To coincide with national Stress Awareness Day which takes place today (7 November), Nutritional Practitioner Amanda Locke from Newmarket has shared the following recipes with The Mind Sanctuary. The breakfast, lunch and dinner suggestions are rich in nutrients that may help to support mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing. Amanda is also supporting The Mind Sanctuary’s Good Mood Food campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the link between diet, mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Breakfast
Eat well in the morning and you will enhance your mood and reinforce your ability to choose healthier foods throughout the rest of the day.
TRY THIS: Scrambled egg with avocado and spinach.
WHY: The omega fatty acids in the avocados are known to help calm inflammation – when we are stressed our body reacts by pumping out inflammatory hormones. This meal will also sustain your hunger due to the protein content from the eggs.
Lunch
Keep your mind fresh so you are able to deal with the afternoon demands and avoid the afternoon ‘slump’ in energy.
TRY THIS: Mixed watercress & rocket salad, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and king prawns.
WHY: The mixed leaves contain vitamin C, B and magnesium which will help regulate energy and support the immune system. Prawns are a source of Zinc, the essential mineral found in every cell in our body. Zinc raises production of the immune systems defensive T-cells which maintain a healthy immune system and speed up healing – being stressed can deplete your zinc stores rather rapidly.
Dinner
The stress hormone cortisol naturally falls to prepare your body for rest at this time of day. To promote sound sleep you should eat a combination of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
TRY THIS: Salmon Fillet with roasted sweet potatoes asparagus and corn on the cob with coconut oil butter.
WHY: The protein in the salmon is essential for growth and immune health & contains an amino acid called Tryptophan which is said to promote sleep. The release of carbohydrates found in sweet potatoes will free up the Tryptophan making it easier to enter the blood brain barrier and manufacture serotonin and melatonin – the sleep promoting neurotransmitters.
