THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MUSTARD TURNIP 2020

#MustardTurnip2020

Let’s face it—this spring hasn’t looked like anything any of us could have possibly imagined. Our lives were turned upside down as our community, state, and national governments looked at the ways that we could work to slow the spread of a global pandemic and keep one another safe. Everything shifted overnight. Schools moved to e-learning as the buildings closed for the year. Many of us set up offices in our homes as we moved from working in our office buildings to working from home. Essential workers continued to provide the necessary services to keep our communities rolling along smoothly, but maybe added in additional hours alongside safety precautions recommended by the CDC.

The environment that you live in plays a big factor in your health and in your eating habits. One positive thing that we have seen come out of the pandemic is that more and more families were gathering together around the table for three meals a day—three meals that were all meal prepped for and cooked at home. We have seen people refine their kitchen and culinary skills, and we have been so impressed!

We have also enjoyed seeing families get outside together for family bike rides and walks, evenings running around the backyard, and picnics in the front yard. It’s been an exercise in creativity for all of us as we’ve worked to not be too terribly bored as we have spent the summer at home. Have you picked up that book you’ve been meaning to read? Did you finally tackle that DIY project for your closet? Or are you taking a look at your diet and exercise scheduled to see how you can improve it to safely lose or gain weight?

Safely Lose Weight

• Meal Prep—the best way to ensure that you’re eating a well balanced diet and that you’re not grabbing the junk food from the cabinet when you’re too busy to cook is by having your breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners ready to go.

• Eat slowly and mindfully—this season of life is at time where you can truly slow down and savor a meal, rather than eating quickly and dashing off to the next activity. Embrace it. Learn how to eat mindfully and recognize when you’re full.

• Avoid snacking throughout the day—working from home and only a few feet away from your pantry can make avoiding excessive snacking difficult. Try relocating some of your favorite snacks to further away in the house or skip buying them at the grocery store.

• Get outside and get moving—without gyms to go to for your work out, get creative and get outside to get your movement in. Play a game of soccer in the backyard with your children, go for a run during your lunch break, or ride your bike around the neighborhood to get your blood pumping. 

Safely Gain Weight

• Add more protein to your diet—protein is the single most important nutrient for gaining weight in a healthy manner. Safely adding weight means adding muscle mass, and our muscles are made up of protein. A quick and easy way to start your day is with a homemade protein smoothie.

• Add in starchy carbs to your diet—let’s hear it for the starchy carbs! These carbs will add calories to your diet to help you gain weight and they will also bump up your muscle glycogen stores which will in turn give you more energy for your day. Try adding in quinoa, potatoes & sweet potatoes, corn, and squash to your diet.

• Add in healthy fats to your diet—did somebody say avocado? Adding in avocado to your day is one of the easiest ways to increase healthy fats in your diet. Our recipe collection online features an abundance of recipes with avocado—check it out for some tips!

• Eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day—start the day off with your protein smoothie, have a breakfast, lunch, a healthy afternoon snack, and dinner to space out your meals throughout the day rather than having just three big meals.

• Add in Strength Training—add in more free weights to your at home workouts and decrease the amount of time that you spend doing aerobic exercises like running or jumping on the trampoline with your kids.

How are you spending your time at home this spring season? We’d love to see the meals you’ve been cooking at home and enjoying around the table together, the gardens that you’re growing in your backyard, and the ways that you’re implementing our health weight loss and gain tips above. Tag us in your photos and videos on Instagram using @naturesgreens.