Winter can bring bad eating habits which can affect how we feel, junk food although quick and momenteraly filling it won't make us feel good or beat the winter blues. Restaurants are increasingly making the connection between food and how it impacts the way we feel. When you go to a resteraunt you eat not to suit your mood, but to change it. So why not bring the experience home? With the right ingredients recipes and kitchen devices, it is easy to Experience Fresh eating every day. Here are some tips from Tess Ward on how to enhance your mood with food:
Enhance Your Mood from the Inside wih Out Tess Ward
- It's not just the ingredients in the food that can help boost your mood, but its appearance can help uplift you too. By eating a wide range of colour and steering away from a beige plate, you are keeping your food delicious and interesting making the meal more enjoyable.
- The winter months are ideal for warming curries and soups, however to make sure they really hit the spot, ground down Brazil Nuts into a paste and add them to the dish. Brazil Nuts are full of high levels of mood-boosting mineral selenium.
- Swap that bacon sandwich for grilled mackerels or sardines on toast - still enjoying a warm comforting treat, this oily fish is packed high with Omega 3 fatty acids which helps the brain to interpret moods and boosts concentration levels.
- Add fresh avocado to your eggs, they're bursting with vitamin B which is proven to relieve stress and boasts mood-lifting tryptophan. Combined with eggs, a great source of zinc which will make you feel more alert and energised - this dish is the perfect down-day remedy.
- Limit your intake of coffee and strong black tea as it can over work your adrenal glands. Try instead a calming herbal tea, or a spiced cup of chai as an alternative. I have a wonderful recipe for it in my cookbook.
- When we are feeling low, many of us will reach for sugary foods as a comforter. This will create a sugar high quickly followed by a steep dip which lowers the mood. Swap the tub of ice cream for a delicious home-made frozen yoghurt or sorbet. I use the Panasonic Slow Juicer MJ-L500 as the slow juicing method ensures that the nutrients of the fruit are retained.
- In the winter the days feel longer and it becomes more of a chore to cook delicious home-made meals in the week. Take the time when you can to prep food ahead. This will make planning meals easier, getting food on the table faster and you are more likely to intake your 5 a day!
- Thick Greek yoghurt is delicious as well as versatile, aside from eating it with fruit or swirledinto soup, I often have a serving as a mid-afternoon snack with toasted almonds. It's high in protein and had a moderate amount of fats, which keep me going until dinner
Tess Ward has partnered with Panasonic to demonstrate how with the innovative Small Kitchen Appliance range and the right recipes, you can Experience Fresh eating every day. For more information please visit: www.panasonic.com/uk/