This is not about drowning your sorrows in your favorite junk food. This is about healthy foods that contain the minerals your body tends to lack when you feel depressed. These foods will not leave you feeling worse than before. They are guilt-free, and are doing work for you.

A spinach salad may not melt in your mouth like a brownie sundae, but it is loaded with folate and thiamin. Diets low in these nutrients have been linked to depression. Foods high in folate and thiamin:

Spinach

Asparagus

Avocados

Sweet potatoes

Navy beans

Bananas

Black beans

Watermelon

Whole wheat

Red meat

Toughen up and eat some meat! Or at least something rich in iron, as feelings of lethargy have been linked to an iron-deficiency. Try these food sources:

Apples

Legumes

Fortified Cereals

Quinoa

Kale

Orange Juice

Lemon Juice

Green Leafy Vegetables

Oscar the Grouch could have used some fish sticks. Studies have found that people whose diets were low in selenium were “grouchier” than those who had a high selenium intake. Here are some selenium rich foods:

Seafood

Poultry

Sea Vegetables

Mushrooms

Wheat

Have some diets made you feel on edge? That’s because most extreme diets cut out carbohydrates, which are essential for your brain to create serotonin, the “happy” chemical. Try these mood-boosters:

White bread

Pasta

Cereal

Rice

Potatoes