9 Superstar Mood-Lifting Ingredients

Published by FoodTrients

Need a pick-me-up without resorting to energy drinks or caffeine? Add these 9 ingredients to your next dish to get an all-natural mood booster.

Lentils

Blood-sugar moderating fiber, energizing iron and calming magnesium

Use in a recipe: Nutty Lentil Burgers

Berries

Promotes mental clarity

Use in a recipe: Berry Crisp

Beets

Folate, which increases blood flow to the brain and relaxes blood vessels

Use in a recipe: Beet-Raspberry Lentil Bowl

Broth

Provides hydration, which is important for mental clarity

Use in a recipe: Leek, Mushroom and Zucchini Noodle Soup

Mushrooms

Provide a source of vitamin D, which is linked to a cheery mood

Use in a recipe: Kale-Stuffed Portobellos with Millet

Millet

As a whole grain, millet provides mood-boosting protein, B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc.

Use in a recipe: Warm Millet Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Walnuts

Deliver healthy omega-3s, crucial for mood health.

Use in a recipe: Cherry-Walnut Bites

Salmon

Also provides healthy omega-3s, which are important for brain health.

Use in a recipe: Walnut-Crusted Salmon with Edamame Mash

Cabbage

This cruciferous vegetable provides tryptophan and selenium, which relax your body and mind

Use in a recipe: Chinese 5-Spice Shrimp with Mango-Carrot Slaw

SOURCE: This article is posted by permission Delicious Living (and its parent company New Hope Network), a trusted voice in the natural living community for 30 years.

FoodTrients

Combining her passion for food and a lifelong commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle, Grace O has created FoodTrients, a unique program for optimizing wellness. Grace O is a fusion chef with a mission: to cook up recipes for sustaining a long and joyful life that are built on a foundation of anti-aging science and her work in the health care industry. Mixing foods and unique flavors culled from a lifetime of travels from Asia to Europe and America, Grace O encourages young and old to celebrate a full life that embraces diversity. Lifestyle tips, age-defying recipes, and secrets of the healing properties of food are the centerpiece of FoodTrients-–all available through cookbooks, e-newsletters, and this website.