COVID-19 continues to ravage the world and threatening the health of many people. This “new normal” has forced us to examine ourselves under a little more scrutiny. The city-wide lockdown the forced people to stay away from other people made us value our friends and family who continue to support us albeit virtually.
Being stuck at home made us realize the many ways we can continue to entertain ourselves and stay active without going out. And last, the pandemic made us a little more health-conscious. People who have never been inside a gym or run in their life are now doing home workouts to boost their immunity.
A growing and passionate group is focused on food, cooking meals from scratch, experimenting with recipes, and just enjoying their food and internalizing how it factors into this new normal where people are social distancing and wearing masks around.
This last part made me think long and hard about food. I get my meals from home and outside. I’m not a talented cook but I do try and I enjoy making simple breakfast meals. Lunch and dinner are meals I usually take outside at restaurants or fast-food. At least, that’s what I did pre-pandemic. It’s safe to say that’s changed.
Now that people are encouraged to stay home as much as possible, there is a greater emphasis on eating home-cooked meals. Not only is it a great way to learn a new skill or expand on a hobby, home-cooked is a lot more affordable than eating out, you also enjoy food more when you prepared it yourself.
The increased focus on food also made people think about what they are eating. Because they have more control over how food is prepared, people are a little more conscious of the ingredients they use. There is more effort put into choosing fresh ingredients rather than canned or frozen ones. Also, people are actively trying to increase their fruit and vegetable intake not just to put more variety on the table but to help boost their immunity during this health crisis.
These changes towards food are not only exclusive in the home. Restaurants are also modifying how they prepare and serve their menu items. There is a strict protocol in food handling and all restaurants are expected to adhere to this, even places to eat seafood meals. But with the coronavirus threatening the health of other people, added measures are put in place to ensure the food served is safe and uncontaminated as much as possible.
Tables at restaurants are sanitized after every occupant and there are restrictions on the number of people who can dine in. Some people opt to order instead of dining out fearing they might get infected. Food delivery services saw a dramatic spike in business now that so many people are unable or refusing to leave their houses.
It’s expected these drastic changes will continue to be the norm until a viable solution for this virus is released. And although it’s put a lot of stress on people, the situation is not hopeless and alas, not permanent.
