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Welcome to Feel Good Food . Im so excited to share a new collection of incredible recipes to get you and your family feeling energized and happy. Food really does have the power to change our mood for the better. I believe this is more important now than ever.
Its often overlooked just how much the food we eat changes the way we feel on the inside and how this affects our mental health. Good food makes us feel fantastic. It nourishes and energizes us and unlocks more potential in us every day. When you really commit to a healthy diet, it can transform your life in so many ways beyond just the physical changes you will see on the outside.
Putting good food in your body every day will increase your energy levels, improve your focus and productivity, help you feel calmer and less stressed, improve your gut health, and help you sleep better. Just imagine if you had all those things in your life today. It would not only improve your confidence and benefit your mental health immensely, but it would also have a positive impact on so many others around you. When you feel happier, less stressed, more patient, and calmer, your relationships with others will improve, so everyone wins.
It makes so much sense, doesnt it, when you read all those wonderful benefits, and it seems so easy? Yet eating healthily and being consistent with food is the one thing people struggle with the most. There are times during the year when I find my motivation dips and I have to work harder to get back on track. One thing Ive learned about myself, though, is that my motivation to stay active and eat well has changed. My focus used to be on getting lean, staying in shape, and looking good, but now its all about feeling good. I really am a better and happier person when Im putting good food in my body.
My philosophy around food and nutrition hasnt changed since I started out as a trainer ten years ago. I still believe a balanced and flexible approach to eating is the most sustainable and enjoyable way of living. By keeping things simple and easy in the kitchen, you are able to enjoy the foods you love without restricting yourself.
The key to long-term success is simply learning to enjoy cooking. When you enjoy the process of getting in the kitchen and preparing delicious home-cooked food, you soon realize that you dont have to rely on takeout, ultraprocessed foods, or ready meals on the go. As you learn new recipes and styles of cooking, you start to feel empowered and look forward to getting in the kitchen. Its a wonderful feeling to be in control of the food you eat, knowing exactly what its made from, and it allows you to gain a much better understanding of your body and what it needs to feel energized.
Home cooking, and specifically batch cooking, also leads to a really positive side effect: you are setting yourself up for success. When you make a big portion of curry or chili, for example, you can store the rest in the fridge and eat it the next day. This is such a simple strategy once you get into the swing of it, and is really transformative. It takes some of the stress out of cooking the following day and means you know youve got a healthy meal ready to go the moment you arrive at work or return home. This habit can really help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.
In Feel Good Food I want to bring a bit of joy back into eating and home cooking. Ive created these recipes with ingredients that improve your mood and energy levels and help you get healthy for the long term.
Ive made the recipes simple and quick, which I think is the most important factor when trying to live well. They also wont stretch your budget or require top-notch kitchen skills, meaning you can get healthy food on the table fast, whether you are cooking for one or for a whole family.
The recipes are tasty and packed with flavor, and are also full of awesome nutrition. With largely inexpensive ingredients, basic cooking techniques, simple steps, and minimal cleanup, my recipes will make your life in the kitchen easier.
I hope to show that eating to feel good is not just about eating the things that are good for your body (although that definitely helps!), its about learning to enjoy the process and appreciate both the food you eat and the fact that youve made it yourself. In these new recipes, Ive tried to combine the most nutritious ingredients in exciting and inventive ways so you get maximum flavor and maximum enjoyment out of them. You can feel good on the inside and happy on the outside, too!
Heres to feeling good with Feel Good Food . Thanks again for trying my new recipes. I hope you love them all and enjoy the journey to a healthy, happy mind and body.
Love,
Kick-Start Your Positivity: Joes Building Blocks for Feel Good Eating
The Link Between Food and Mood
Do you notice a positive shift in your mood when you have a day of healthy eating? Have you ever wondered why it makes you feel goodnot just physically, but mentally? Feeling more energized is obvious because we know that the food we consume is fuel for our bodies, but did you know about the link between the gut and the brain?
When you hear the word serotonin you might initially think of the feel good chemical that is released in the brain after physical activity. You may be surprised to learn that that 90 percent of serotonin is actually produced in the gut. I couldnt believe this myself and only found it out very recently. Knowing this, its easy now to see just how much the food we eat can affect our mood and mental health, both positively and negatively based on the choices we make.
In my personal experience, whenever I have a proper blowout and just eat everything in sight, I feel the physical effects almost immediately. Things like fizzy drinks, tubs of ice cream, and deep-fried foods probably do me in the most. I usually become super-bloated, with uncomfortable trapped wind, feel really lethargic, and sometimes can even get cramps and diarrhea in the night. I feel absolutely no guilt emotionally when this happens because I love my food and think its nice to have treats from time to time. However, these symptoms serve as a reminder as to why I want to eat better and put good healthy food in my body most of the time. It gets me back into the kitchen the next day to prepare a nutritious meal, thats for sure, and I get back on track.
Aside from the physical impact that sugary, ultraprocessed, and deep-fried foods have on my body, I also feel what can only be described as a food hangover the next day, where I feel a noticeable shift in my mood. Im usually feeling really tired even if Ive had a good nights sleep, my mood is low, and I generally feel flat. I am less patient with people around me and get irritated easily. This is without doubt a result of the direct link between my gut and my brainaffecting my serotonin levels.
Ultimately, no one has a perfect diet 365 days a year, but its good to know that we have the ability to control the way we feel and give ourselves a chance to boost our mood with good food and exercise. Its very easy to turn to junk food when we feel down, stressed, anxious, or depressed, but if we learn to turn to the good stuff instead, we can really change our vibe and lift that cloud in our mind. And even if its only temporary, its worth a try, right? We deserve to be happy, so lets give our gut a chance to tell our brain we are in a good mood.
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