Eating healthily is a huge part of looking after our general health and keeping ourselves well. Cooking simple nutritious meals for ourselves and our families is the best way to ensure that we meet all our nutritional needs to stay healthy.
With some of us having very busy lives, planning our meals and snacks for the week ahead is a great habit to adopt. Making a plan means that we know in advance what we will be eating everyday, and removes having to make the daily decision which can be overwhelming.
It means we can have everything we need to hand and stops us from reaching for the convenience and processed foods.
Grow it Yourself are launching the Grow it Forward programme, which is designed to help the nation eat well by inspiring and supporting people to grow, cook and eat some of their own food at home. Participants will register through their local library to grow some of their own food with a free GIY starter kit and encouraged to ‘grow it forward’ to 9 others by passing on seeds, seedlings or produce.
Safefood's START campaign is encouraging parents to use the time they spend together as a family as a good opportunity to introduce healthy habits at home. The campaign asks parents to make the most of their family time by adding a healthy habit to their routine.
Bord Bia have a new initiative for winter that will showcase a range of easy to prepare seasonal and nutritious recipes, centered around a healthy and balanced diet. They will also highlight some top tips on getting your garden ready for Spring, an activity for all the family to enjoy together.
Week planner
Try this week planner to help you with some of the tips mentioned in the page above
DownloadYou can find more help with developing your food plans here.
You can find more Healthy Ireland healthy eating guidelines here.
For older people who may be isolating there are some additional points to note:
We all have busy lives, some of us are juggling childcare, full-time work and other competing responsibilities. Some of us are in essential roles with very little time to cook or are having to cook for ourselves for the first time. Whatever your circumstances, getting tasty nutritious meals to the table quickly can be a daily challenge.
If you are an absolute beginner, you can find some great videos on basic kitchen skills here.
Fresh produce is almost always the best option, but when it is not available there are plenty of healthy alternatives that are easy to store and prepare e.g tinned and frozen foods. Make sure your store cupboard is stocked with key everyday ingredients, for example pasta, rice, and eggs.
Safefood have lots of recipes for really nutritious, simple meals here.
Or check out their selection of really easy recipes on YouTube here.
When making your healthy eating plan make sure to include 2-3 healthy snacks per day, but don’t cut out treat foods completely, a little now and then is okay.
Follow the simple tips below to make this process a bit easier:
Many restaurants and takeaways are still working and delivering food.
If you do decide to treat yourself to a takeaway, using our simple tips below will help you to make a healthier choice:
Cooking with your children is an ideal way to allow children to feel that they are contributing to the work of the home and for them to learn some valuable life skills. It is also an opportunity for you to have fun together as a family.
There is no exact age for starting but generally children should be encouraged to become involved with basic food preparation skills as soon as they show an interest.
Here are some guidelines to help you and your child get started:
3 year olds can help by:
4 - 5 year olds can help by:
6 - 8 year olds can help by:
9 – 11 year olds can help by:
At this time the usual food safety guidelines apply when preparing and cooking food. The main risk of transmission of COVID-19 is from close contact with infected people and not from contaminated food.
Here are some tips for safe food shopping:
If you or someone you know is experiencing unplanned weight loss that might be related to illness, social isolation or reduced appetite, it is important to tell your GP or public health nurse. They can recommend some dietary resources that can help, such as a high-energy high-protein cookbook called Making the Most of Every Bite.
The cookbook is available here but make sure you seek advice from your GP, nurse or dietitian first.
Changes in our everyday routines, increased stress and the shorter days can all contribute to unplanned weight gain. Planning meals and snacks, including water, getting regular exercise and ensuring that you get enough sleep will all help to maintain a healthy weight. Check out our healthy eating guidelines for information on portion sizes and meal ideas.
Grow It Yourself has some great tips and ideas for growing your own fruit and veg at home. The website includes a useful month by month calendar giving ideas for what to sow/harvest/or prepare that month. And don’t think it is too late to start gardening this year, there are some hardy winter veg that can still be sown!
Incredible Edibles have recently launched their 2021 healthy eating and growing primary school project. Register your school to receive your school grow pack. You can find more information here.
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