With a Stay-At-Home order in effect for North Carolina, it may come with challenges of fighting boredom, which could lead to more calories from junk food and binge watching shows on the couch.

Meghan Baker, nutrition educator for the Steps to Health program for Sampson County’s Cooperative Extension, is encouraging people to be mindful of their time at home as the nations works to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). One of the important actions is to have regular meal times for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“That can help to avoid snacking all day, even though it’s OK to have snacks,” Baker said. “Setting those meal times helps make it a normalcy. We usually eat lunch and work at school, so to keep that on a routine is best.”

She said families should incorporate essential food groups into each meal. That includes fruits and vegetables for a strong immune system, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy products.

To prepare meals, she encourages parents to get their children involved in cooking as well. With more time indoors, it’s also a good time to try new recipes as well.

For snacks, Baker said homes should have lots of healthy options such as carrots, hummus, apple slices with peanut butter, dried fruits, low-fat cheese sticks, or yogurt. Drinking water between meals was another idea to help provide a feeling of being fuller. A few other additions could include mint leaves or making herbal tea.

“If you’re not to keen on just water, trying infusing it with fruits such as lemons and melons,” she said. “You can even do cucumbers and strawberries in your water.”

Staying active is challenging for many people since an executive order was put in place to close gyms because of COVID-19.

“I think being active is a little more trickier because people have gotten used to going to the gym or going out to parks,” Baker said. “But we are still allowed to go outside and exercise as long as we’re keeping that social distancing.”

Some of those suggestions include taking a walk or watching exercise tutorials online that are family and kid friendly. For children, Baker said scavenger hunts around the home and the yard are becoming popular. Another tip was to spruce up the yard or the garden.

“If you have gardening supplies, that is a great way to get some exercise and have more healthy food options later on,” Baker said.

For this season, Stay-At-Home orders are also a good time to delve more into more spring cleaning.

“Now is a great time to go through your closet, maybe bag up some clothes that you no longer wear and you can donate those at a later time,” she said.

It’s also a good time for people to make a list of tasks they always wanted to do around their home, but they never had time for.

“Make that list,” she said. “When you sit round and you’re bored, thinking about food and wanting to eat, try to cross something off this list. It could be organizing the files on your computer, going trough the pictures on your phone or rearranging the furniture in your room. It’ll keep your mind off of it and still keep you busy and moving around.”

Other suggestions for families included walking pets in close proximity to the home, coloring for children, or showing appreciation to essential workers such as post office employees, nurses and doctors by making signs and placing them outside near the mailbox. With spring underway and trees becoming more greener, the outdoors is a great time for picnics at home.

“Luckily, we are having pretty nice weather right now,” she said.

During the stay-at-home order, Sampson’s Cooperative Extension is working on a survey to place on the website and the Facebook page. It will ask the public about topics they’re interested in regarding COVID-19.

“That will help us serve the community better and we’re hoping to put some more information out there and post things that maybe people are interested in,” she said.

Steps to Health is North Carolina State University’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). The purpose is to provide education programs focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and other health related matters. SNAP-Ed is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service.

For more information about Sampson County Cooperative Extension, visit www.sampson.ces.ncsu.edu. Due to COVID-19, the office will be closed to general public. For assistance, extension agents may be contacted by calling 910-592-7161, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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By Chase Jordan

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Reach Chase Jordan at 910-592-8137. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.