According to BNF research maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle can help support good physical and mental health.
Sara Stanner, science director at BNF, said: “Lockdown 3.0 is upon us, with many people reverting to juggling home-schooling with working, whilst having to organise all meals and snacks for the family.
“In the current circumstances, it may be difficult to have the time and energy to think about cooking healthy meals and shopping for a variety of ingredients, so here are our top tips to make eating well a little easier.”
Be kind to yourself
A balanced diet can help us feel good and provide our bodies with all the nutrients we need for good health, but it doesn't have to mean cooking everything from scratch or cutting out all of your favourite foods.
Think about what you can add to your diet in terms of having a variety of foods and drinks from the main food groups, rather than worrying too much about what you should remove.
Plan ahead
You don't have to stick to a complicated menu plan, but noting down ideas for meals for the next day or two will help you organise what you need, without the stress of always having to think of what to have each mealtime.
If you are at home as a family, why not get everyone involved in deciding what you would like to eat?
Keep a regular meal pattern
With schools closed and everyone being told to work from home where possible, many of us have found that our normal routines have been disrupted.
Keeping up regular mealtimes may help to add some normality and encourage you to eat balanced meals instead of grazing on whatever you have in the cupboards.
Snack well
Looking for something quick and nutritious? Our healthy snack suggestions include: peanut butter on crackers, rice cakes with cheese, low fat yogurt, unsalted nuts, fruit or some vegetable sticks, which you could have pre-chopped in the fridge.
Keep hydrated
All non-alcoholic drinks, including tea and coffee, can help keep you hydrated. Water is, as always, a great choice and try to limit sugary drinks.
Take a vitamin D supplement
In the UK it is recommended that all adults take a 10-microgram supplement of vitamin D per day between October and early March.
This is a simple thing you can do to support your health, contributing to healthy muscles and bones as well as supporting the immune system.
Sleep well and stay active
It's not only a healthy diet that's important - keeping active, sleeping well and taking some time out for yourself are all important for helping us to cope in these difficult times.