Smart Living: Foods For Good Moods & Fattening Salads

By: Melanie Bloom - Email

Posted: Tue 7:51 AM, Feb 26, 2013

What you put in your body can impact everything from your waistline to your mood.

The right snack can change your whole day!

What we eat triggers the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that affect how we feel.

If you're feeling anxious, eat brazil nuts. They're loaded with selenium. Studies show low levels can lead to increased depression and anxiety.

Just one ounce of brazil nuts contains more than 700% of your recommended daily intake. Tuna, mushrooms and garlic are also loaded with it.

If you're stressed, don't grab chips! Snack on vitamin C rich foods like bell peppers and citrus fruits. Those foods will lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

If you wake up foggy and dazed, snack on colorful fruits like pineapple, cranberries and plums. They contain antioxidants that fight off free radicals that can damage neurons in the brain. Try to get several servings of these fruits every day.

Which is better for you: a juicy cheeseburger or a crisp, fresh salad? The answer: it depends.

A McDonald's Big Mac weighs in at 550 calories, 29 grams of fat and 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Then look at the numbers for Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad. It is one of their most popular dishes. It contains almost 1,400 calories, 98 grams of fat and 1,600 milligrams of sodium.

The Taco Bell Baja Fresh Shrimp Tostada Salad is loaded with everything, including fat and sodium. A better option is the Taco Salad with Beef.

At Outback, you can order an entire steak dinner for fewer calories and less fat than you'll find in their Steakhouse Salad.

TGI Friday's, their Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad is close to 1,100 calories and 71 grams of fat. The sugar coated pecans and cranberries on the salad won't help your waistline either.

Something to remember when reading over a menu, in restaurant-speak, "crusted" is code for fried.