A person’s mental state is something that one has to take care of. A body and a mind are what make us humans. Thus, a healthy being is a healthy body and mind. To keep a healthy body, there’s no better answer than to exercise and eat right. Foodies, where are you on that journey?
A healthy you is a happy you. Don’t forget about maintaining a healthy mental state. Besides surrounding ourselves with things and people that bring us joy, eating well is also a way to do that. While treating our tummies with delicious foods might sound good 90% of the time, it’s important to feed ourselves healthy foods. You might even find that healthy foods are delicious (I personally do!).
Celebrating World Mental Health Day With Healthy Food
World Mental Health Day is an international day certifying the very existence of our mental health. Celebrated on October 10th every year, this day is a time of raising awareness, getting educated, and advocating about mental health and its issues. The food we choose to eat does play a part in our mental health. Eating nutritious foods instead of insubstantial ones is a better option for our bodies since they can bolster our energy to face the day. Some of those can also boost our mood.
When you search for mood-boosting or healthy foods on social media, the answers might not be too different. Quinoa, berries, and dark chocolate belong to the group. Quinoa has one of the great nutrients for the body, which is folate. Quinoa helps keeping our energy levels steady.
Another beneficial ingredient is berries. Berries contain magnesium, a mineral for muscle function. Like quinoa, berries also help produce our energy and boost our mood.
Antioxidants such as flavonoids are also crucial to protect us against free radicals. The famous ingredient containing antioxidants is dark chocolate. Chocolate contributes to lowering stress and improving mood because it releases endorphins.
How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Quinoa Bowl
According to UCI Health, there is a healthy recipe that is good for our mental health, containing quinoa, berries, and chocolate. It is called Chocolate Raspberry Quinoa Bowl, which is fitting for breakfast or any time of day. The dish has about 225-ish calories. Give it a try; this bowl might be the energy and mood-boosting source you need for the day!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of well-rinsed quinoa
- ½ cup berries: you can choose to put raspberries and strawberries
- For the chocolate, prepare two tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 2 cups of your milk choice
- 1 banana
- Sweetener
Steps:
- Put your milk choice and quinoa into a pan
- Boil the mixture, reduce the heat, let it cook, stir the mixture occasionally for about 20 minutes
- Remove the pan from the stove, then add and blend the cocoa powder and sweetener. The sweetener can be a maple syrup or its kind.
- Let the mixture sit for a few minutes
- Put the mixture into a bowl
- Top it off with berries and sliced bananas
