Broad Bean Paella and What to Eat When Feeling Depressed

Can Broad Beans Really Keep the Blues Away? (what to eat when feeling depressed)

To most people I seem like that happy sort of person and yes most of the time I am but I am also good at pretending and putting on a happy face when I'm actually feeling like shit. However at times i just can't do that and last Thursday I had a morning where no matter what I did I couldn't pick myself up. Usually when I feel like this I reach for all the foods that help me go even further down the slippery slope of feeling yuk and ikky about myself - stodgy food like potatoes, cheddar cheese, pasta and plate fulls of rice are what i think will make me feel good and then they don't.

Last Thursday I had already eaten rice for breakfast and had mixed in tumeric (which is good for depression) fooling myself that the rice would ground me and I would feel better. Slumping around still in my pj's at 2pm i couldn't ignore the fact that my body kept prodding me with little signals of 'get the broad beans get the broad beans'. Still not quite listening I couldn't face shelling the 'bloody broad beans' so reached for the fava bean (broad bean) tempeh that the wonderful Sarah of Byron bay tempeh makes, fried it up and made a salad to go with it. I have to admit I did put a spoonful of rice in the salad convincing myself that i needed that - as rice and beans make a complete protein. And hey guess what I felt instantly better.

My body knows better than me what it wants to eat especially if I get out of the way and really listen to the signals. I looked up why broad beans are good for us and apart from being a good source of protein and high in iron they are also high in folic acid which helps in balancing the central nervous system and in turn helps with depression or ikky moods.

Other foods that can help with depression if eaten on a regular basis are foods that are high in vitamin B12, so fermented foods like tempeh and sauerkraut are good as well as foods that are high in folic acid.

Include in your diet a good balance of the following:

beans and legumes

spinach and many leafy greens

nuts and sunflower seeds

citrus fruits

avocados

asparagus.

Other foods that can help lift your mood are

~a good quantity of fruit and vegetables high in vitamin C

~omega 3 rich foods also help and include the following:

hemp seeds and oil

flax seeds and oil

walnuts

seaweeds

leafy greens broccoli and cabbage contain small amounts of omega 3

pumpkin and pumpkin seeds (contain a small amount)

And don't forget a small amount of dark chocolate can help with endorphins getting to the brain.

Getting enough vitamin D also helps so eating my tempeh in the sun last Thursday added that extra little pick me up.

I know at the very best of times it is difficult to listen to the body and even more so when you are not feeling emotionally ok but the more you allow your body to speak to you, it will.

Looking on the bright side of what happened on Thursday I have been wanting to post a recipe for broad beans for weeks now but just haven't been inspired to do so and then by me feeling depressed I found a great reason to do so. Some of you probably hate broad beans and maybe even some of you are allergic but I bet there are also some of you who like me love them. My father used to serve them to us whenever we had bacon, of course I never eat them with bacon now but when they are in season i feel like it really is time to celebrate, as in northern NSW area the season is short.

The thing I like to make the most with broad beans is a smashed dip. Three Dips with produce from Byron Bay farmers market.

I also love fava bean tempeh and in this blog post I share with you a recipe that is similar to paella but with no seafood and with a lot less rice, just enough to make the meal a complete protein and enough to fill your belly so you can sleep well at night.

Broad Bean Paella

Ingredients

1 red capsicum cut into strips

4 large mushrooms sliced

3 small zucchinis cut into rounds

1/2 cup white rice

1/2 tsp tumeric

a few strands of saffron (optional)

1 garlic clove minced (optional)

a few splashes sunflower oil

1 to 2 tsp organic herb salt

1 cup filtered water

200g shelled broad beans

handful of spinach leaves roughly torn

12 to 15 pitted kalamata olives

8 or so mint leaves roughly chopped for garnish

Serves up to 4 if you have a salad with it

Method

Fry the red capsicum until soft, fry the zucchini until al dente and then fry the mushrooms until they are cooked through, set aside. Add a further splash of oil to the frying pan and add the garlic, rice, tumeric and saffron. stir for a few minutes then add the water, herb salt and broad beans. Cover the frying pan with a lid and check from time to time giving a gentle stir. The rice should be cooked within 20 minutes however you may or may not need to add a bit of water here and there. Once the rice is cooked and the water evaporated stir in the spinach for a minute or so or until it wilts zucchini and mushrooms. Place on a platter and scatter on the olives and red capsicum, garnish with roughly chopped mint leaves.

Categories:Mains

Tags:broad beans