or making a frozen meal for the fifth day in a row. While it’s a good thing to support your local businesses and help everyone during this tough time, eating food from restaurants all the time can negatively impact your health — especially if you’re not going to the gym or maintaining any level of activity. And preservative-laden pre-packaged meals are never the healthiest option. If you want to learn how to maintain a well-balanced diet during quarantine, read on for top tips from the experts at Green Gone Detox.

1. Make A Plan

Consider your needs, assess what you already have at home, and then step out to go shopping. You want to spend as little time outside of your home risking contagion as possible. If you have a plan for your meals a couple weeks in advance, you’ll have a complete shopping list that will help you to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible — and you won’t have to go back for awhile. Plan your quarantine diet and follow through to ensure a healthy diet meal plan.

2. Be Strategic

As you’re assessing the food in your fridge, make an effort to use fresh ingredients first. This contributes to a well-balanced diet and uses up those foods that have a shorter shelf life before they expire. Prioritize fruits, vegetables, herbs, and dairy products over frozen products to avoid food waste and overbuying.

3. Beware Portion Sizes

One of the best diet aids is controlling your portion size. Everything you want to eat is allowed as long as you eat it in moderation. Don’t include eating 15 donuts a day in your quarantine diet, but one or two a week isn't a big deal. If it’s your first time cooking every meal at home, consider these basic portion size guidelines:

These will vary slightly depending on your current weight and activity level, but it’s a good way to help you start understanding appropriate portion size for a well-balanced diet.

4. Limit Your Sugar Intake

You might be wondering whether your healthy diet meal plan allows you to eat any sugars. It can be fun, and a little comforting, to finish off the day with a scoop of ice cream or a candy bar. The short answer is that you should be eating as little sugar as possible. If you must have something for your sweet tooth, try natural sugars first — like fruit and foods with no added sugar. Gotta have some chocolate? Indulge yourself a little, but avoid fat free foods, as they usually have lots of added sugars that will throw off your well-balanced diet.

5. Follow Safe Food Handling Guides

No matter what you’re eating, always follow safe food handling guidelines. Especially now, you should make sure you wash all food and packaging thoroughly after coming back from the store. Other tips include:

• Washing hands, kitchen, and utensils before cooking
• Separating raw and cooked foods for storage
• Cooking meats thoroughly
• Storing food at appropriate temperatures

Hopefully these tips for a well-balanced diet can help you organize your meals a little bit better during quarantine. Ready to add a little workout to your routine? Check out the best at-home workouts from our team!