Want to know how our food is linked to our mood? These are four easy breakfast recipes for mental health to help you boost that mood in the morning.
There’s more and more evidence suggesting the link between what we eat and how we feel, but it can feel overwhelming knowing which foods to use and how to incorporate them into our diet. Here are some of my favourite easy-to-make breakfast recipes for mental health to help you start on the right track.
You will learn which foods can help with our mood, the science behind them and some easy recipes.
This post will teach you 4 breakfast recipes for mental health.
*Disclaimer* I am not a medical professional, all advice given on this website is from my own research and experience. It is recommended you seek medical help to help with anything struggles you are experiencing.
Breakfast Recipes for Mental Health.
I did a lot of research on how to naturally help with my anxiety and depression symptoms when I was recovering but still suffering. I was honestly shook at how much our diet actually affects our mental health as well as our physical health! Check out my post on different foods to help and the research into it, but let’s just say you are what you eat, if your gut isn’t happy you’re not happy.
While finding ways to incorporate all the great foods to help I discovered favourites of mine, and first up on today’s menu is Breakfast! 😀
Two foods to help our mental health are oats and chia seeds, combine them together and you have a powerhouse of a breakfast. Below are four of my favourite toppings that not only taste good but they are also foods which help with our mental health.
Each recipe contains the same amount of chia seeds and oats, the only differences are the toppings.
Enjoy!
Strawberries and Kream… (or Kefir).
Kefir is fermented yogurt, fermented foods contain a lot of good bacteria which help us to regulate our gut better (this is where most of our happiness hormone, serotonin is created). Which leads us to the strawberries, these help with the production of serotonin and also contain antioxidants to help with free radicals. Combining the two make for a great start to the day.
Recipe:
Chia seeds: 10g
Oats: 40g
Milk: 100ml
Mix 10g of chia seeds with 40g of oats and 100ml of milk (unsweetened almond milk is best for anxiety benefits but a milk of your choice is fine) in a bowl. Leave overnight in the fridge for the milk to soak into the seeds and oats. Add your topping in the morning.
Topping:
Strawberries: (or as much as you like)
Kefir: Two or three spoonfuls.
Cut the strawberries into slices. Put a few spoonfuls of kefir to your liking on the top of your oat and seed mix. Place the strawberries on top.
Dark chocolate and banana.
This topping is fantastic if you are about to experience an event where your anxiety might increase and this is because the banana helps with that. (Read more about it here).
Dark chocolate contains magnesium (involved in the physiological process to help calm anxiety), L theanine (helping to create a feeling of calm), polyphenols and flavonoids (helping with oxidative stress). There’s a lot crammed in there!
Recipe:
Chia seeds: 10g
Oats: 40g
Milk: 100ml
Mix 10g of chia seeds with 40g of oats and 100 ml of milk (unsweetened almond milk is best for anxiety benefits but a milk of your choice is fine) in a bowl. Leave overnight in the fridge for the milk to soak into the seeds and oats. Add your topping in the morning.
Topping:
Banana: 1 banana.
Dark chocolate: 4 squares.
Cut the banana into slices and roughly chop the dark chocolate. (Watch your fingers).
Place on top.
Blueberries and pineapple.
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and also contain vitamin C which has been shown to help with stress levels.
The pineapples contain magnesium (the stuff that helps to calm you).
Recipe:
Chia seeds: 10g
Oats: 40g
Milk: 100ml
Mix 10g of chia seeds with 40g of oats and 100ml of milk (unsweetened almond milk is best for anxiety benefits but a milk of your choice is fine) in a bowl. Leave overnight in the fridge for the milk to soak into the seeds and oats. Add your topping in the morning.
Topping:
Blueberries: Half a cup.
Pineapple: Half a cup.
You can cut the pineapple yourself or make life easier by buying frozen pineapples if you dd remember to take the out of the fridge the night before. Place on top of the oats with the blueberries.
Apple, cinnamon and almonds.
Apple contains potassium to help us regulate our neurotransmitters and activities happening in the brain. Almonds contain magnesium and other important nutrients. If you want more details and specifics on how these two toppings help take a look at my anxiety foods article, but for now here is a quick overview…
Cinnamon just tastes nice! 😜
Recipe:
Chia seeds: 10g
Oats: 40g
Milk: 100ml
Mix 10g of chia seeds with 40g of oats and 100ml of milk (unsweetened almond milk is best for anxiety benefits but a milk of your choice is fine) in a bowl. Leave overnight in the fridge for the milk to soak into the seeds and oats. Add your topping in the morning.
Topping:
Apple: One.
Almonds: a handful.
Cinnamon: A sprinkle or as much as you’d like!
I personally love when the apples are slightly cooked. Cut the apple into slices. Place the apple in a frying pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil or butter. How long you fry for depends on how soft you want the apples, 5 minutes is perfect for me. Roughly chop or crush the almonds. Sprinkle in the cinnamon on top of your oats and stir. Place the apples on top with a dash more cinnamon and sprinkle on the almonds.
This post was all about the Four Easy Breakfast Recipes for Mental Health.
I hope these recipes help you start the day the right way! Why not try to create your own toppings (Here is a list of anxiety-helping foods!). If you do, don’t forget to tag me in any pictures or pop me a comment so I can give it a try myself!
Don’t forget I’m here if you need! And there’ll be more recipes to come from breakfast to snacks!
Speak soon
Bianca
Related posts:
5 Of The Best Natural Anxiety Relief Products We Love.
Which foods can help with anxiety?
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