If you are like me, you find comfort in snacks when you have to change your routine. All of those little bites add up to ounces and then pounds that are hard to get rid of when things turn back to normal. So I am trying to find ways to avoid snacking and keep active. It makes it all the more difficult because we’ve been asked not to leave the confines of our home except for an essential trip to the grocery store every now and then.
Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful to reduce the number of bites I am putting in my mouth while I work from home (respecting the recommendations/rules of self-quarantine/social distancing):
Hydrate!
- Place a large glass of water with a few slices of lemon next to the refrigerator. Every time you are tempted to open the refrigerator for “just a little bite of something,” take a big drink of water.
- Put slices of strawberry or cucumber and fresh mint or other combinations of fruit in a pitcher of water and keep it in your refrigerator to make fruity flavored water without extra calories. Make jumbo ice cubes in big ice cube trays with slices of fruit in them. It’s fun to drink the water and watch the ice cubes melt, and then eat the fruit.
- Treat yourself to a cup of hot tea while you are working at your computer – it will fill you up and takes a while to drink it.
Get moving!
- Take a walk.
- Watch an exercise video/show instead of binge watching your favorite TV show and challenge yourself to learn a new exercise. Turn on some lively music and dance like nobody is watching (because nobody probably is – except maybe your children).
- Try to stick to your routine. It’s easy to snack in between meals when you are working from home because the kitchen is so convenient. Try not to eat standing up at the kitchen counter. Sit down and dine at regular meal times instead of snacking all day.
Cook with a plan!
- Make big pots of chili, pans of lasagna, use up ingredients in your pantry, but then divide these dishes into individual servings and freeze them. Do not feel like you and your family need to consume the entire pan of anything. No leftovers means no temptation.
- Find snacks that are not calorie-laden. Low calorie popcorn and foods that keep your hands busy such as fruit you have to peel and peanuts in the shell are good choices. Just be cognizant of portion sizes and watch the sodium content.
- Make composed salads for dinner – a salad of many ingredients that are not tossed together but, instead, conscientiously arranged. Anything can become a salad when you compose salads – sliced fruit and nuts with goat cheese and mixed salad greens or crunchy romaine with chili (warm or cold), shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, corn and sour cream, the sky is the limit. Since it’s all laid out on a plate, your family can choose just the ingredients they like in their salad and they can choose their own salad dressing. If you just have to have a pizza, make it thin crust and put arugula on top of it to make a “salad pizza.”
Just because its’s “5 o’clock somewhere” and you are at home doesn’t mean that you can have a cocktail any ole time, so here’s a healthy mock-sangria recipe for a fruity bubbly treat you can sip on until it really is 5 o’clock:
Orange Mock Sangria
Makes 2 cups
- 1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed orange juice if available)
- 1 cup white cranberry juice (red cranberry juice may be substituted)
- 1 gala apple (chopped into small pieces)
- 1 orange sliced
- 1 ounce diet ginger ale
Combine orange juice, cranberry juice, apple and orange in a mason jar. Place top on Mason jar and shake vigorously. Add ginger ale. Place top on jar and shake vigorously. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve very cold with an orange slice garnish. Add ice if needed to chill rapidly.
About the Writer:
Following her career in healthcare dining and nutrition management, Becky Ellis followed her passion to create Bubblybee, a champagne and food blog. Her motto is “Don’t wait to celebrate! Pop the cork now!” She loves to share tips for entertaining with bubbly. Find her creative recipes and champagne tasting notes at bubblybee.net and Instagram @cocktails_w_bubblybee.
