ABC Charleston: Staying Healthy at Home

It’s Good Food Friday! Today I shared nutrition tips and meal ideas to help you and your families stay healthy as we spend more time at home.

A pantry staple that everyone needs

First I’ve partnered with Quaker to share the goodness and versatility of 100% whole grain oats! Because oats are a nutritious blank canvas and a great pantry staple, there is so much you can do with them – here I have them in baked oatmeal and as a breadcrumb swap in tuna patties. Plus, a one-half cup serving of oats is naturally low in fat and sodium AND is good source of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals that our body needs.

Snack smarter at home

Next build satisfying snacks by pairing protein with fiber. I did that with my tropical trailmix made with toasted coconut cashews. These are by Karma Nuts who sells wrapped and roasted cashews in delicious flavors like golden turmeric and cocoa-dusted that are air-roasted without oil. Wrapped cashews are nutritionally superior – they retain their natural skins, which add crunch, twice the fiber plus comparable antioxidative activity to blueberries.

Easy healthy plant-based meals at home

My next tip is to go incorporate at least one more plant-based meal per week. Eating more plants may help lower your risk of certain chronic diseases and support weight management and immune health. Veestro is a great plant-based meal solution that makes it easy to get more plants in your everyday. All meals are ready-to-eat made with organic ingredients and no preservatives.
You can order them at Veestro.com

Make desserts with benefits

Next up we have a dessert with benefits – an apple crisp sweetened with Manuka honey. Unlike refined sugar, which adds empty calories, manuka honey adds sweetness along with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It is also known for supporting immune and digestive health. The Comvita manuka honey is sourced from New Zealand where the manuka flower is native. It’s also UMF certified which means that it contains the three unique chemical markers that make it real Manuka honey.

Support your immune system at home

Finally, stay healthy at home by incorporating foods that support immune health like citrus for vitamin C and pepitas for zinc. Immuneti is a 5-in-1 comprehensive immune defense formula that provides vital nutrients and antioxidants that may reduce symptoms and duration of a cold and flu. If you bought these ingredients separately, it would cost over $80 but at Immuneti, you get 5 in 1 for $14 a bottle.