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?

I'm feeling a bit low today. Been a hectic week at work. The weather has gone a bit rubbish.

I made chicken nuggets with vegetables for tea. You tea sounds healthy. I haven't heard of brown rice pasta. I know what you mean about trying to figure out what is healthy, especially when the information online is so contradicting.

Hey @Lokikitty must be something in the air, I feel low this evening too 😔

Hope you enjoyed your tea, sounds like good comfort food! I had left over roasted veggies with some tortilla chips, bit random but didn't really have the energy for much.

I would love to join this thread please! Sounds like great ideas. May MH has taken a major dive this year and my weight is the heaviest it’s been! I also love gardening; but not great at it!

That sounds good Rainbow. I like tortilla chips with hummus. Sorry you're feeling low too 💐

Hi OverTheRainbow , sorry to hear that you've been struggling with your mental health. I'm the same with gardening. I love it but I'm not great at it. It's rewarding when things do grow well and it's a very good work out.

Oh yay, another rainbow! @OverTheRainbow88 🤗

I'm also very much the amateur at gardening, my new aim is to grow more herbs. I've got a few - rosemary, thyme, mint and chives but I'd like to try some more. They seem like a quick win when it comes to adding flavour to food and feeling like you're having something fresh from the garden.

Hope you have a better day @Lokikitty, it's nearly the weekend!

I brought The Fast 800 recipe book from a charity shop today. It has some good healthy recipes in it. It was only a pound. The ebook would have cost me £5.

I made mackerel fishcakes for tea. I get mackerel every week now. It's cheaper than salmon and my DD loves it. I made scrambled eggs with tomato and cheese for breakfast and treated myself to a takeaway for lunch. Also treated myself to cheesecake and aussie crunch 😋. Saturday is now my treat day 🙂

Hi...I’m both a stressed mum and a garden designer 😁 I DO recommend garden therapy....it’s my escape every day, I love it. Here are some quick ‘wins’ for culinary and arty garden therapy.
Tomatoes in large planters - as long as frost free go ahead now. Tumbler are my fave.
Runner beans on a wigwam
Cut and re grow type salad leaves
Kale....v easy and amazing for so many dishes, v easy to grow.
A herb garden ...fresh mint tea is 👌
Courgettes ...very prolific but space hungry.

Last week I did a little project of a sempervivum spilling bucket but I do adore any little arty projects that ultimately please the eye. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed your treat day @Lokikitty you've got me inspired to have another go with fish, I'm breaking myself in gently with some m and s salmon in soy and ginger. What do you have with mackerel? I grew up by the seaside but never got into fish 🙈

Great tips @Lotusmonster, with herbs would you attempt to grow from seed if you're not experienced? I'm definitely going to give tomatoes a go ☺️

My dd loved the aussie crunch that I made but I didn't really enjoy any of the sweet stuff that I had. I guess my taste has changed.

I have mackerel with potato wedges or make fishcakes with it.

I've made some chocolate beetroot brownies

They're not as nice as normal brownies but still yummy 😋

@Lokikitty I just looked up aussie crunch! I remember what it is now! My nan used to make that and I never knew what it was called, it's yummy 😋

Love the sound of the beetroot brownies, I haven't done any baking for a while and I do have a sweet tooth.

We had steak and roasted vegetables tonight with creamed spinach.

I've had some better moments today but feel a bit done in now. All this change is quite exhausting.

I know what you mean Rainbow. I feel like healthy eating and exercise have taken over my life and not in a good way at the moment. I've been tempted to take a break from it but I know I won't get back on track.

I made chicken goujons with broccoli and sweetcorn for lunch. Then crashed for a few hours and made poached eggs with spinach and mushrooms for tea. Managed to do a long walk in the rain this morning. It was only light rain and not constant, so it was okay.

How are you doing @Lokikitty? I've just noticed that it's about 4 weeks since this thread started so thanks for sticking with me. I do feel healthier for eating better.

I know what you mean about it taking over though, it can be all consuming so let's be kind to ourselves. Slow and gradual change is more sustainable. We have to be able to still enjoy food too!

I made a really nice lunch with a salad of broad beans, feta and roasted peppers. Dinner didn't come off so well and I suspect I'll be peckish soon 😏

What happened to dinner Rainbow? I love roasted peppers. Simple but tasty.

I'm doing okay today. I walked for 1.5 hours after work. I made a falafel wrap for tea. Just some I got from Tesco. Still haven't tried making them. I take salad to work for my lunch but getting a bit bored of it. I need some healthy lunch recipes.

@Lokikitty dinner wasn't a disaster, I just tried to make a salad with raw carrot and beetroot and it was a bit basic!

I'm so impressed by the amount of walking you do! Do you live in the countryside?

I don't work at the moment but when I did I used to buy my lunch most days. Salads can get boring, can you take leftovers to reheat where you work? I did a load of roasted veg at lunchtime covered in passata, I guess it's basically ratatouille 🤔 but I think it'd be a great filling for all sorts of things.

Rainbow, I wish I lived in the countryside. I do have a field near me though. It isn't scenic but it is very quiet with fishes, ducks, sheep and horses.

I have tried taking leftovers to work but find things like salmon and stir fry don't taste very nice the day after.

I know what you mean Loki, there's a few meals like bolognese that sometimes taste better the next day but stir fries etc not so much.

Did you try any recipes from your charity shop recipe book? I've taken to going through recipe books if I feel a bit anxious at night and putting post it's on the ones I like the look of. I doubt I'll make them all but it's quite a nice exercise!

That sounds like something I would do Rainbow. The chocolate beetroot brownies were from the book. I also tried poached eggs with spinach and mushrooms. It was a nice light meal.

They both sound really nice! Was there much sugar in the beetroot brownies? I've got some beetroot to use up 🤔

I made a potato salad earlier with new potatoes, beetroot, cucumber and gherkins. I've got the remainder in the fridge for tomorrow.

I like the sound of your poached egg with mushrooms and spinach and I'm not a big egg fan. Maybe it's time to try them again.

I didn't put any sugar in the beetroot brownies. Just used dates instead.

Hope you're having a good weekend @Lokikitty

My beetroot is still in the fridge, didn't get round to doing anything with it. Did make banana pancakes for breakfast though. I saw a nutritionist last year and it's one of the recipes she recommended to me. Like having cake for breakfast!

Hope you're having a good weekend too. I work full time, so weekends can feel a bit hectic, trying to get all the chores done.

Do you not like beetroot on its own? I like making banana pancakes. How much did you pay to see the nutritionist?

I can imagine @Lokikitty I hope you managed to get some time for yourself this weekend.

I don't think I've ever tried beetroot on its own. Always had it pickled or in something else, never just by itself. I'll try it!

I can't remember exactly what I paid to see the nutritionist, it wasn't cheap (about £125 I think) but it felt worthwhile at the time. I got a 4 week meal plan and she recommended loads of recipes which I still refer back to now. With hindsight I think it was a bit limited because she didn't do any diagnostic testing. It got me motivated though and I lost a bit of weight which I've since regained 😬

I think I finally stopped a couple of hours ago. I watched Hoarders. I find it fascinating.

I've done lots of cooking today. Breakfast was pancakes with banana and dark choc. Made chicken skewers and croquettes for lunch and chicken pasta bake for tea.

Wow, you paid a lot for a nutritionist. I think everyone has gained some weight over lockdown. Even my cat is chonky!

It was a lot to see a nutritionist and yet I feel like its such a key part of any conversation about mental health. I hope the NHS are waking up to it.

I had banana pancakes again too yesterday! I like the sound of the chicken skewers and potato croquettes 😋 I had a go at making a tomato sauce today that had carrots in it in the hope of getting my 6 yr old to eat more veggies but she turned her nose up at it 😂

I'll look out for hoarders next time I want to chill out a bit 👍🏻