Healthy eating/gardening/anxiety

[rainbowninja]

Is anyone interested in joining a thread about the impact of healthy eating on their mental health?

I've suffered from anxiety for years but it's been a lot worse since I became a mum.

With lockdown in the mix I just feel physically and emotionally depleted.

I've had some tests done and I know that I am low in certain vitamins etc. I've been recommended supplements to take and to 'eat the rainbow' (basically eat shed loads of veg). I want to give it a go for my own sake and my daughter because I know I'm not being the best mum to her. I'm anxious and irritable.

It feels quite overwhelming but I am quite interested in learning about nutrition, I also quite like the idea of having a go at growing some of my own veg as I've been enjoying being outside lately and I know it helps me.

I don't want to do it on my own though so I wondered if there were any other anxious mumsnetters out there that would be interested in learning/growing with me. No pressure to change anything overnight, maybe we could just cheer each other on for drinking an extra glass of water or something?

It is helping! You sound like you do a lot of cooking from scratch which is brilliant. I'll have to look up arrowroot flour, haven't come across it before.

I had quinoa with vegetables and leftover chicken for lunch, it was a bit bland. I'm going to try quinoa with feta next time 🤔

I do cook a lot from scratch. It's the only way to avoid added sugars and other unhealthy ingredients. I enjoy cooking. I find it relaxing.

Your lunch sounds healthy. I haven't tried quinoa.

That's great if you actually enjoy cooking @Lokikitty I quite enjoy it but my results are sometimes pretty average, I'm way too cautious with seasoning! Thinking of possibly doing a cookery course.

@MissKeithsNeice @Squidelicious @Gingerbeerfear how are you all doing?

I'm trying a lot of new healthy recipes. So it is trail and error at the moment. A cookery course sounds like a good idea.

Well I had some big potatoes that had gone a bit sprouty so I chopped off the sprouts and baked them. Baked potatoes yesterday and lovely frittata today - fried one up with a shallot some tomatoes and left over sweet corn and poured over the whisked egg and parsley. I’ve got a thing for cheese especially saint agur at the moment so cubed up a bit if that as ‘seasoning’. Treated myself to Bryony Gordon’s new book which is so far so good. I was so tired after work but hauled myself out for a long walk which was nice. Hope everyone is doing well

Your frittata sounds lovely Ginger. I have also been dragging myself out for walks after work. I treated myself to sausages and mash. Not very healthy but I did add sweetcorn and had mash without butter for the first time ever.

@Gingerbeerfear I love that kind of cooking. I did pasta tonight (I had rice pasta, dh had normal spaghetti) and made a tomato sauce with leftover roast chicken.

I really liked what you said in your original message about healthy eating not having to be expensive. In fact I think 'healthy eating' is primarily just cooking your own fresh food.

So to fly in the face of my last message, I'm currently having a bean burger and sweet potato fries from the freezer 😂

Trouble with all this healthy cooking is that the kitchen now looks like a bomb site and I've run out of ideas and options quite frankly until my online shop arrives tomorrow. I have at least managed to rustle up a little bit of salad to go with it!

Tell me about it Rainbow! I seem to be cleaning constantly. I'm so messy when I cook, especially if I'm using flour. And there's so much washing up.

I've just made some sugar free flapjacks using dates. They have turned out lovely 😋

Oh well done @Lokikitty! Did you use a recipe or make it up?

I'm planning to try Jamie Oliver's chocolate beetroot cake tomorrow 😋

I used a recipe. I just swapped dried apple for pecans. Hope you enjoy making your chocolate beetroot cake.

Thanks @Lokikitty it's in the oven, fingers crossed! I went for the Jamie Oliver recipe because he uses ground almonds although there is still a quantity of sugar in there so will enjoy sparingly!

Hope the weathers nice where you are! The suns shining here and it definitely makes a difference to my mood!

It's been lovely and sunny today. It makes me feel a lot better too. I did a long walk this afternoon. I made a veggie omelette for breakfast and salmon and rice for lunch.

@Lokikitty you are inspiring me to have a go at salmon again, I've never liked fish but I've seen a few recipes recently that appealed 🤔

Most of my meals at the moment seem to involve sourdough bread! Had it for breakfast with chocolate sesame seed spread and a banana. Then for lunch more sourdough with salad and feta cheese. Better think of something different for dinner 😂

Hi Rainbow, I haven't tried sourdough. You sound quite adventurous with your food. What did you decide to have for dinner?
I have just made a spinach omelette.

@Lokikitty I tend to think of myself as quite a picky eater - I've never liked fish or eggs for some reason although I'm now understanding that I could be missing out on certain nutrients so I think it's great that you include both of those in your diet 👍🏻

I'm a bit obsessed with sourdough since I discovered it's a healthier way to get my carbohydrate fix 😊 it's wholegrain so it I think it's a slower release of energy and causes less of a blood sugar spike.

I got a new book today called 'eat to beat depression and anxiety', will let you know if it's any good!

Hope the spinach omelette was nice? We had sausages with roast potatoes, red onion and asparagus.

You don't sound like a picky eater Rainbow. I had a quick look at that book. It looks interesting.

I've had a McDonald's burger for tea. They got my order wrong and as they were about to close, there wasn't any point in complaining. Also got offered free fries!

I was really impressed last night because I didn't have any period pain for the first time ever. I'm certain that this is down to my new healthy diet.

Ooh I'm jealous, haven't had a McDonald's in ages! I don't think I'd be able to say no to free fries 😋

Hoping the book will continue to fuel my motivation on the healthy eating front, I keep hearing all this stuff about the gut brain connection and I want to understand it for myself.

That's great about the period pain. I normally get quite bad PMT and it didn't
effect me so badly this time so maybe that is down to the diet too! Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

I made falafel wraps with spinach, carrot and cheese for tea. I'm trying to eat less meat but struggle to find vegetarian meals that I like. I'm hoping to try more healthy baking this weekend.

That sounds really nice! Haven't had falafels in ages, did you make them yourself?

I didn't have any dinner, just couldn't face more cooking and felt quite anxious. I've ended up snacking on cashews and 'off the eaten path' pea and bean snacks which I'm a bit addicted to

I didn't make the falafels. I'm going to try making them next time. They seem pretty straightforward.

Sorry you felt anxious. At least you had some healthy snacks. Hope you're having a better day today.

I haven't done any cooking today. I didn't feel great because I haven't slept well for a few days. I treated myself to chicken and salad from Nando's. I had cheese on toast for tea.

Thanks @Lokikitty! Sorry to hear you haven't been sleeping well, everything just feels harder when you're tired. We occasionally get a Nando's too, feels like a treat and less effort but without totally throwing out the healthy eating.

I did manage to eat something last night as DH cooked a steak and we had it with new potatoes. He's making pizza tonight which is great but it's not really fitting in with me wanting to eat less carbs, better have some salad on the side.

Hope you enjoyed your pizza Rainbow. I had a healthy picnic for tea. I made a salad and banana milkshake and had berries with natural yogurt. I made chocolate shortbread for my sister's birthday. I couldn't resist having one 😋

How are you doing @Lokikitty? The picnic sounds so nice, makes me wish they weren't forecasting rain for the foreseeable future 🙈

I feel like my mood has lifted a little bit since I've been trying to eat better. I used a recipe from the Bosh cookbook tonight. It was roasted vegetables with pasta and I had it with brown rice pasta. I think that's better for you than normal pasta although sometimes I feel like I'm clutching at straws with this stuff and I don't really know what's healthy and what's not 😩 I know wholegrain is supposed to be better 🤔