By now, the threat of the COVID-19 virus has forced everyone indoors and it’s easy to let this abrupt change affect our health. It’s easy to neglect eating properly when you’re lounging at home all day with junk food at your disposal, but before you let this luxury become a routine here are some healthy food habits to adopt while in quarantine with three easy vegan recipes to try out!
Healthy food tips
Stay Hydrated
It’s important to be taking in fluids while in quarantine. Water is noticeably the best way to stay hydrated, but there are ways to make drinking water more enjoyable. One way is to experiment with fruit infused water. There are so many combinations you can try such as strawberry, kiwi, oranges and more. Throwing in mint can also help stimulate your health.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit
To reduce the amount of time you spend in grocery stores, incorporate canned vegetables and frozen fruits into your grocery haul. This ensures you are getting your vitamins and fiber without the risk of fresh fruit spoiling. You can use frozen fruit by making smoothies and blended fruit bowls. If you prefer fresh fruit, but still worry about buying it in bulk, here’s a trick. Buy as much fresh fruit as you want and then cut it to store it in your freezer and use it later. In addition, it’s beneficial to incorporate vegetables in many of your normal dishes to ensure that you’re getting those proper vitamins and minerals.
Take your vitamins
It’s important for any diet to have proper vitamins to keep up the immune system. Most vitamins and minerals can be satisfied within your meals, but multivitamins sold in just about every store is a great option to have in your diet — your immune system will thank you later.
Vegan Recipes
Buddha bowl
The Buddha bowl is a dish packed with protein and flavor which can be easily modified to fit your preferences. All you need is rice, canned corn, canned black beans, canned mushrooms, guacamole and plant-based butter. Follow the instructions displayed on the rice package and cook the corn, beans and mushrooms separately on a buttered pan for eight to 10 minutes. After, add rice to a bowl of your choice and arrange the cooked vegetables on top, add a spoonful of guacamole and enjoy!
Loaded potatoes
For the loaded potatoes, the items needed are regular potatoes, plant-based butter, canned corn, canned mushrooms, diced onions, diced bell peppers and guacamole. Begin by preparing the potatoes by placing them in the oven for about 60 minutes at 400 degrees. While the potatoes are baking, combine the vegetables on a buttered pan and sauté them until browned and add seasoning of your choice. Once the potatoes are done, slice them open and add a smear of butter, then add your sautéd vegetables with a spoonful of guacamole on top.
Goddess Veggie burger
The veggie burger can be a main dish with healthy sides such as sweet potato fries, assorted vegetables or others. This recipe requires plant-based veggie patties which are sold in a variety of grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Vons — make sure to double check the ingredients because some brands contain milk. You’ll also need hamburger buns, canned mushrooms, diced onions, plant-based butter and goddess sauce from Trader Joe’s or guacamole. On a buttered pan, place your veggie patties and thoroughly cook while sautéing the onions and mushrooms until browned. Next, toast the hamburger buns in a buttered pan. After items are cooked, assemble the burger and top it off with drops of goddess sauce.
