Annabel Langbein
Vitamins and veges boost health and happiness
Bored, restless, irritable, or feeling a bit down? There’s nothing like a run of dire winter weather for cabin fever to take hold. The sun is such an important contributor to our feelings of happiness and wellbeing but when it ain’t shining, there are some useful foods that can compensate and help boost your mood.
The feel-good vitamin, vitamin D, is produced by our skin on exposure to sunlight. Over winter, when there’s less sunshine, our bodies produce less vitamin D. Milk and dairy products are good sources of vitamin D, as are mushrooms and egg yolks. Mushrooms also have the benefit of producing additional vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light. Simply by putting store-bought mushrooms on the window sill for a couple of hours in the middle of the day to get some sun dramatically increases their vitamin D (gill side up will produce more of this important vitamin).
Not surprisingly, leafy greens are another class of vegetable with useful attributes to beat the winter blues. As well as being a rich source of numerous vitamins and minerals including potassium, magnesium, vitamin K, iron, and calcium, leafy greens like spinach, kale, silverbeet and rocket are also an excellent source of folate. Folate aids in the creation and regulation of serotonin, our favourite feel-good chemical.
Other good sources of folic acid include oatmeal, oranges, bananas, nuts, eggs, beans, peas and lentils.
But there’s really nothing better than rugging up and heading outdoors with a picnic when the clouds finally part, to blow out the cobwebs. Whether you head to the slopes to ski, or find a beach, a bushwalk or a park, it’s the chance to get some fresh air in your lungs and those natural rays on your skin.
Your picnic meal can be as simple as buying a baguette, some paté, salad greens and a tangy vinaigrette dressing to assemble terrific French-style sandwiches.
Or make Vietnamese-style bahn mi sandwiches with a good smear of paté, slices of cooked roast pork, shredded carrot, cucumber, coriander and a hoisin or sriracha-flavoured mayonnaise (2 Tbsp hoisin or sriracha sauce per ½ cup mayo).
A quiche or other portable pie is always popular picnic fare. I’ve included a recipe below for a classic ham and leek quiche but there’s no limit to the combinations of flavours you can create using the custard base of eggs, milk and cream. Think caramelised onion, cheese and bacon, mushrooms cooked off with garlic, lemon zest and thyme with goat’s cheese, smoked salmon leek and dill, courgettes, pinenuts, ricotta and parmesan.
Finish off your picnic meal with a sweet slice or a nugget of best-quality chocolate.
If the weather is really nippy, you might want to pack a thermos of piping-hot soup or fill it with hot water and a stash of instant miso sachets.
The weather might be foul but we can still be happy.