Good Food, Good Mood: 100 Nourishing Recipes to Support Mind and Body Wellness

by Tamara Green, Sarah Grossman

Overview

Can what you eat actually affect your mood? The short answer is YES. Discover how to eat to reduce stress, boost energy, help focus, instill calm, and improve sleep. In Good Food, Good Mood, you'll learn that by eating better you can feel better too.

There are many pieces to the mental wellness puzzle, and in their second cookbook, certified nutritionists Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman focus on one element that you can control: food. By taking you through the latest science, in clear, digestible bites, they provide key takeaways that you can implement into your daily life to help you support your mood through food. Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Understand the Basics: Learn how to make better food choices that will support your mental health—without completely cutting out sweets or grasping for other “quick-fix” solutions.
• Empower Yourself: At a glance, each recipe identifies the mood and nutrient benefits you may experience with that specific dish, including balancing blood sugar, providing protein, delivering healthy fats, supplying fiber, and more.
• Take Action: Apply this knowledge to your daily meal planning with over 100 recipes spanning Breakfasts, Snacks, Mains, Sides, Desserts, and Drinks.
• Eat for Your Mood: Depending on your needs, snack on Easy Seedy Flax Crackers to help balance blood sugar and enhance focus; enjoy Ribboned Carrot Slaw with Miso Sesame Vinaigrette to help ease anxiety by supporting gut health; and feast on Crispy Turmeric Chicken Thighs for a protein-rich meal to create feel-good neurotransmitters.

With mental health at the forefront of so many people’s minds, exploring the relationship between brain and gut health has never been more important. With Good Food, Good Mood as your guide, you’ll gain the confidence and knowledge needed to make the best choices for your mental well-being—and overall health—today and long into the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525611981
Publisher:	Appetite by Random House
Publication date:	03/26/2024
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	282,314
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

TAMARA GREEN and SARAH GROSSMAN are certified nutritionists and the founders of The Living Kitchen. They offer online nutrition education programs for clients worldwide, as well as private chef services to their local clients. They love cooking for people and educating them on how what they eat impacts their entire lives. They are also recipe and content creators for Food Network Canada among other digital brands. Tamara and Sarah are the authors of The Living Kitchen: Nourishing Whole-Food Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery. They live with their families in Toronto, Canada.

Read an Excerpt

Excerpt from the Introduction:
When we set out to create a cookbook about food and mood, we were inspired to write all about the “happiness” diet. Here’s what happened instead: we were thrust into a pandemic (like everyone else) while working and parenting, and fell into a hole of deep sadness, grief, loss, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and confusion. It felt so ironic that we were writing a cookbook on how to elevate one’s mental health while ours was slowly suffering.


The truth is, together, our mental health, brain health, and mood is a composite of many things—not just one. It’s made up of diet, movement, stress-releasing practices, quality sleep, connection with others, physical safety, community, strong sense of self, past experiences, self-compassion, genetics, and sometimes medication, therapy, and supplements.


We wanted to show our readers how to become the happiest versions of themselves all through a simple shift in diet. Ta-da! Get those jazz hands out, because here is your before-and-after happiness picture! While there is a big element of truth to this—food absolutely impacts mood and our mental well-being—what we learned is that it’s not a linear process, nor is it human to be happy all the time.


If we hadn’t been mindful of the food we were eating and the thoughts we were thinking during this time, if we hadn’t been committed to balancing our blood sugar (we’ll explain what this means shortly), eating colorful vegetables, getting enough protein, and enjoying healthy sweets, then that small hole we were in would have become a deep, gaping, dark crevasse. There are many pieces to the mental wellness puzzle, and in this book our focus is on food.

Editorial Reviews

Tamara and Sarah take you on an entertaining journey from the science of the brain-gut microbiome system to 100 gut- and brain-friendly recipes. They present the scientific background in lay-friendly terms followed by delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes. For anybody interested in an evidence-based healthy diet, this book is a must.”
—EMERAN A. MAYER, MD, professor, and author of the bestselling The Mind-Gut Connection and The Mind-Gut Immune Connection

“Good Food, Good Mood stole my heart with its trout burgers. What a great application of the new rules of Nutritional Psychiatry to help people feedtheir mental health.”
—DREW RAMSEY, MD, founder of the Brain Food Clinic and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

“What I love about this cookbook is that it appeals to so many kinds of dietary styles! Whether you are vegetarian or paleo, you will find delicious, nutrient-dense, and visually beautiful food to make for yourself and your family. The recipes are uncomplicated to make and super flavorful.”
—MOLLY MALOOF, MD, and author of The Spark Factor

"Good Food, Good Mood is more than a cookbook. You’ll learn why eating well for mental health is important and how to take action. The information is presented in a way that is both delicious and digestible, and I’m grateful for this new tool to share with my patients.”
—LAURA LACHANCE, MD, MSc, FRCPC, psychiatrist and Nutritional Psychiatry researcher

“Good Food, Good Mood is to date one of my favorite cookbooks! As a physician practicing functional medicine, I believe good nutrition is the foundation we build health and longevity upon. I happen to be particularly interested in the far-reaching impacts of dialing in metabolic health, and these recipes will forever be a muse for me and my patients. The meals are properly balanced, but also delicious and easy enough to execute as a busy doctor-mom. My personal favorites are the Crispy Turmeric Chicken Thighs, the Hearty Nordic Loaf, and the Beet Tahini Yogurt Dip. An amazing addition to your cookbook collections—I can recommend highly, and with enthusiasm!”
—ANJALI DSOUZA, MD, founder and medical director of the District Center for Integrative Medicine

“This gorgeous book is packed with nutrient-dense, whole food recipes that optimize gut health, stabilize moods, and create hormone harmony. Tamara and Sarah take a refreshingly simple approach to fueling your body for better moods, and dissolving the stress and overwhelm that most people are facing in the kitchen.”
—ASHLEIGH NORRIS, registered nutritionist and founder of The Soulful Sprout Holistic Nutrition

“Good Food, Good Mood brings to clarity the connection between gut and brain in anapproachable way without hifalutin jargon, like you are talking to a friend—a very smartfriend! Throughout this beautifully photographed book, Tamara and Sarah weave science-backed information with mouthwatering recipes, all to help you cook with savvy, eat with intention, and give you peace of mind.”
—SONIA WONG, creator of the award-nominated blog saltnpepperhere and contributor for Food Network Canada

“Good Food, Good Mood seamlessly combines delicious recipes with daily, wellness lifestyle tips that will resonate with readers who don’t enjoy the dietary status quo and find happiness eating in the ways that make them feel like the best versions of themselves.”
—VALERIE AZINGE, chef and author of 30-Minute Low-Carb Dinners

From the Publisher