Meal Management: Plan week after week
Make yourself comfortable on the sofa on a day off and plan what should end up on the lunch and dinner plate in the following working week. You can find inspiration in blogs, recipe databases or cookbooks. After choosing your favourite dishes, make a shopping list. This will ensure that you have all the necessary ingredients at home.
When planning the menu, pay attention to the meal composition and do a balance check: Besides a drink, a complete meal also includes, at least one vegetable or fruit, one starchy food (e.g. potato, cereal or vegetable) and one protein food (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, tofu or a dairy product). Dietary fibre, such as those found in vegetables, lettuce and whole starch products such as potatoes or cereals, and protein both provide good, long-term satiety. After enjoying a meal rich in these you should not experience any sudden cravings.
Meal Preparation: Prepare your meals
When you’ve had enough of the sofa, cook ahead on your days off. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply prepare a little more of a suitable menu component so that you can cook a quick dish from the leftovers on the following days. Rice, for example, is suitable for a rice salad or you can fry it and add vegetables and egg. Get junk food out of sight. If you get bored or a little hungry, draw on your supplies instead of snacking unhealthily. But also treat yourself once in a while. Preferably after work.
Healthy Snacks and Treats:
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Meal Rhythm: Eat at fixed times of the day
Whether at a home office or workshop, make sure you have a meal routine. This structures the day and provides the grey cells with energy supplies in good time. To prevent mood and performance lows, try not to skip meals. In this way, you reduce the risk of subconscious snacking.
Recommendation: Have three complete and balanced main meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. These provide the body with the energy it needs. If you need a snack, divide up portions and prepare them in advance. If you work at a desk, don’t hoard your food on it – taking a break also means taking a break from the workplace.
Also drink regularly. Set yourself a timer every hour if necessary. Ideal thirst quenchers are tap and mineral water or unsweetened fruit and herbal teas. Water flavoured with sliced fruit, vegetable slices or herbs and spices offers variety. Lemon and orange slices, strawberry pieces, cucumber slices, mint or fresh ginger are all wonderful.
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Home Schooling: Keep your children’s grey matter busy
A healthy snack satisfies the little hunger in between lessons, fills the energy storage needs, and supports the ability to concentrate. Snacks which meet children’s needs provide them with important nutrients. They can contain water or unsweetened herbal and fruit tea, consist of fruit and/or vegetables, and ideally should be absolutely sugar-free. Depending on physical activity levels and hunger pangs, they can be supplemented with cereals (e.g. corn wafers or wholewheat crackers) or a dairy product as well as nuts. Cakes, crisps and other high sugar or high fat snacks, on the other hand, remain taboo.
When home schooling, our children move much less. This means there is less stress relief, and that can sometimes strain the nerves of parents. Sugary snacks only add fuel to the fire. Therefore, opt for some of the fibre-rich alternatives described above. Use some of the breaks for exercise too. How about a race around the house, for example?
Moodfood: Fight storage fever
With the protein component tryptophan (e.g. contained in bananas, cocoa, oatmeal, nuts and seeds) we take in a building block to happiness, because it stimulates the body’s own serotonin production. (Serotonin is a hormone which influences our well-being.) For a smooth absorption of tryptophan, our body needs whole starch sources (e.g. potatoes or cereals). This combination also contains nerve-strengthening B vitamins and magnesium, and it acts as a true mood booster.
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Exercise and sleep enough
It doesn’t matter whether you spend your day in your living room at the computer or riding the bus – try to incorporate exercise, especially outside, into your daily routine. How about a run around the house during your lunch break or a workout session in the evening (e.g. with a trainer on YouTube or using an app)? Exercise helps to clear the mind, loosens tense muscles and stimulates the circulation.
Sleep is just as important for our body as exercise. When we sleep, we process the day. Our spine is relieved. Metabolism and digestion are also active.
So say goodbye to the Coronablues – with the right diet, plenty of exercise and a healthy night’s sleep.