Good Mood Food

When you eat breakfast lunch or dinner have you ever thought about how you feel after your meal? Or whether your food choices can affect your mood?
Perhaps you should?
A recent study that looked at diet and mood found that what you eat could very much influence your mood.
The researchers gathered information from more than 10,000 Spaniards, who reported their dietary intake on a questionnaire between 1999 and 2005.
They found that those who most closely adhere to their traditional Mediterranean diet have a 30 percent lower risk of developing depression, compared to those who don’t follow the diet. Wow, can you believe that?


We’ve long known that a Mediterranean diet high in fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, fish and olive oil is good for the heart, and now you have another reason to adopt this diet. You’ll feel better!
How do these foods help?

• * Fruits, vegetables, legumes) were independently protective against depression in the study as they contain an abundance of antioxidant-rich and anti-inflammatory compounds that help protect the endothelium, (the lining of blood vessels) research has shown that a healthy endothelium is associated not only with less heart disease and less depression.


* Olive is said to improve the body’s ability to use serotonin, the brain transmitter that is often found to be low in depression.

* Omega 3-fatty acids found in seafood may improve the function of nerve cells.

All of these benefits from great tasting food, now there’s a reason to try this out.
So I guess that leads us back to the produce department. And June is a perfect time to get started with your diet change. It’s easy to combine all of these Mediterranean diet ingredients when you start with produce.

Lets start with breakfast, fresh raspberries or strawberries and. yogurt are easy and low fat
Sliced pears or peaches on whole grain bread with just a spread of almond butter tastes great and will make your taste buds happy

An omelet with sautéed zucchini, onions, peppers, basil and a sprinkling of feta will make a hearty breakfast that should give you enough protein to keep you going all morning.

Or how about lunch
A salad of roasted gold and red beets with Arugula, green onions, and drizzled with olive oil is delicious and healthy

Or perhaps a bowl of cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado and walnuts might sound more appealing.

A whole grain tortilla with baked sweet potato used as a spread, sliced steamed broccoli, parmesan, and sliced tomato is hearty and scrumptious.
Plus the complex carbohydrates for the sweet potato will help keep up your energy for the whole afternoon.


Do you need something with a little more protein? Try a little lean chicken or vegetarian burger, chopped and added to a bowl of cucumber slices, crumbled feta, and a bit of chopped red onion. Now we’re talking.


Lastly dinner can be
Roasted corn added to some cannelloni beans and plied on top of some grilled tofu or fish.
Or if it’s heating up in your area you could make your meal around carrot sticks, cucumber slices, low fat hummus, or Greek yogurt sprinkled with dill.
Have a bowl of fruit salad in the frig loaded with melons, berries, and nectarines and you could make everyone one happy while sitting together on the porch.
Which leads to probably the most important part of this diet. Besides the healthy ingredients, the Mediterranean diet is about cooking food and sharing it together. So even though you could go out and have any of these things I mentioned at a local bistro, taking the time with each other to prepare food is what makes this most successful.
Invite your partner and/or kids to shop with you. Have fun picking things out.
Make one night a week where you just take time to eat and enjoy others company.
Take a cooking class and learn how to cook as a family.
What whatever you do will all make a difference and lead to a healthier happier you.

Apples Take Sides

You may recall we recently had a show on An Organic Conversation www.anorganicconversation.com on Barbequing a couple of weeks back with Nancy Wiemer columnist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15208343 and Chris Farotte, Meat & Seafood coordinator from New Leaf Community Markets in Santa Cruz, ca.http://www.newleaf.com

Since Barbeque season is in full swing and one of the things I love most about outdoor cooking are the side dishes that go along with whatever you are grilling. I thought I would write about one of my favorites, Baked beans.

The other night while I was at the Strawberry Music festival ,http://www.strawberrymusic.com/my friend Deb Poole introduced me to some of the best-baked beans I’ve ever had.
They were vegetarian and had just the right amount of sweet to heat.

If you like baked beans you’ll love this recipe.

Deb didn’t have the recipe written down so I adapted a quick and tasty one from this one on http://www.cooks.com/ and came up with a winner.

BARBEQUED BAKED BEANS
2 (16 oz.) cans pork & beans (drained) or vegetarian baked beans
3/4 c. barbeque sauce
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 tart apple (peeled, cored and chopped) we used Pink Lady
1/2 sm. onion (chopped)
2 tbsp. golden raisins
3 strips bacon (optional)
In a 1 1/2 quart casserole, combine the drained pork and beans, barbeque sauce, brown sugar, apple, onion and raisins. Arrange the strips of halved bacon over the top of the bean mixture in the casserole. Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Another favorite of mine is coleslaw and since this is prime New Zealand apple season I thought you might like to try one that uses apples as one of the ingredients.

This Apple Coleslaw, adapted from one I found on http://allrecipes.com is basic coleslaw with a nice surprise when you add Granny Smith or Pink Lady apples.
You’ll need
4 cups shredded organic green and red cabbage
1 cup shredded organic carrot
1 tart organic apple - peeled, cored and
Coarsely shredded
2 tablespoons honey
1-tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1-tablespoon pineapple juice (optional)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the shredded cabbage and carrot together in a bowl with the sliced apple, and toss to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together the honey, brown sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, and mayonnaise until the honey and sugar have dissolved completely.

Pour over the salad, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, and toss again. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serves 6

Add these sides to some grilled corn and your favorite grilled entrée and you’ve got a summer meal that can’t be beat.

Making the most of your produce dollars.

In the uncertain economic times it seems like everyone is looking for a bargain when they are shopping. Besides looking for produce specials or sales you may want to think about how you can get the most nutritional value out of the produce you buy.
Try these tips

• The next time you're preparing a spinach salad, toss in a few slices of navel orange. The citrus fruit won't just enhance the flavor; its vitamin C will help your body absorb the iron found in leafy green vegetables.

• We all know that broccoli is a good source of fiber, which can help fill you up when you are trying to eat healthy. Is a good source of beta carotene and contains vitamins A, C, and K. But if you want to get the most from your Broccoli then eat it with Tomatoes. That’s right, according to University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor John Erdman. Tomatoes and broccoli have more powerful cancer-fighting qualities when eaten at the same time than when consumed alone.


• If you want to get the most from your salad skip the fat-free dressing and add a good-for-you fat like avocado, walnuts, roasted walnut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil. Why? The good fat/oil makes several nutrients—the lutein in the green peppers, the capsanthin in the red peppers, the lycopene in the tomatoes, even the limonene in the lemon—more body ready for you. Basically each of them is more optimally absorbed with a little bit of fat.
If you would like to learn more on organic avocados check out the our radio show we did with Earl Herrick of Earls Organic Produce at www.anorganicconversation.com

• Like almonds? Try them with a glass of red wine. The phytochemicals in red wine somehow enhance the additive effects in vitamin E found in almonds.


You get the idea. If one of these wonderful produce items is good two and perhaps three eaten together can be even better. Now there’s a value you can’t pass up.