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 okay Rainbow. Just been for a walk. Filled in my second application form, which took 2.5 hours. Needed to get out once I was done!

Your vegan shepherds pie sounds interesting. Was it nice? My dd cooked tonight so I could get on with the form. She made chicken nuggets and chips 😋

Hope the childminder tests negative and you find out soon.

I've been at the same school for 4 years. Worked at lots of different schools before that through my agency.

I got the job Rainbow. I'm so happy and relieved 😊

Oh that's so good @Lokikitty! I'm really pleased for you ❤️

Are you having a celebration dinner?

The vegan shepherds pie was pretty good and I had leftovers today with salad so I've really eeked it out.

My daughters childminder had a negative result so that was good 👍🏻

Thanks Rainbow, I'm really shocked that I got it. The school was absolutely lovely.

That's great about the childminder.

I'm home alone today and tomorrow,so will celebrate with my DD at the weekend.

I love this topic! I read Food and Mood and Optimum Nutrition Handbook about 20 years ago and could probably tell you what most foods are good for, nutritionally, just through what I have read.

The thing that makes the biggest difference to anxiety, food wise, is for me lettuce. Its high in magnesium. I've got into having a whole head of romaine for lunch and I almost feel too relaxed I could fall off my chair! Also porridge oats are a powerhouse for feel good hormones.

The hard part is sticking with it. I have been eating healthy for about a month and feel so clear headed. I have stopped supplements as I was taking vit D and calcium- calcium supplementation seems to give me fatigue, and too much vitamin D also makes me very tired, I don't seem to need it in the summer.

I agree with you Mistyskies, you can feel the massive positive impact healthy eating has on your physical and mental health. Sticking with it is unbelievably hard.

I love that @MistySkiesAfterRain you brought a smile to my face there with your lunchtime head of lettuce!

I agree it is hard going at times and certainly not a quick fix but you do start to notice the difference.

I made broccoli falafel at lunch but shouldn't have bothered, the broccoli was past it! Oh well, onwards and upwards as they say!

One thing that did work well this week was frozen yogurt 'bark', you spread yoghurt out on a sheet of greaseproof paper and then decorate with berries and some blobs of nut butter then freeze over night. Once it's frozen you can break bits off for a healthy snack. I used strawberry coconut yoghurt and it was really nice.

That sounds amazing @rainbowninja. I'm going to try that.

I was hankering after strawberries and meringue and came up with:

Strawberries
No fat thickest ever yoghurt
Yoghurt covered rice cakes broken up in the strawberries and yoghurt-hit the spot!

Strawberries are, counter intuitively, a lower sugar fruit. I love them at this time of year.

I love the sound of the yogurt bark Rainbow. A nice refreshing summer treat. I'm going to try it 😊

That sounds great @MistySkiesAfterRain and didn't know that about strawberries!

Hope the rest of your week went well @Lokikitty!

Good luck with the yoghurt bark!

The rest of the week has been hectic and emotional. A lot has happened over the past few weeks and I think I'm just overwhelmed.

Going camping this weekend. Which was meant to be a relaxing weekend with lots of lovely walks. It's meant to rain all weekend. I'm not sure how I'll cope being cooped up in a tent. Already feeling unwell as I haven't been sleeping well.

Have you any plans for the weekend?

Hi @Lokikitty you've had a lot going on the past few weeks, I hope the rain has held off where you are.

We saw my mother in law today which was nice as we haven't seen her since last summer. She had made bread and everyone else had cheese but I had a chicken salad. My father in law was a bit irritating about my healthy eating, saying there is no such think as food intolerances etc. I ignored him 😂

Hi Rainbow, luckily the rain held off until 9pm. It's raining heavily now and there's thunder and lightning.

There isn't much to do here, so just went for a walk, then to the local pub and got a Chinese takeaway in the evening. Enjoying the peace. Well kind of, as the other campers are cheering loudly at the football 🤣

You sound like you have had a good day. It's annoying when people don't understand food intolerances. Glad you ignored your father in law.

Hi @Lokikitty how was the rest of your camping weekend? Hope you managed to stay dry and that you enjoyed your Chinese takeaway, sounds nice!

I've had a quiet day but caught up on some of my course which was good.

Tried making chickpea flour wraps again and this time sprinkled some za'atar spices on while it was cooking and it was much nicer (first time I've used that spice, kept seeing it in recipes and finally bought some!)

Hi Rainbow, not only did I manage to stay dry all weekend but surprisingly it was really sunny this afternoon. I started the day by feeding the alpacas at the campsite. They were adorable. I got breakfast at a lovely cafe that had a collection of unusual tea pots. Then went for a walk, which ended up longer than planned because it was impossible to get a taxi on the way back.

Ended the day by treating my friend to Sunday lunch at a nearby pub. She gave us a lift to and from the campsite.

Your wraps sound good. I haven't heard of za'atar spices. You're quite adventurous with food.

I'm glad you enjoyed the rest of your trip, it sounds lovely ❤️

I'm still enjoying trying new foods, my taste buds have definitely changed.

I went out for a walk earlier and pushed myself a bit far and ended up feeling quite panicky which was a bit annoying but I keep reminding myself of all the benefits I've had since I started the healthy eating and it's still a general upward trend so just got to stick with it I think.

Well done Rainbow for sticking with it👍 Sorry to hear that you got panicky. It's not easy when you push yourself but definitely worth it.

I'm not sure I have the energy to cook tonight. I'll see how I feel after I've rested for a bit. Work's so draining towards the end of the year.

Not long till the end of term now @Lokikitty!

What did you do for dinner? We had chicken tonight and homemade aloo gobi which made a nice change.

I've had quite bad premenstrual symptoms the last couple of days which I don't think helped my anxiety either yesterday and now got a headache to top it off.

Sorry you're not feeling great Rainbow. I'm counting down the days until the end of term. 13 days left at work.

My dd treated me to pizza and red velvet cake. I haven't had any proper meals today. I had a bad night, got around 4 hours sleep. Not got an appetite. I had a meeting at work which I didn't even see the point of.

Hope we both have a better day tomorrow.

Hi @Lokikitty how's your week going? You sounded a bit fed up, has the sleep improved?

I've bought myself a 'gut healing' journal where you can record what you eat and your mood and other stuff like what day of your period cycle it is and if you do any exercise.

We're having lamb leg steaks tonight and I'm going to do some roasted vegetables.

Hi Rainbow, still a bit fed up but slowly feeling better. I'm still waking up at 3.00AM but at least managed to fall asleep again last night.

I had a counselling session this evening which went really well. It helps when someone understands. I had a healthy snack ( yogurt with berries) and went for a short walk after counselling.

The journal sounds like a great idea. Is it helping? Your tea sounds lovely. I'm looking forward to doing a bbq when I feel a bit better.

Hello everyone

This is going to be a thread I'd like to join. I'll message properly once I've read through all your posts.

Hi @SunshineCake, that's great! Please do join us and let us know how you're getting on.

I'm sorry to hear you're still waking up in the night @Lokikitty, do you feel anxious when you wake? Great that you had a good counselling session.

We're having roast chicken for tea and roasted sweet potato and aubergine.

I tried to read the thread and managed about three posts so it will be a slow process for me .

If you want to grow some veggies I've found the easiest things to grow are runner beans, dwarf French beans and beetroot. Just picked peas are amazing too as are pea shoots - but the pigeons and sparrows love them so they need to be netted, well they do in my garden anyway! Rocket and salad leaves are great to grow. Also very easy to do are herbs - buy some potted herbs from the supermarket really cheap and put them in bigger pots with more compost, I have a load of chives, mint and thyme.