Can food be used to calm you down?
You most likely already use food to calm down your emotions. Think about it. When you had a rough day at work, what do you do to overcome anxiety? Do you run to the vending machines? Or think that you deserve something nice and hit a drive-thru on the way back home? Or do you head on straight over to Mom’s house and raid her chocolate cookie jar?
If you do any of these things or anything similar, what you are doing is going for comfort foods when stress appears. We all do it to one degree or another because we all want to be comforted – and sometimes we don’t have anyone nice around us who can say nice words to us.
What if you went to a smoothie instead of some of those other foods for comfort? What if you packed healthy foods into that smoothie and told yourself that you need to be comforted and were going to reward your body by giving it wonderful nutrients sipped over a 15-minute time frame?
Think about it. What really would happen if you packed six servings of fruits and vegetables into a smoothie drink and then sipped your troubles away? This activity might work well because fruits and vegetables contain lots of B vitamins and minerals as well as active medicinal compounds that detoxify you, energize you and make you feel better.
How many fruits and vegetables are you getting in daily now? Most people will say between two and three a day. Some healthier people will say four or five. But hardly anyone gets in 10 to 12; yet, that’s where the health begins.
Two Smoothie Recipes for Anxiety
Here are a few smoothie recipes filled with calming foods that you can use to get started:
Smoothie #1 for Anxiety
Ingredients
- ½ cup yogurt, berry variety
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 1 leaf swiss chard
- ¼ avocado
- 1 tablespoon coconut, shredded
- 1 leaf kale
- ½ cup broccoli florets
- 4 apricots in season or 1 peach
- ½ cup strawberries
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon green powder mix
Directions
Blend all ingredients. Garnish with strawberries.
Smoothie #2 for Anxiety
Ingredients
- 2 scoops protein powder mix
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream concentrate
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lecithin granules
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon green powder mix
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- 2 kale leaves
- ½ bunch fresh parsley
- ½ bunch fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon hemp seed powder
- 10 almonds
Directions
Blend all ingredients. Garnish with strawberries.
You can alter these recipes to suit your tastes, but the big point is to get started. Let the fruits and vegetables start working for your brain to ease your anxiety. Keep a log to see which of these calming foods work for you and what doesn’t. Before long, you’ll even have your own smoothie recipe book!