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Paleo Granola

This is a healthy, protein-rich breakfast, perfect for pairing with summer fruits and whole Greek or coconut yoghurt. Perfect for the warmer weather!

Makes approximately 12 servings

Ingredients:

140g almonds

125g cashews

35g pumpkin seeds

35g sunflower seeds

35g unsweetened coconut flakes 

40g coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius.
• Place the almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and coconut flakes in a blender and pulse a few times to break into small chunks.
• Place the coconut oil, sea salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat and allow to melt and mix together.
• Stir to combine, and then add the nut mixture, stirring until everything is fully coated.
• Spread the granola mixture evenly onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and cook for about 20-25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt while still warm, pressing the mixture together to form a flat, tight surface.
• Allow to cool for 25-30 minutes or until fully hardened, and then break into chunks. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
• Enjoy!

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Mood

Exercise – Exercise plays a big part in beating the blues

A number of studies, in which people exercised for 30 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week, found a drop of around 5 points in their Hamilton Rating Depression Scale – more than double what you’d expect from anti-depressants alone.

If you are feeling down and de-motivated, it’s not easy to get started on exercise: but the benefits are worth it.

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain and raises levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. Higher serotonin levels make us feel good. Dopamine helps create a sense of motivation. Natural light also stimulates serotonin.

Exercise helps you to sleep, because it can “burn off” excess adrenalin. It helps to balance blood sugar and lose weight and that, in turn, improves your mood and motivation.  When you get started, aim for 20 minutes of exercise five days a week, preferably outdoors. If you are significantly overweight, this could be brisk walking – 30 minutes a day would be better.

Find something you like doing, preferably in a pleasant area, and with other people. It’s great to have an exercise buddy. Exercise then becomes another means of focusing attention away from yourself and your preoccupations, and of spending enjoyable time with others. An exercise buddy also adds accountability. You are more likely to show up.

Following the low-GL mood boosting diet, and maybe taking the right supplements, will improve energy levels enough to give it a go.

Sleep – Mood and Sleep have a lot in common

Lack of sleep has a big effect on how you feel, and finding out how to sleep through the night and wake up refreshed could be the missing piece in getting you to feel a whole lot better.

The amino acid tryptophan is not only the raw material for serotonin but also for melatonin, a brain chemical that helps you sleep by controlling the sleep/wake cycle. It’s the brain’s neurotransmitter, which keeps you in sync with the earth’s day/night cycle. Jet lag, for example, happens when the brain’s chemistry takes time to catch up with a sudden time zone shift.

As you start to wind down in the evening, serotonin levels rise, and cortisol levels fall. As it gets darker melatonin kicks in.

But what can you do to improve your quantity and quality of sleep?

Provide more of the building blocks that make serotonin – tryptophan, an amino acid present in most protein-rich foods like chicken, cheese, tuna, tofu, eggs, nuts, seeds, and milk.

The conversion from tryptophan to serotonin requires folic acid, B6, vitamin C and zinc. These can be found in beef, broccoli, cashews, chicken, chickpeas, cauliflower, peppers, kale, kiwi, lamb, oranges,

parsley, pumpkin seeds, pineapple, salmon, spinach, turkey, and tuna.

SLEEP ACTION PLAN

• Try to go to bed at the same time every day, your body thrives on routine.
• Keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortable; not too hot, nor too cold.
• Use your bed only for sleep and sex. This may help you switch off.
• Keep the bedroom completely dark, so you’re not disturbed by light, which your brain detects even when your eyes are closed. Eye masks can be useful.
• Spend time outdoors to soak up the sun.
• Take some gentle exercise every day. There is evidence that regular exercise improves restful sleep. This includes stretching and aerobic exercise. A brisk walk ticks both boxes.
• Make an effort to relax for at least 5 minutes before going to bed - a warmbath, massage, meditation.
• Keep your feet and hands warm. Wear warm socks and/or mittens or gloves to bed.
• Consider getting a traditional alarm clock so your smart phone can stay outof the bedroom. Better still, work out how much sleep you need by going to bed 15 minutes earlier until you find that you wake up naturally before your alarm. That’s your personal sleep requirement.

Salmon Summer Salad

Salmon is excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids, which research shows can help to alleviate symptoms of low mood. This is a delicious recipe perfect for Spring.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets 

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 x chicory heart - red is nice 

10g parsley 

juice of 1/2 lemon 

1 tbsp capers 

1/2 avocado 1

00g cherry tomatoes 

20g red onion 

50g rocket celery leaves

Method

• Dressing - blitz the parsley, lemon, capers and 2 tbsp of the oil. 
• Prepare and arrange salad on 2 plates - rocket, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, celery leaves. Dress the salad. 
• Fry the chicory in frying pan until softened and add to salad. 
• Sear the salmon in a hot pan. Serve the salmon on the dressed salad.
• Enjoy!

Good Mood Foods

How we nourish our bodies has a profound effect on our mood. Here are my top foods to include… and what to avoid.

IN

• Eat 3 meals a day - only snack if needed.
• Eat sufficient protein to give you an optimum supply of essential amino acids.
• Have some form of protein with every meal and snack.
• Eat whole, unadulterated food, high in soluble fibre (beans, lentils, oats).
• Choose vitamin B foods like nuts, seeds, beans and green leafy vegetables (which also include essential zinc and magnesium), which are good for mental stability.
• Foods containing high amounts of essential omega-3 fats as well as vitamin D are helpful. Include a serving of each these foods every day: fish (like salmon, mackerel, herring, kippers, sardines, tuna), free-range eggs, free-range chicken or turkey.  
• Nuts and seeds (especially flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, almonds) and all beans. 

• All berries, cherries, plums, apples and pears, green vegetables but especially broccoli, asparagus, peas, artichoke, kale, cabbage, watercress, and rocket.

OUT

• Avoid sugar in its many disguises and limit foods containing carbohydrates that break down into sugar fast – bread, rice, pasta, pastries, cakes and cookies.
• Avoid foods high in hydrogenated, processed fats or damaged fats, such as sausages, fried foods and junk food.
• Limit or avoid caffeinated drinks (1 coffee or 2 weak teas a day).
• Limit or avoid alcohol (no more than 3 small glasses of wine, half-pints of beer or measures of spirit a week – and not all on the same night).

Food and Mood

The link between physical health and what you eat is well understood, but did you know that what you eat has a huge impact on your mood and how you feel?

I wonder how we forgot about this connection, because it was common knowledge in times gone by. Way back when (think medieval times), people would eat quince, dates and elderflowers if they were feeling a little blue anduse lettuce and chicory as nature’s tranquilisers.

Modern science has extensively studied the impact of food on mood, and we now understand why food has such a positive (or negative) effect, and which foods we should be eating more (or less) of to support mental health.

Managing anxiety, stress, depression, and other mood disorders is complex, and there’s no one-size-fits all solution. But we know that the right diet and lifestyle plan combined with motivational coaching to help you every step of the way can be an enormous help.

The very edited highlight of the research into what you should eat to balance your energy and improve your mood is to follow a Mediterranean-style diet featuring plenty of whole, natural foods. 

That also means learning to balance your blood sugar levels. Loss of blood sugar balance has a clear link to stress, anxiety, and depression. 50% of low mood is down to blood sugar imbalances. Learning how to become a master of your blood sugar balance is the secret to having more energy, a better mood and controlling your weight – and losing it if you need to. 

Feeling more confident about the way you look is in itself an excellent way to boost feelings of self-worth. In the same way that eating well can positively influence mood, making poor food choices can have the opposite effect. Research by a team at Binghamton, New York, showed that young adults under 30 who ate fast food more than three times a week scored higher when it came to levels of mental distress. The same researchers found that those who ate meat fewer than three times a week had more mental health problems (potentially as the amino acid tryptophan found in meat is the precursor to the feel-good chemical serotonin).

Low mood affects up to 20% of us at any one time, so everyone is likely to experience some form of it at one time or another. Many periods of low mood can be almost eradicated by following some simple steps. Not only because this addresses many of the physical causes of low mood, but also because you are spending your time focusing on a positive action plan and learning new things rather than ruminating about problems.

To find out more about how a nutrition & lifestyle programme can help, why notbook a free call with me. Here’s the link.