How Food Shapes Your Headspace
World Mental Health Day is a great reminder that looking after yourself isn’t all about therapy sessions and yoga classes (though those can help too). What you eat can have a significant impact on how you feel, mentally and physically.
With deadlines looming, late nights, and the general chaos of student life, a life fueled solely by instant noodles and meal deals could tempt the best of us. But… if you want your brain to keep up with your body, food matters more than you might think.
Understanding Stress
Stress isn’t always the enemy. Sometimes it helps you power through an essay at 2am. But constant stress? That’s when your body goes into overdrive, pumping out cortisol (the “stress hormone”) like it’s on tap. Too much cortisol can leave you feeling drained, moody, and struggling to focus.
Food plays a sneaky role here. Sugar spikes, energy drinks, and greasy late-night takeaways can make those stress swings worse. On the flip side, certain foods help your brain and body chill out.
- Sugar crashes = brain fog: High-sugar foods might feel like comfort, but they’ll dump you with fatigue and irritability once the buzz wears off.
- Whole foods = steady focus: Grains, veg, lean proteins, and healthy fats release energy slowly, keeping your mood more stable.
- Nutrients = resilience: Omega-3s (fish, nuts, seeds), antioxidants (berries, leafy greens, dark chocolate), and magnesium (bananas, spinach) all help regulate stress.
Basically: eat more things that grow or swim and fewer things that come in neon packaging.
Deadline-Friendly Recipes
When the pressure’s on, you need quick meals that actually fuel your brain. Here are our favourite three:
1. Egg Fried Rice (10 mins, 1 pan)
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Add cooked rice, frozen peas, and soy sauce.
- Crack in an egg, stir until cooked.
Cheap, fast and filling!
2. Avocado Toast, Levelled Up (5 mins)
- Smash an avocado onto a slice of toast
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a few chilli flakes.
- Add a fried egg if you’re feeling fancy.
Looks boujee, costs pennies.
3. One-Pot Pasta (20 mins)
- Throw pasta, tinned tomatoes, garlic, onion and any veg you’ve got lying around into a pan.
- Cover with stock and simmer until cooked.
- Top with cheese. Always cheese.
Quick Snacks for Brain Power
If you’re not hungry enough for a meal but need something to keep you going, here are our easy wins:
- Overnight oats: Oats, milk/yoghurt, fruit, honey and the fridge does the work.
- Hummus + dippers: Sliced carrot, cucumber and pitta bread. Instant fuel food.
- Next-level toast: Peanut butter and banana, or cream cheese and tomato.
Shopping List
- Eggs
- Eggs
- Bread
- Rice
- Pasta
- Tinned tomatoes
- Frozen peas
- Garlic
- Onions
- Stock cubes
- Avocado
- Lemon
- Chilli flakes
- Olive oil
- Cheese.
- Snack add-ons: oats, yoghurt, fruit, honey, hummus, pita, peanut butter, cream cheese, Nutella.
Optional Extras!
- Oats
- Yoghurt
- Fruit
- Honey
- Hummus
- Pita
- Peanut butter
- Cream cheese
- Nutella
Reset (Beyond the Kitchen)
Food helps, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Talking things out is another because it’s proven that stress gets smaller when you share it, whether with a friend, a parent, or someone neutral. At Neo, that might mean grabbing a chat with Lara, our wellbeing officer, or using the 24/7 helpline when it all feels too much.
💡 Think of it as reps for your mental health.
Seasonal Bonus: Pumpkin Soup 🎃
Because October = soup season.
If you’ve got a leftover pumpkin (or you just fancy something that feels like autumn in a bowl), this one’s worth the effort. Bonus points if you serve it in the pumpkin itself, very main-character energy.
What you’ll need:
🎃 1 large pumpkin (or 4 mini ones if you’re feeling fancy)
🧈 50g butter
🧄 2 garlic cloves, crushed
🧅 1 onion, chopped
✨ 1 tsp cumin
✨ 1 tsp garam masala
🎃 900g pumpkin flesh (roughly what you scoop out)
🥫 1 litre hot veg stock
🥥 300ml coconut milk
✨ Salt, pepper + pumpkin seeds to finish
How to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Slice off the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, and save the flesh for the soup.
- Brush the inside with a little oil and roast for about 30 mins, soft but not collapsing.
- In a big pan, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, pumpkin, and spices. Cook for about 15 mins.
- Add the stock and simmer until the pumpkin’s soft, then stir in the coconut milk.
- Blend until smooth, pour back into your roasted pumpkin (or a bowl if you’re not about that life), and top with seeds.
Cosy, cheap, and basically autumn on a spoon! 🍂
World Mental Health Day is a reminder that life is all about balance. You don’t need a perfect diet or a five-star kitchen routine, just small shifts that fit into everyday life. Cooking for your flat once in a while, choosing steady fuel over a sugar crash, or sharing a meal with friends can all make a bigger difference to how you feel than you think.
Your brain is your biggest tool at uni. Feed it like it matters. Everything that comes after.
