As a follow-up to my last blog, “Brain Food”, I wanted to offer a couple of recipes and easy ways to put the information into practice. For a quick refresher, my top 4 foods to eat for optimal brain health include fish and eggs high in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as blueberries, walnuts, and vegetables (especially dark green ones). Maybe these foods are staples in your diet already, or maybe you can’t remember the last time you ate them. Either way, it’s always a good idea to explore recipes that help inspire new ways to prepare healthy, nourishing foods.

In addition to the recipes below, I have a few tricks that make it easy to get these brain boosters into your diet! When I make my morning smoothie, I almost always include a few tablespoons of chopped raw walnuts and ½ cup of frozen wild blueberries. It’s also easy to take one or two handfuls of spinach or kale and throw it in with the mix. Additionally, I keep a large box of organic spinach in my fridge so that when I’m making soups, dips, omelets, or sautéing veggies, I can easily grab some spinach and add it to the dish. Even when a recipe doesn’t call for spinach, consider adding some because it wilts down significantly and can be easily hidden

Brain Boosting Muffins

Yields: 15 muffins

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened nut milk
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 3 omega-3 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 15 muffin pan liners (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Pour chia seeds and unsweetened nut milk into a bowl. Allow chia seeds to swell for   20 minutes.
3. Mix almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together.
4. In a separate mixing bowl combine the applesauce, almond butter, vanilla, maple syrup, eggs, and melted coconut oil.
5. Mix in the chia seed pudding.
6. Fold the dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Fold in blueberries lightly.
7. Pour the batter into muffin pan liners 3/4 full.
8. Bake in 350°F oven for 20 minutes.

This recipe was obtained from https://beingbrigid.com.

Sardine Salad (for those who don’t like sardines)

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• Two cans of sardines in extra virgin olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• ½ red onion, chopped
• ¼ cup Primal Kitchen mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon  fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon  grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Mash well with a fork.
2. Put the sardine salad on a cracker (here’s one of my favorites: https://www.jilzglutenfree.com/) or make into a sandwich (here’s a great bread: https://simplytrudy.com/ discount code UWC15).
3. Enjoy!

Leafy Green Turkey Tacos 

Here you can try Dr. Hyman’s Turkey Tacos and use collard greens for the wrap. I tried this myself (see pictures below) and it worked great! My advice—do not overstuff the wraps or else you’ll have a mess (albeit a delicious mess) on your hands.