Mood-Boosting Foods To Fight The Winter Blues

When it's cold outside, and the sun is hiding away, it's easy to get down and find yourself wallowing in the winter blues. It's not uncommon to suffer from seasonal sadness when the days are short and the nights are long. But there are some ways to combat winter blues, like taking a walk in nature, listening to music, talking to a friend, and eating a healthy diet.

It's no surprise that a healthy diet positively affects your physical body, but it may surprise you to learn that a healthy diet can also affect your mental health and mood (via Web MD) Eating fruits and vegetables is always a good choice because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Likewise, complex carbohydrates and foods with folate, L-tryptophan, and vitamin B are excellent choices to support mental health. 

Foods rich in omega-3s play a role in improving mental health and getting more serotonin into your diet. Serotonin is one of the feel-good chemicals our bodies produce, and it plays an important role in mood and mental health. Of course, serotonin isn't the only feel-good chemical; dopamine, which is found in protein-rich foods, can also help you banish the blues (via Cleveland Clinic).

Mood-boosting foods can help you find your way through the dark winter months. As you plan your weekly winter menu, try incorporating more mood-boosting foods to help you and your family feel better during the dreary winter months.

Walnuts are a popular addition to many baked goods like brownies and banana bread, but they can be eaten on their own too. And everyone should be adding more walnuts to their diet as they are brimming with health benefits. These crunchy little nuts are full of omega-3s and all-important antioxidants, and studies have shown they support brain health and function (via Healthline).

Of course, the best way to add more walnuts into your diet is not through sugary baked goods; instead, you can add them to salads, pasta, and oatmeal or crush them to make a bread-free coating for fish and chicken. Or blend them to make a creamy dip for vegetables or spread for pita bread. You can always just keep it simple and grab a handful to munch on when you want a crunchy snack.

In the vegetarian and vegan communities, walnuts have been used as a healthy alternative to meat in recipes that would traditionally call for ground meat, like tacos, burritos, and burgers.

Protein-rich foods like eggs are excellent mood boosters, and they offer more than just protein. Eggs have vitamins like B2 and B12, selenium, iron, and essential amino acids (via Healthline). In addition, they contain choline which is a nutrient that is linked to brain health. Eggs are easy to add to your diet because they are inexpensive and versatile, making them a great go-to for a healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner. According to the American Heart Association, eating one egg a day or two egg whites is a healthy addition to your diet.

While eggs are popular breakfast food usually eaten scrambled, fried, over easy or sunny side up, you can get creative and eat them other ways too. Whip up some eggs with spinach and cheese for a frittata or quiche. If you like it spicy, try getting your daily dose of eggs in a shakshuka, a spicy tomato and egg dish.

Not only do eggs make a great meal, but you can hard boil eggs to make a healthy on-the-go snack for those times when you don't have time to cook and need a little mental health boost.

When you are feeling down, look no further than your pantry for a mood-boosting snack. Most of us have a few tins of tuna lying around in the kitchen, and tuna is an excellent food to boost your mood. Tuna is a fatty fish with an abundance of omega-3s (via Web MD). It is high in protein, low in calories, and an excellent source of vitamin B12. 

There are a lot of easy ways to get more tuna in your daily diet besides the typical tuna salad or tuna melt. Try making new recipes with those cans of tuna, like a tuna ceviche with onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and fresh lime juice. Or beat the winter blues by going outside and firing up the grill and making tuna burgers. 

If you think you need a dose of carbohydrates to make you feel better, you can always whip up the carbohydrate-heavy classic tuna casserole with egg noodles, peas, and crushed crackers on top. Whichever way you choose to use your tinned tuna, you can rest assured knowing that it is a good choice for your mind and body.

Sardines are a salty staple in Mediterranean cuisine. They're oily little fish that are perfect for when you are feeling blue. They are chock full of omega-3s, calcium, vitamins, and minerals, and an excellent source of protein (via Web MD). While fresh is usually best, fresh sardines can be difficult to find, but canned sardines are widely available, making them a more convenient option. 

Of course, not all canned sardines are the healthiest choice; you need to read the labels and find ones that are canned in olive oil and always check the sodium level when buying any canned foods.

So, you have some canned sardines; now what? Well, you can do quite a few things with these little fish. You can add them to salad and pasta or top your pizza with them. Or you can keep it simple and eat them on crackers or toast. Chef Alton Brown credits his weight loss to eating sardines and avocado toast. It's easy to see why he is always in such a good mood since both sardines and avocados are both mood-boosting foods.

Many families only eat turkey once a year, but this bird has so many health benefits that you will want to put it on the menu more often. Turkey contains L-tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid that is connected to serotonin and melatonin (via Medline Plus). Serotonin makes you feel good, and melatonin helps you relax and even makes you a little sleepy. These two components can help you feel better when the dark days of winter have you feeling a little blue.

Thanks to high levels of selenium, zinc, and choline, turkey can also boost brain function, making learning new things easier (via Peak Brain Institute). When you feel smarter, you always feel better, so it's a food you can feel good about eating.

Of course, roasting a whole turkey is quite an endeavor, especially if you are a novice home cook, but there are other easy ways to eat turkey. You can buy just turkey breast and grill it or use it in soups or turkey chili. A classic turkey sandwich is a great option for lunch. However, not all sliced turkey is the same. Cleveland Clinic explains that when buying turkey slices, the best option is to buy from the deli counter rather than opting for the packaged slices as they have a high sodium content and are packed with  additives and preservatives.

Oats are the ultimate breakfast food and a great way to start your day on the right foot. They are filling, nutritious, and can help get you through a tough day. The fiber in oats packs a one-two punch, helping you feel full longer and stabilizing blood sugar, so you don't have a morning sugar rush and then crash (via Medical News Daily). 

Eating oats for breakfast is a surefire way to keep you energized throughout the day. Oatmeal for breakfast doesn't have to be boring. You can add fruit, nuts, peanut butter, or honey to your oats to give them more flavor. 

If you prefer a protein-rich breakfast, you can add in some egg whites to your oatmeal, which adds protein without altering the taste. Oatmeal isn't just for breakfast, and it doesn't have to be sweet; you can make savory oatmeal with vegetables, meat, and eggs for a filling meal at any time of the day.

Sunflower seeds, just like salt and pepper, should be a staple in your kitchen. They add a crunch to salads, burritos, stir fry, and lots of other dishes. According to the Institute for Functional Health, these small seeds are packed with vitamins and minerals, including B6 and thiamine, which aid memory and brain function. Regularly consuming sunflower seeds is like taking nature's antidepressant.

It is hard to believe these tiny little seeds have so much to offer; they improve mood and brain power, making them the perfect snack to nibble on while studying or focusing on an important task. Just make sure to remove the shell, and for the most health benefits, choose sunflower seeds without salt. Most stores sell them roasted, but you can easily roast them in your oven at home to bring out more flavor.

Despite all of their health benefits, sunflower seeds are high in calories, with 165 calories per ounce (via Medical News Daily). So if calories are a concern, you will want to eat them sparingly.

Oysters are shellfish with a romantic reputation for making people feel good and get in the mood. According to Web MD, sadly, the aphrodisiac connection between oysters and sexual desire has no scientific data to back it up.

However, the placebo effect is strong, and if you believe something will make you feel better and more aroused, chances are it will; the human mind is powerful. But in the case of oysters, there is some science to back up its mood-boosting properties, just not necessarily the sexual mood. Oysters are filled with feel-good properties like omega-3s, zinc, selenium, vitamin B12, protein, and iron (via Healthline).

According to Psychology Today, there is a connection between low levels of zinc and depression, so getting more foods in your daily diet that have zinc is a great way to keep depression away. So while they may not necessarily help you feel sexy, that probably depends more on who you are eating them with; they are nutritious and have all of the key ingredients to be a mood-boosting food.

While eating oysters raw is a delicacy for some, consuming raw shellfish can be dangerous and increases the risk of foodborne illness. Instead, try consuming smoked oysters or oyster stew to enjoy these sexy shellfish safely.