When the pandemic hit and we all had public orders to stay home. A lot of us went from scrambling to figure out what pack for lunch, to having more time to make nourishing meals at home. For some of our clients, these lock-down orders were a meal planner’s bliss. Finally, the excuse of not having enough time for meal planning and meal prep was gone. Working from home provided an opportunity to plan out meals and even do some meal prep. What a win
But now, a year and a half into the pandemic, are we still using our extra time saved by not having to go into the office for our nourishment benefit?
Some folks, yes, but not everyone is using their extra time to make home-cooked meals anymore.
In our nutrition counselling sessions, we have started to hear about other challenges that people are facing, like:
- Mindless all-day snacking
- Stress eating
- Forgetting to eat and going too long between meals
- Working longer hours because of no set routine, leading to cooking less
- Never feeling full because eating is random and unbalanced (a nibble here, a nibble there)
How can this happen when we are working from home?
Reports from our clients are that the same pre-pandemic problems still exist [lack of planning and prioritizing] but, these problems just look different. Quarantine warped our sense of time and space in many ways, and the outcome for many has been working longer days and it has crept up on us in a very passive way.
So if you still have a few months of working from home, or working from home is your new normal… and you want to get yourself organized when it comes to your eating then you might want to consider working on a nourishment plan that is flexible and adaptable to your way of life.
When working from home, meal planning and meal prep are exactly the same as planning if you are going into the office. I highly recommend embracing meal planning as if you are living the same commuting schedule as if you were going into the office.
MEAL PLANNING PRO TIPS:
- Imagine: Pretend that you are not 10 feet from your kitchen and can access food at any time.
- Think forward: Try to think beyond the immediate here and now when it comes to how you are planning how you are going to feed yourself for a few days.
- Incorporate variety by using the Rules of Three!
The core of meal planning is based on the Rules of Three.
Plan out what you want to eat based on 3 meals a day, and 2-3 snacks in between meals to keep your energy up. Each meal should have at least 3-4 food groups (complex carbohydrates, protein, and fruit/vegetables). Most importantly plan to refuel with either a snack or meal at the 3-4 hr mark. Going too long between eating can leave you vulnerable to getting “hangry”.
Putting it into action!
- Plan out what you are going to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks from Monday to Friday. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it should be balanced. Below is a sample meal plan that you can use that incorporates recipes that you can cook once, and eat for a few days.
Sample 1-day balanced meal plan
Breakfast: Apple, toast with peanut butter, glass of milk
Snack: Apple pie energy bites
Lunch: Power bowl: Quinoa & Almond pilaf with fresh veggies & dip
Snack: Crackers and cheese. Have you tried out Homemade Super Seed Snack Crackers?
Dinner: Jumbo tuna stuffed shells & steamed veggies
Snack: Popcorn
2. Go shopping to make sure you have your ingredients at home for the week. *Most of the ingredients in the sample meal plan are pantry staples and so that you don’t have to rely on fresh ingredients.
3. Prep up what you can to save time during the week (and less dishes to wash).
4. Enjoy having your meals and snacks planned out and ready to eat.
Do you struggle with listening to your hunger cues during the day? Try setting a timer to give you the heads up after 3-4 hours, and check in to assess your body signals to know if it is time to eat.
Working from home has many more challenges than learning a new way of nourishing our body, but you’ll come out on top if you use this situation to your advantage!
If you are struggling with figuring out how to meal plan and meal prep at home, or even if you are back to work, let us know. Our team of meal planning experts are here to help! We love showing you how to make simple meals to nourish your body! It doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. We can help you get organized with your eating, which in turn will leave you more energized to focus on other areas of your life.
Give us a call at 1-204-515-7466 to talk about how we can help you get a nutrition action plan in place, or book online with one of our expert dietitians here>>> https://alittlenutrition.janeapp.com/
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