Now that Autumn is well and truly here! The days are shorter, it’s darker much quicker and yes of course you’re hunting round for your coat as its colder!
You may be feeling a little down as a result of all of these changes..

But it’s not only the change in season, or the weather that can bring us down. what we eat can have a huge effect of our mood!

Sugary foods especially that cereal in the morning! – its a no from me and many other nutritionists alike. You might feel good for an hour or two then you’ll hit that slump! Many processed foods with few nutritional benefits can leave you feeling flat and listless.

So what should we eat??  Mood Food!

Living Retreats have tried and tested our retreat food choices and have found that serving seasonal vegetables grown in our very own veg patch really can lift the whole day.

Seasonal foods are great to go for as they are fresh, readily available, these colourful guys are also ram packed with antioxidants that will provide protection against nasty colds and give you that lift that is needed right now.

We choose:
Eggs – full of protein, will keep blood sugar levels stable
Filling up on protein like eggs in the morning, is a great way to help stop making bad food choices. You really will feel fuller for longer.

Brightly coloured seasonal Vegetables–

Kale – fresh, green or now even purple! tastes great raw in a salad, in a juice and steamed. Packed with antioxidants.

Beetroot – Roasted, raw in a juice or shredded into a salad and even pickled in a chutney. Rich in iron and famous for reducing blood pressure on account of the betaine levels.

Blueberries, apples, tomatoes – We have an abundance of apples right now. We add them to salads, bake them, store them for use in delicious crumbles later when the fresh ones have gone. We’ve even left some on the trees for the birds. So antioxidants all round!

Almonds and Walnuts
Great source of good fats and magnesium. A great snack that helps with a good night sleep. Now that will leave anyone waking up in a good mood.

Chocolate
Believe it or not Chocolate is packed with antioxidants and of course it’s the go-to ‘feel better’ food. If you want a choc hit go for the best – Raw Cacao – it will give you the lift that normal chocolate can’t touch and without the empty calories of sugar!

Have a good mood food day!