Including specific food groups into your 5-a-day could be the key to unlocking a more positive mental attitude.
Recipe Box service, HelloFresh, shares five top mood-boosting fruits and vegetables that are predictive of improving optimism and happiness for International Happiness Day.
Berries can help to improve your mood. You can start the day positively by including them in your first meal of the day. This can be done in the simplest of ways like the HelloFresh Berry Yoghurt Bowl.
Citrus fruits are filled with vitamin c which helps to strengthen your health and wellbeing. Recipes like the HelloFresh Zesty Citrus Chicken and Ginger Stir Fry, or Cod in a Lemon and Chive Butter help get the best of the acidic flavours.
Whether it’s via a sauce like the HelloFresh King Prawn and Tomato Sauce Fresh Tagliatelle or in the form of cherry tomatoes such as the Cheesy Tomato, Chorizo and Mozzarella Orzo Risotto, these delicious tomato dishes are bound to increase the size of the smile on your face.
Salads are the ideal way to get more fruit and vegetables into your diet. This ensures you can achieve a healthy, balanced diet. This may help improve your optimism and increase your happiness levels.
A good way to incorporate this into meals is with recipes like the HelloFresh Goat’s Cheese and Fig Salad.
This is the perfect accompaniment to any meal. Or, even make the salad the main with the Waldorf Style Salad with Chicken and Bacon.
Leafy, green vegetables are bursting with vitamins, minerals and fibre. This contributes hugely to the healthy, balanced diet that is so importantly linked with theorised improvement on mental wellbeing.
Incorporate leafy greens like spinach with the HelloFresh Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne, or even the Paneer and Spinach Chicken Curry, for an extra bit of spice.
Food experts at HelloFresh said, “Fruits and vegetables have been linked to mental wellbeing in a number of studies and just might be an investment into improved happiness.
“Aside from this, making sure you include all the foods that make you happy, too, will help achieve a balanced diet and keep your positivity levels up. Whether this is a bit of chocolate, cheese or your favourite dessert, balance is key! ”
