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Health Professional Shares Tips For Healthy Eating During The Pandemic Holiday Season

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Quarantines and staying home may have led to unhealthy eating patterns this year. Here is advice from health professional on adjustments people could consider during the December holidays.

“Many people are experiencing something called COVID cooking fatigue. In the beginning of the pandemic it was kind of fun to be cooking at home, and as the pandemic has gone on and on people are getting a little bit tired of cooking every dinner every day 7 days a week," said Dr. Joan Salge Blake

Blake is the nutrition professor at Boston University and said people are turning to quicker and more unhealthy foods during the pandemic. 

Blake said weight gain and unhealthy eating choices can be frustrating to overcome during the pandemic, but there are still easy options. 

“The good news is that frozen meals over the years really have had a healthy makeover,  they’re adding more fiber, more vegetables to them," she said.

Blake said it is a good idea to look at healthy frozen food meals when needing something quick and easy. She also said the holidays this year are a good time to cut back on making a lot of sweets. 

“You don’t need to be making a lot of deserts as you might have had in previous holiday seasons," she said. "So this is a good time to ratchet down what you’re going to be making and what you’re going to be eating and start focusing on some healthy ways to celebrate.”

According to a report conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Nutrisystem, 76% of respondents gained weight due to the pandemic, Blake said this can be combated by finding healthy alternatives that are still filling.