In these uncertain times, two things are still true: physical activity and healthy eating are excellent coping tools that also promote physical health. These behaviors can have a positive impact on a personโs mental health and are essential to keep your body strong to fight off illness.
Here are six simple things you can do to help your family make healthy choices during this challenging time. We’d like to extend a special thanks to our partners at Shape Your Future for their valuable insights on easy lifestyle changes for improved health.
- Incorporate fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables into your meals every day.ย Fill half your plate with fruits and veggies with these simple and quick dinner recipes. Ramen Teriyaki Bowls, anyone?
- Make snack time easy by having fruit and veggies readily available in the fridge or in an accessible, counter top basket. Here are two dozen other healthy hacks to make your life a little easier from Shape Your Future.
- Think outside the box with your meals. Let the kids plan a dinner, make a new recipe or try a new vegetable. This is a great time to teach your kids about healthy habits in the kitchen.
- Food safety is a critical part of keeping your family healthy. Learn how you can practice food safety โ from farmers market to fork โ with this step-by-step guide for making this produce-packedย Veggie Quesadilla.
- Try out a Healthy Habits reward card to help you keep healthy choices front and center. Post this printable chart on the fridge so kids can have some fun encouragement. For every 5 healthy choices they make throughout the week, reward them with a fun family activity!
- Physical activity helps reduce stress and boosts your immune system so swap screen time for active time. Turn your living room into a home gym, using household items as equipment. Or, try out this outdoor workout video with activities your family can do anywhere.
Healthy bonus: Check out this fun video to learn how to make no-bake breakfast cookies! Plus, check out these activities for kids including coloring pages, brain games, comics and more all focused on healthy choices.