What foods you should eat during coronavirus crisis

BOSTON — So here’s a question: How do you make sure you don’t gain a bunch of weight while sitting at home all day?

Boston 25 talked with a dietician about how to take care of your body while quarantining.

A stay-at-home advisory doesn’t necessarily mean you’re locked in your house.

“I’ve been running a lot to keep my immune system up,” said Scott Buresh.

For Lenorah Stott, a bike ride does the trick.

“I have done a lot of staying inside and I’ve been stir crazy, so this has been a nice trip out of the apartment,” Stott said.

This trip out of the apartment was to the grocery store.

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And they know it’s especially important to consider what’s in the shopping bag during these times.

“I actually got a lot of fresh produce. I know they say to stock up on a lot of canned goods but I usually eat a lot of fresh produce pretty quickly,” Buresh said. “I got some almond milk I have some yogurt and I do have some canned stuff at home.”

This is just a visual of what your plate should look like during a healthy diet whether it’s now or next year.

Joan Salge Blake, a nutrition professor at Boston University, said the food you eat during this time to stay healthy should not be any different from the healthy diet you should be eating year-round.

“I think this is an unbelievable time and opportunity for Americans to say that canned and frozen and boxed foods can be just as healthy for you as fresh and it’s an excellent time to start cooking a little bit more and looking at the food that are surrounding you to give you a healthy diet and stop throwing out food and making food waste,” she said.

Her one warning, however, is to not let the increased stress increase the scale.

“Get your steps in but you also have to be careful because when times get a little stressful. People called her best friends and that is Ben and Jerry’s so we want to make sure we are not eating out of stress but rather releasing your stress outside the kitchen, friend, zoom with a friend, call your grandmother, call your grandfather. This is the time to bond virtually,” she said.

Stott says human connection is nice to have.

“Engage in music or the arts. It’s gonna be a funky time, a lot of movies,” Stott said.

That last point is so crucial.

Our dietician warned it’s not just physical health, it’s emotional too.

Make sure you use this time to pick up the phone and call the person you haven’t spoken to in a long time.

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