Working and/or schooling from home brings us extra close to our kitchen – this may lead to changes in regular eating habits. Two steps we can take to reset our eating habits:
Step 1 – Get back to basics. Get back to eating 3 regular meals a day and include a starch/protein/vegetable or fruit within each meal. This is providing structure to our eating habits and helping to regulate our hunger cues. It will also help us to stay nourished, healthy and mentally focused during these uncertain times. For parents who model this for their children it will provide routine and take away the stress for kids about when their next meal will be.
Step 2 – Be mindful of your feeding frequency – aim to eat every 3-5 hours. This will help to cut back on grazing. Grazing robs you of your hunger cues and prevent us from knowing when we are hungry or full. Set general meal and snack times and post it up in the kitchen for everyone to see.

Emotional eating:
This is a stressful time and we may turn to food to soothe our emotions. It is ok to have food as one stress reliever in your tool box but be sure to have others – listen to music, call a friend, go for a walk, read. If you choose to use food enjoy without guilt and let it lift your spirits. And the next time you are feeling overwhelmed/stressed mix it up and use another non-food de-stressing tool.

What does normal eating look like?
 Eating when hungry and continue eating until satisfied
 Choosing food you like and truly get enough of it-not just stop eating because you think you should.
 Using some moderate constraint in food selection to get right food, but not so restrictive you miss out on pleasurable foods.
 Permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good.
 Eating three meals a day
 Overeating at times: feeling stuffed and uncomfortable and undereating at times and wishing you had more.
 Trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating.
 Taking up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.
In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your emotions, your schedule, your hunger, and your proximity to food.

Links for great meal ideas:
Cookspiration: www.cookspiration.ca
30 Healthy Meal Ideas: www.healthstandnutrition.com
Supercook – Recipe search by ingredients you have at home: https://www.supercook.com/?fbclid=IwAR0VYJ-_gWFrpWDEbZJN3KUMDAIYhFVflXvUuXj0TYSQjs5gPSTws6jRydo#/recipes