Care and Feeding in a Global Pandemic
If you read my blog you may already know that self-care is a topic that I’m passionate about. I write about it, teach about it and firmly believe that when we remember to prioritize our wellbeing in body, mind and spirit, all the things in our lives will benefit.
But self-care in the middle of a pandemic has taken on a whole new level of importance. In the first few weeks of this it was pretty easy to fall headfirst into bags of chips, boxes of cookies, blocks of cheese and bottles of wine or spend hours in front of the computer vacillating from panic and anxiety to sadness and disbelief. However, now that we are in what is week 4 or more for many of us, I invite you to call a moratorium. It’s time to welcome back your old friends balance and moderation. Yes, everything is topsy turvy and a bit (or even a day!) of indulgence and comfort food is clearly not going to kill you. But nourishing and supporting your body in order to keep your immune system and your nervous system doing their best jobs possible is a big plus in a pandemic situation.
Many of us have more time than we’ve had in years - or maybe ever- to cook real food and have genuine quiet time.
These are things that our bodies truly thrive on when they’re allowed to have them.
Start by thinking about meals that you and your family love to eat. Do you love Chinese food? Tacos? Comfort casseroles? Think about what you are craving and then hit your search engine, but preface the search with words like “healthy” “simple,” “quick” and “easy.” I guarantee that you will get more responses than you’ll know what to do with. Quick and Easy Healthy Orange Chicken. Simple Good For You Tacos. Easy Delicious Vegetarian Lasagne. You get the idea. There are hundreds of websites devoted to recipes with 5 ingredients or less, recipes that take 20 minutes from start to finish or use only one pan and recipes that offer healthier versions of old classics. With extremely limited trips to the grocery store, a bit of meal planning can be very helpful so when you find recipes that you know you like, make sure you have the necessary tools and add them to a list of things you want to try cooking. Then you can break it down to a shopping list and you’re in business.
Making sure you’re getting enough vegetables can feel overwhelming when you’re only going to the store once every week or two, so getting some frozen produce for things like smoothies and soups is an excellent tactic. I’ve been buying refrigerated bags of organic baby spinach and kale at Trader Joes and then putting them straight into the freezer. I’ve also been buying a bunch of bananas every time I go to the store and then peeling and freezing them when they get ripe as they are a nice addition to smoothies.
Soups are great because you can use whatever vegetables you may have laying around in your fridge after a week and turn them into something delicious. It’s often as simple as dicing and sautéing staples like onion, celery and/or carrot until they are soft and then adding things like asparagus, broccoli, spinach or some other green and a box of chicken or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 20 minutes. Add in some dried spices like basil, oregano and thyme and maybe even a can of diced tomatoes if you’re so inclined. From there you can puree the whole shebang and add a can of coconut milk to make it creamy, or you could add a can of beans and some leftover diced chicken to make it a more substantial meal. You can add leftover grains like rice or quinoa, sprinkle on some nutritional yeast or sesame seeds, add some pasta or toss in a spoonful of pesto (which you can make at home out of almost anything). Keep an open mind and go for it. And here’s my guide to making smoothies and smoothie bowls at home. All you need is a high speed blender and you are in business.
Spending more time at home also means being more aware of mindless eating. If this is something you’re inclined towards, stop, take a breath and ask yourself if you are truly hungry or if maybe you are merely bored, stir crazy, or trying to distract yourself. Is there something else you can do besides eat? Drink some water? Do 10 jumping jacks? Clean out a drawer or a closet? Call your bestie to talk you down? Whatever you do, avoid beating yourself up about it. It’s perfectly normal.
The toll this pandemic is taking on our mental and emotional health is also a big deal. There’s no playbook for this. But excessive amounts of anxiety and stress can negatively impact our immune systems and while the specifics are different for each of us, I don’t have to tell you that all of this “unknown” is the very definition of stressful. Worrying is a normal human instinct and we are all super triggered at the moment. Fear is a whole other kind of virus and it’s also highly contagious. It’s hard to focus and think clearly when we feel threatened or panicky and our nervous systems are in a tailspin. One thing to do is to switch from what I call “hawk view” to “mouse view.” Instead of thinking about the larger overhead picture, consciously switch to a smaller, what’s right in front of you picture. What can the 10 minutes look like rather than the next 10 hours, days, weeks or months? Other helpful tactics include stopping to take some deep breaths, getting up to take a walk or laying down and with your bum up against a wall and your legs up that same wall so you look like the letter L. This is called Viparita Karani or Legs up the Wall and it’s a Restorative Yoga pose that specifically helps calm the nervous system. For a whole bunch of other ideas on how to nourish and sustain yourself (that have nothing to do with food) check out this list.
Y’know what’s also contagious? Hope. Laughter. Smiling. In case you haven’t already done so, turn off the news - at least for a few hours or even for a whole day. Stream some movies that reliably make you laugh. Call the friend who always makes you feel better, or better yet, FaceTime them if you can. Watch some guaranteed-to-make-you-cry (in a good way) videos of babies hearing their mama’s voices for the first time, soldiers being reunited with their families or their pets, baby animals doing cute things, etc.. You get the idea.
And I also want to give a special shout out to prioritizing sleep. Sleep is the time we do some of our best healing. If you are having trouble sleeping then here are a couple of tips:
Keep a regular routine of when you go to bed and when you wake up. It’s tempting to let it all fly, especially if you are working from home or not working at all. Sticking to a routine helps your body remember what to do.
Make sure your room is cool and dark.
Watch the alcohol, sugar and caffeine - they are notorious for messing with sleep patterns. It’s especially helpful to watch the sugar as it impacts the efficiency of your immune system and now more than ever we want our immune systems to be tip top!
Skip that next episode of whatever show has you hooked at the moment. It will be there tomorrow. I promise.
Next, don’t forget to add in some movement. If you can get outside (preferably with a mask) then do it. Making an effort to move can help increase feelings of positivity as well as help our bodies stay healthy. There’s never been a better time to try doing online exercise classes at home. If you’re at a loss, may I recommend checking out Dance Church? It’s a class that was started here in Seattle by a dance teacher and has now expanded to several other cities. Since the pandemic they have started a livestream twice a week and it’s been a game changer for me. It’s donation based and it’s one of those things that you literally can’t mess up - which is just one of the many reasons I love it.
And finally, for the love of all that is holy, be kind to yourselves. Some days you may not feel like doing anything and that’s OK too. At some point in the hopefully not too distant future this extreme social distancing will be over. There will be some new normals - both culturally and personally but remember that we are more resilient and adaptable then we think we are sometimes so keep showing up for yourself, one day or even one hour at a time. We will all get through this together.
xo
Lisa
