5 foods that will pep you up!

The benefits of food aren’t limited to fueling your body and satisfying your taste buds, what you eat can alter your mood as well. The next time you are feeling low, you can just eat your troubles away. We tell you about 5 such ingredients that will pep you up when you are on a downer and take away your worries one bite at a time! 

Chocolate – A piece of chocolate definitely puts a smile on your face irrespective of a scientific theory that backs this up. Cocoa components in chocolate work in exactly the same way as antidepressants and enable the release of serotonin – the happy hormone in our bodies to instantly put you in a better, calmer frame of mind. So the next time you feel stressed, grab a piece of a chocolate – the darker the better and feel the stress escape as it melts in your mouth! 

Coffee - They say you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy coffee which is just about the same thing. An instant lift me up - a cup of coffee helps you calm your nerves, makes the brain more active, improves concentrations and instantly fills you with a sense of positivity. Tweak your cup of latte with fabulous flavours like chocolate syrup or hazelnut spread, for optimism in a liquid state. 

Tea – Well if coffee is just not your beverage you can turn to a cup of tea for happiness. L-theanine, the amino acid that is present exclusively in tea will relax your mind and help ease your stress. Green tea is your healthiest option, but a cup of herbal or masala chai work just fine to uplift your mood. 

Fruit Route – The next time you feel stressed – munch on a few berries or just eat a banana! Yes – Fruits are loaded with extraordinary ingredients that help reduce stress. Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are loaded with enzymes that uplift your mood and are a much better option than fried snacks and packaged food that we run to when stressed. So every time you are going bananas – Go bananas. 

Seafood – On days when you feel like life is a mess – head straight to your local fish market. Oily fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, trout and tuna and sardines, produce a mood enhancing effect by supplying selenium to the body. Oysters and crabs also work in exactly the same way. Yet, if seafood is not your thing – popping a fish oil capsule is a good idea and will do the tricks just right! 

Recommended recipes - Gooey Peanut Chocolate Tart,  Date Chocolate,  Cold Coffee,  Tiramisu Milk Shake,  Pomegranate and Kiwi Salad,  Fruits in Lavender Honey,  Fruit Cocktail Custard,  Iced Date Tea,  Chilli Lime Fish.

For a lot of us cooking can be therapeutic as well and cooking with these mood enhancing ingredients will definitely work. Browse through SanjeevKapoor.com for several recipes that we guarantee will lift up your spirits.