How can food affect mood?
Knowing what foods we should and shouldn’t be eating can be really confusing, especially when it feels like the advice changes regularly. However, evidence suggests that as well as affecting our physical health, what we eat may also affect the way we feel.
Improving your diet may help to:
- improve your mood
- give you more energy
- help you think more clearly.
Happy Foraging
This is definitely a developing skill for us. We produce alot on site however, we will often go into the forest to find other ingredients to add to our larder from nature’s cupboard, I’ve even blogged about my foraged walnut! As we build our skills we may at some point introduce a foraging experience, but for now we shall enjoy watching those more experienced that us come and enjoy the campsite.
Herbs & Wellness
This is a subject we have long been interested in and one of our first projects onsite was to set up our herb gardens. We learn alot over the last two years, but there is still plenty to learn. We use our herbs for botantical bakes and tea infusions and tisanes. We are learning about the different properties of the herbs as we go, the best way to grow them and when to grow them. Last year we lost a whole batch due to the harsh sunshine and the herbs bolted – went to flower. Like any other fresh fruit, vegetable or herb, you get the most antioxidants if it’s fresh and not in a jar.
Herbs and spices that promote wellness
As a rule herbs are the leafy part of a plant and the spices are the seeds.
Coriander or Cilantro contains fibre, iron and phytonutrients with a citrus taste.
Turmeric potent anti-inflammatory thanks to its active ingredient, curcumin which is thought to be beneficial for arthritis and cancer-related inflammation. It adds a beautiful yellow color and earthy taste to the food. I was given a turmeric plant by a passing guests so I am keen to see how it survives.
Smoked paprika made from smoked peppers and abundant in Hungary, it contains capsaicin, a powerful antioxidant and is extremely common in hungarian cooking.
Garlic shown to be a is a powerful cancer fighter.
Cinnamon has powerful effects on blood sugar and triglycerides for those living with diabetes. Similar spices include includes ginger, nutmeg and cardamom.
Ginger used to treat motion sickness, pain, swelling and arthritis in some countries. It is an anti-inflammatory.
Basil. has a lot of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and smells so good! It is also a rich source of magnesium. In the past, basil was even used to cover small wounds.
Parsley contains vitamins A, C and K and heart-healthy folate.
Mint a relative of basil and great for upset stomachs.
Rosemary studies support that this herb helps with blood vessel health and may reduce heart attack risk.
We are always happy to give a tour of our herb gardens and share our growing knowledge. In return we have had guests teach us a thing or to!
Infusions
Tea and infusions go hand in hand! Infusions are the most popular ways of making tisanes and teas. An infusion is the process of adding an ingredient (flowers, herbs, tea, bark, or fruits) into a liquid such as hot water. It doesn’t stop there, you can infuse liquor, oil, vinegar, wax for candles, soap – the range is only limited by the imagination. We have really enjoyed the mixology side of infusions and experimenting with foraged and grown ingredients to produce a range of delightful food and drink. One of the more popular activities on site was taste testing the variety of infused drinks we have on offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Koppany Pines Tea House & Terrace
Onsite we have our tea house based on our garden to plate philosophy. We are available to book for breakfast, afternoon tea & village table events. We are also happy to host an event for you for a special occassion and individualise for your needs.
Hungarian Honey
Mark loves honey and as soon as we arrived he was off seeking nearby honey farms. To our delight he found two apiaries on our road. One has supplied us with honey for the last two years and we often hold honey tastings on site. We recently visited Stratford Christmas market and found ourselves talking to a honey importer who informed us that hungarian honey is one of the most sort after. We even had a try of his lavender honey and I have to say he’s right – our honey supply is better.
