Food & Mood
Everyone is trying to eat healthier. Clean eating, paleo, vegan…there’s thousands of different types of diet. I have gone back and forth with vegan, clean eating and binging. Food is my kryptonite, but more than that; more than my food addiction - I’ve noticed it really affects my mental state.
I mentioned in my last post I struggle with the cooking and cleaning, because of this I have gotten into a terrible habit of ordering food in. Besides the fact I simply can’t afford it, it’s so unhealthy and makes me feel even worse. On a day when I’d order in I would wake up at about 1pm, not eat or drink all day and then binge on a takeaway at about 11pm or later.
I think the main reasons I feel so rubbish is because I am ravenous all day, lethargic and dehydrated. I’ll get a headache and hangry. Then because I haven’t eaten I’ve got low blood sugar. This routine is BOUND to make someone cranky but all this aside I do still believe food can affect your mood. Even if you’re wiser than me (which isn’t hard).
My best tips for making sure you have at least two half decent meals a day are as follows:
Cereal
It sounds obvious but sometimes all you can be bothered to do is pour a bowl of cereal. Even if it's something chocolatey so you look forward to eating it. In the long run, one bowl of chocolate cereal is a lot better (and cheaper) than that takeaway.
Fresh Pasta
Takes about three minutes to cook! We had one with crab in the other day - was actually really nice. We bought a jar of sauce for 70p rather than paying £2 for the small tubs in the same section as the pasta.
Salad dressing
I'm so lazy that I can't even be bothered to chop up cucumber or peppers to put in my salad. What I do instead is buy a bag of spinach and a bag of rocket, chuck a handful of each on the plate and drizzle with salad dressing. I could probably eat them alone but it just makes them more palatable and ensures I'm getting something green in my body.
Cous Cous
A 500g of plain cous cous is less than a pound. If you buy a stock cube and chuck in a seasoning of your choice it doesn't need much else. PLUS IT TAKES LIKE FIVE MIUTES TO MAKE. If I have the energy I'll chop up spring onions to mix in and maybe add some sweet corn. I've lately been roasting onions, courgettes, chickpeas, peppers (basically whatever I can find) and having that on top of the cous cous. It's so easy and delicious. I normally season with a Moroccan or Spanish seasoning mix.
Frozen Chicken Strips
If you don't eat meat, replace with mushroom, tofu or a meat free substitute of your choice.
I am sick to the back teeth of defrosting whole chicken breasts and chopping them while trying to avoid gristle then having to wash my hands constantly because I accidentally touched a bit of raw chicken. So as of this week I'm packing it in. I bought 2 600g bags of frozen chicken strips for £5. I used to get 1KG of whole breasts for £4 so I'm getting more chicken and I don't even have to chop it. Result. Just chuck it in your wok, frying pan or baking tray. It's genius.
Fruit Juice
Fresh fruit juice is really high in sugar and yes you should really eat the fruit to get the fibre blah blah blah. This isn't the situation for all that. It's one of your five a day and it's easily consumed. I'm personally okay with it as long as it's not from concentrate - have a glass in the morning with your cereal and don't forget your tablets if you take them.
I'm probably coming up with things people already know- so sorry if you found this incredibly boring. I've been so used to making everything from scratch. I used to make my own pizza dough and now...I can't even be bothered to grate some cheese in my beans (you've got to have cheesy beans!). The main tips I suppose are, make life easier for yourself. Buy stuff you can shove in the oven for days when you just can't cook. You can get all sorts of veg ready prepared so it doesn't have to be nuggets and chips. Try and get something green in you. Two basic meals are better than none or a binge on something greasy and fattening (more a note to myself than anyone else).
AND GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! If all you can eat today is a bowl of cereal, I'm still proud of you. Been there, currently there actually, we've got this. One day at a time.
Hugs, Bunnie xo
*If you’re on medication, check if there’s any foods you should avoid depending what you’re on.