Boost your Mood with Food this Christmas and New Year?
In a nutshell the scientific facts are:
- Tyrosine an amino acid that helps the neurotransmitters in the brain, producing happy hormones, dopamine and others, nore pin ephrine and ep in ephrine.
- Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, a mood stabilizer (5HT).
- Iron from animals, plant based foods, dairy and eggs.
- Vitamin B1 helps ease symptoms faster whilst stabilizing your mood.
- Vitamin B6 is necessary for creating neurotransmitters that regulate emotions including serotonin, dopamine and gabba (which produces a calming effect).
- Vitamin B12 needed for the production of serotonin.
- Mineral Magnesium relaxes muscles and helps relieve anxiety.
- Probiotics & Pre biotics as they work in unison to improve gut health, scientifically linked to improved mood.
- Omega 3 Fatty acid’s easily travel through the brain cell membranes enhancing activity with the mood related molecules inside the brain. They are promising, although some more research is needed here.
For an epic time, reduce stress, prep items in advance, ask guests for food intolerances and allergies straight up.
Make the seaweed pesto, veggie terrine, dressings, chocolate sauce. golden milk ice cream, meringue a few days before for a healthy, happy New year’s day feast with mood boosting food!
The dishes are refined sugar free, gluten free and dairy free; the protein and meringue, serve on the side to meet vegetarian and vegan needs, make dietary requirements a breeze by covering all basis!
Serve banquet style, guests will help themselves that’s one less job for you, your tribe can chose as little or as much as they like.
Easy banquet style mood boosting food menu
BANQUET STYLE
MAIN FARE
Free range turkey
Vegetable terrine of white bean puree, chai seeds, baby spinach, roast capsicum, miso & tahini dressing, avocado, micro greens.
Five spice crispy skin salmon with roe
seaweed pesto, wilted kale, nasturtium leaf salad, pomegranate seeds & coconut kefir.
(download my free e book @ http://casstronomy.info for the seaweed pesto recipe)
DESSERT
Golden milk Icecream with dairy free chocolate sauce and blueberries
Refined sugar free almond meringues
Click on the dessert suggestions above for the recipes.
delicious served with banana, coconut & vanilla whip
Here are Healthy, Happy Mood foods, you can design your own dishes with what you have available in your local area.
Healthy Carbohydrates
Quinoa studies show, around 50 percent of dietary requests are Gluten free these days, Quinoa Is a wheat free grain, high in protein so is a good choice of carbohydrate.
Buckwheat a vegetable root so a good alternative, it contains tryptophan which is converted to serotonin in the body.
Brown rice high in vitamin b and Oats dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, excellent slow-release carbohydrates keeping your sugar levels balanced. They help the body release serotonin
Fruit and vegetables
An Apple a day hey! Psychology experts found a diet high in fruit and vegetables improved mood.
Bananas vitamin b6 can help if the body is inadequate to help produce serotonin and prebiotic fibre with probiotics helps gut health .
Blue berries are known to stimulate neurogenesis the growth and development of nervous tissue which helps the brain avoid depression.
Coconut is full of energy boosting fats, these fats have been linked to stress relief and boost serotonin levels.
Dried prunes and raisins have good plant-based iron content which can ease depressive symptoms in women.
Orange and Yellow Fruit and Vegetables with high levels of carotenoids (750 naturally occurring pigments in plants), a study found that people who consumed high levels are more optimistic about the future.
Capsicum more vitamin C than an orange, If Vitamin C in the body is high, research has found the body calms down faster.
Mushrooms contain Vitamin D so if you’re not getting enough of this help is here, you pop the mushy in the sun and they can capture vitamin D amazing little fungi (fun guy haha!)
Sea Algae’s rock! A group of plant like micro-organisms that live and thrive in the sea
Spirulina and Chlorella are rich in nutrients, white blood cell activity may help stabilize mood there is still research going on here, alternately they are mega packed with other magnificent benefits.
Sea Vegetables are next in line, the most nutritious plants in the vegetable kingdom
Kelp, Dulse, Nori, Wakame, Hijiki, sea grapes, sea lettuce packed with omega 3’s.
Dark green veggies are your happy helpers too
Baby spinach with magnesium, low magnesium levels are linked to a higher risk of depression.
Broccoli B6 is required by the body produce serotonin including folate 100gm 1/3 of daily requirements strongly linked to ward of depression)
Kale packed with protein which is linked to higher levels of dopamine and norepinephrine and vitamin b.
Avocado’s has depression smashing tryptophan which changes into serotonin, the happy hormone, research suggests omega 3 fatty acids create a protein that is linked to lessening depression due to releasing dopamine which is found in many antidepressants.
Micro greens specifically sunflower sprouts they are loaded with magnesium.
Beans and legumes including peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, borlotti, cannellini beans, soy beans & lentils.
Vegetable-based proteins with fibre to help regulate healthy blood sugar levels that can improve mood.
Animal proteins
Grass fed lean beef, seafood, grass fed yoghurt rich in b12
Salmon, sardines, mackerel, clams and anchovies Vitamin D, research has shown woman who suffer from depression, suffer greater levels if they have a lack vitamin D and Omega 3’s.
Choose Free range Turkey, pork, dairy, chicken or eggs for serotonin as farmed meats have slowly dropped in levels of tryptophan over the past century
If tryptophan, is consumed regularly, studies show it can assist lessening the risk of depression by 50 percent.
Chicken, turkey and fish contain tyrosine along with other foods some studies show that some subjects showed an immediate improvement in mood.
Olives/Olive Oil
High in omega 3’s and the Mediterranean diet and way of life has a 30 percent decrease in depression which olives and oils are a major feature.
Nuts/ Seeds
Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds for magnesium, Chai are little legends too.
Fermented foods
Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Kefir, Kefir water, Rejuvalac fermented grain water, lacto fermented food, peaso, miso. The possibilities are endless.
Get wild in the kitchen with homemade wild strains , they are more beneficial than commercial varieties.
“Add some rosella for a splash of New year cheer.”
Great for healthy gut health and improving microbiome.
Just 3 days of changed eating habits can improve microbiome and gut health
If you start NOW
A change in your mood should be evident within 7 to 10 days after you improve your diet.
And Yes, champagne and chocolate are stimulants and do increase endorphins. 1 glass of bubbles or 40 grams or dark chocolate is the daily limit.
SO, here’s cheers to you .
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Be the best you can be with Casstronomy.
