Beating Blue Monday

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Posted at 12:06PM, 18 January 2010 by Andrea McGinniss - Editor, bbcgoodfood.com

Just like the Boomtown Rats, I really don't like Mondays, but today it seems I'm completely justified in feeling this way.

According to the experts, the third Monday of January is the bluest day of the year, when the sky is anything but (check: it's foggy, dark and grey); New Year's resolutions have been broken (I've already spared myself the guilt, see previous blog); and the post-Christmas credit card statement has come crashing through the letterbox (yikes, I spent how much on a turkey?). Plus, I'm having a bad hair day, which has nothing to do with it being 'Blue Monday', but is demoralising nonetheless.

Tempting as it is to pull the duvet over the head and hide indefinitely, life must go on.

Tempting as it is to pull the duvet over the head and hide indefinitely, life must go on. So how am I going to pull through the day? Good mood food, and lashings of Flight of the Conchords. Food that might not traditionally be considered 'healthy' but, to be technical about it, gets the happy bits of the brain buzzing.

Chocolate is high in endorphins and serotonin, the brain's antidepressant, so I'll make the ultimate sacrifice and hunt down something gratuitously chocolaty . Vitamin-C packed berries can help ease stress so I'll scoff on blueberries and cranberries and other superfoods I can find from this list.

For dinner, I'll spice up whatever I'm having (tbd) with a big whack of chilli. Chilli, like chocolate, releases endorphins, and generally makes you feel more alert and less likely to dive back into bed. Washed down with a glass of two of red wine and an episode or three of my favourite Kiwi comedy and I should feel almost ready to tackle Tuesday. Almost. I'll let you know.

What foods boost your mood? And how are you coping with Blue Monday-itis? All tips gratefully received!

Comments

MsVanDeKamp

18 January 2010, 1:13PM
MsVanDeKamp

I'm feeling the blues as well! I have just enjoyed a bowl of spiced carrot and butternut squash soup - that's two mood boosters - followed by a hot microwaved apple topped with blueberry yogurt - another one. Hope this will cheer me up for the afternoon - otherwise a bar of chocolate is calling my name from the vending machine!

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Lily

18 January 2010, 1:28PM
Lily

I melted a square of dark chocolate into my chilli last night for a double-whammy way of beating the winter blues. But the only thing to get me out of bed on a cold January morning is slippers and warm porridge with banana and loads of honey...

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Kate

18 January 2010, 3:49PM
Kate

Andrea your hair always looks lovely and you always look real foxy too. Save your blueberries and cranberries for when they're in season! The leaves on my blueberry bushes haven't even opened yet. Stick to the chocolate,wine and chillies for now x x x

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dean_tanya

18 January 2010, 7:37PM
dean_tanya

For me, it's got to be risotto. A glass of wine in hand, Ella Fitzgerald in the back ground, I can languorously stir and sip whilst the rain lashes the windows.

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dean_tanya

18 January 2010, 7:37PM
dean_tanya

For me, it's got to be risotto. A glass of wine in hand, Ella Fitzgerald in the background, I can languorously stir and sip whilst the rain lashes the windows.

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Elaine

18 January 2010, 8:20PM
Elaine

More of a grey Monday. Drab, drizzly and a bit dull. Not the bluest day I've ever had, but not the brightest. Resisted the lure of comfort food and had grilled salmon (marinated in honey and soy sauce) and rice with lots of veg. Feeling a bit too virtuous, so might have to have a few squares of choccie. At least we're a day closer to summer!

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rozmorgan

19 January 2010, 1:52PM
rozmorgan

Monday is never a sad day for me, because it is the only weekday my boyfriend has off from work. We spent a lovely day together. Now, Tuesdays are pure evil. The start of the working week for us. He's in from nine in the morning till eight in the evening. I'm making chilli tonight to cheer us up!

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Andrea

19 January 2010, 2:49PM
Andrea

Okay, so I managed the chocolate (thanks Good Food test kitchen for the Oreo chocolate ice cream) and the chilli pasta, but not the blueberries, and felt quite a bit happier for it. The fug has officialy lifted (until next Monday anyway)!

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Italiana

20 January 2010, 4:32PM
Italiana

To help beat the Monday blues I decided to make Mary Berry's Blueberry muffins...with the assistance of my 4yr old daughter....they went down a treat after a dinner of slow cooked lamb curry sat infront of the open fire......lovely....ps...hide the bills....xx

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Jane`s recipes

20 January 2010, 4:52PM
Jane`s recipes

For me, it`s got to be cauliflower cheese with a jacket potato, followed by apple crumble. Ultimate comfort food, easy to make and easy to eat!

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Bindi

26 January 2010, 6:21PM
Bindi

Blue Monday - that explains a lot! I've eaten my weight in chocolate today. Veggie curry and a glass of wine for tea.

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kit kat

3 February 2010, 9:32PM
kit kat

BLUE MONDAY is right I hate mondays full STOP. My favorite thing to do on a monday is to chillax on the couch with a cup of hot choclate and biscuits mmm.

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