Can This Easy Shakshuka Help You Shake The Blues Away? | Mental Health Recipes

Shakshuka provides simplicity for the first meal of the day.

All you need is one pan, making the clean-up for this one super easy! During the good ol’ pandemic days, I was making this breakfast on the regular—just because it was so easy and it made the lockdown days a little brighter (And spicier!).

Originally from Tunisia, Shakshuka has quickly become a staple in restaurants and households across the world. In fact, you’ll often find this dish included in Libyan, Moroccan, and Algerian cuisines.

With a mix of flavors, this dish offers a wonderful experience for your taste buds. On top of this, it’s got some pretty good things going on when it comes to improving mood and mental health.

An Easy (And Tasty!) Shakshuka Recipe

In other good news, you don’t have to be a wizard in the kitchen to get this one right.

I’ve even made this dish while missing a few spices, and it was still 100% satisfying. You can also opt for various other veggies that aren’t listed in the ingredients. I like to add mushrooms, but each to their own!

How Does Shakshuka Improve Your Mood & Chase the Blues Away?

This recipe is jam-packed with plenty of nutrients and powerful antioxidants. It even follows the Mediterranean diet, which is well-known for its heart health and brain health benefits. So, let’s take a closer look at how the ingredients in Shakshuka improve our mental well-being.

1. It’s packed with protein.

The best way to up the protein amount in this recipe is by adding sausages to the mixture or by adding more eggs (I can tell you, first-hand, that both are delicious!). Either way, this recipe offers a bit of protein, which can help balance blood sugar levels and contribute to the production of essential neurotransmitters.

In particular, these neurotransmitters help balance out our mood and improve overall cognitive function and emotional regulation. On top of this, since protein helps balance blood sugar levels, it can also prevent depression and lower stress or anxiety. 

Lastly, some experts claim starting your day with ample protein, such as this Shakshuka dish, can help curb sugar cravings and actually lead us to eat less sugar, which can have many benefits for our physical and mental health. 

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2. It has many different antioxidants.

The true magic of this dish lies in its antioxidant contents. Chili spice, cumin, and tomatoes all contain a good amount of antioxidants, which help combat free radicals (a natural byproduct of metabolism). Without antioxidants to balance out these free radicals, we would face various cellular damage and inflammation.

In fact, cumin, in particular, has been studied extensively for its antioxidant benefits. Some research even indicates cumin may help improve sleep and, thus, anxiety in those that suffer from mild to moderate anxiety problems. 

Tomatoes are another great (and abundant) ingredient in this recipe with a high amount of antioxidants. They contain lycopene, which is also responsible for the color of tomatoes and is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers and heart disease.

3. Eggs come with many essential nutrients and trace minerals!

Eggs are a highly underrated food. And contrary to previous claims, eggs won’t lead to heart problems or high cholesterol. In fact, if anything, they might help prevent adverse health effects due to their high nutritional value. 

Eggs contain vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, selenium, choline, vitamin A, phosphorous, calcium, sodium, potassium, zinc, iron, and more! They truly are a superfood, as much as we’ve been brainwashed otherwise. 

Starting your day off with eggs (or having them for lunch or dinner) can ensure your body gets a variety of nutrients, guiding you toward optimal overall health and wellness. 

The saying, “You are what you eat,” has some truth to it; If we eat junk food with low nutritional value, we won’t get a whole lot out of our body and might feel down in the dumps. Yet, giving our body ample nutrients has the opposite effect, where we are able to optimize our health and our life.

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