10 good mood foods

Wonder lunches

Chicken, asparagus & avocado salad
Chicken and dairy encourage the body's production of dopamine and norepinephrine, associated with improved alertness, while the potassium in avocados averts that post-lunch slump. Added vitamin A is a healthy skin bonus while folate in asparagus helps alleviate a bad mood.

250g trimmed asparagus
2 chicken breasts
Pinch chilli flakes
25g chopped flat leaf parsley
200g natural yoghurt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 chopped avocado
100g young leaf spinach
50g rocket
2 tbsp hemp seed

1. Simmer asparagus for 2-3 minutes, drain and cut in half.
2. Rub chilli flakes into chicken before frying in the oil until cooked through.
3. Slice chicken then toss with the asparagus, avocado, spinach and rocket. Drizzle over pan juices.
4. Mix parsley in to the yoghurt and season before pouring over the salad.

Tuscan bean and pasta soup
Feeling anxious about a meeting with the boss? This carbohydrate-rich lunch helps the brain release serotonin, the feel-good chemical which also reduces anxiety.

225g dried cannellini beans (soaked overnight in 3 pints water)
110g macaroni
2 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 crushed cloves garlic
2 ½tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary

1. Heat oil in a large pan and cook onions for 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic, cook for a further minute before stirring in the rosemary and tomato puree.
3. Stir for another minute then add beans together with the soaking water.
4. Simmer for an hour before seasoning and blending half of the soup.
5. Return everything to the pan, add the macaroni and allow to cook for 10-12 minutes.