Written by Christine Wincentaylo, General Member
Before I share the great recipes, what makes a food “brain healthy”?
For brain health, key nutrients include vitamin K, lutein, folate, omega-3s, and many more!
These recipes are great for brain health and heart and blood vessels.
Brain Food Smoothie
Step 1: Grab a blender, add in all the ingredients and blend.
Step 2: Pour your smoothie into a cup and enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp hemp hearts
¼ cup of avocado
½ cup of mango
1 pear
1 ½ cup of spinach
1 cup of coconut water
Greens like spinach are rich in vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta-carotene.
Hemp hearts are a great source of Omega 3’s.
Sushi Bake
Step 1: Get started on making your rice. Cover a large pot with water and let the rice socks for 15 minutes.
Step 2: Next, bring the pot to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes until the rice is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Once the rice has cooled down, add a drizzle of rice vinegar. Then use a rubber spatula to gently fold over the rice until the vinegar is evenly mixed into the rice. Then cover the rice with a dish towel or plate, until it comes to room temperature.
Step 4: Now to make the salmon mixture, you cut up the salmon into small cubes or whatever the desired size you want. In a small bowl mix together mayo, cream cheese, sriracha, soy sauce, and green onions. Then, add the fish mixture of diced salmon and imitation crab meat. Then, cover and refrigerate.
*If you don’t have salmon, a cheaper alternative is canned tuna which is still a great source of protein!
Step 5: Making the Unagi sauce. In a small saucepan, add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar and heat over medium, once it boils, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture is thickened.
Step 6: It is optional to make it spicy. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sriracha, lime juice and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 7: Preheat oven to 425°—line with parchment paper.
Then, take seasoned rice and pour it into a prepared pan. Dip your hands in cold water and gently press the rice into the pan. Next, sprinkle with furikake.
Pour salmon mixture directly on top of rice. Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly over the rice.
Step 8: Place pan in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Then, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
Sushi Rice
1 ½ cups Sushi rice rinsed
2 cups Water
¼ cup Lite seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoon Furikake
Salmon Mixture
Roughly 1 cup of Salmon filet skin removed and cut into ½" pieces
Roughly 1 cup of Imitation crab meat shredded
⅓ cup Kewpie mayo
3 oz Cream cheese softened
2 tablespoons Sriracha
2 tablespoons Soy sauce or Tamari
¼ cup Green onions sliced thin
Unagi Sauce
¼ cup Soy sauce
¼ cup Mirin
2 tablespoon Sake
1 ½ tablespoon White granulated sugar
Spicy Mayo
½ cup Kewpie mayo
2 tablespoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon Fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon Salt
Salmon, tuna, and imitation crab are all good sources of omega-3 fatty acids and healthy unsaturated fats that have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid (the protein that forms and impacts people with Alzheimer's disease).
Orange Berry Fruit Salad
Step 1: Grab a bowl and add in strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and orange (any orange will do!)
Step 2: Drizzle the poppyseed dressing over the fruit and then mix!
Ingredients:
Salad
16 ounces Strawberries (tops removed, cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 cup of Blueberries
1 cup of Blackberries
1 cup of Raspberries
5 Mandarin Oranges, (peeled, segmented) or or 2-3 regular oranges
Dressing
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Fresh Mandarin Orange Juice, (or regular fresh orange juice)
2 teaspoons Poppy Seeds
Pinch Sea Salt
Berries such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries have flavonoids, the natural plant pigments that give the berries beautiful colors. Research has shown it helps improve memory.
Muhammara (Roasted Red petter & Walnut dip)
Step 1: First, Set your oven to bake at 400 F. Slice the red peppers in half lengthwise and core out the insides. Remove the stem. Set the peppers on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake them for 20-30 minutes or until the skins char and bubble up.
Step 2: Once cooked, remove from heat and place a paper towel over the red peppers to let the skins steam. Remove the skins and discard them or use them to make dried red pepper flakes for later!
Step 3: Chop up the roasted peppers and put them into a food processor.
Then lightly toast some walnuts in a dry pan for about a minute or two. Do not let them burn. Then, place them into the food processor. Add everything else except the olive oil.
Step 4: Process the mixture while drizzling in the olive oil a bit until all of the oil is incorporated and the dip is nice and smooth.
Ingredients:
2 large red bell peppers, or use 2 cups roasted red bell peppers
1 cup walnuts
¼ cup bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 teaspoons pomegranate molasses* see notes below
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil
Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Diets rich in ALA and other omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries.
Turmeric Chickpea Soup
Step 1: Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is tender and translucent. Then add the garlic, carrot, celery, and sauté' for a minute.
Step 2: Add the rinsed chickpeas, butternut squash cubes, thyme, turmeric, vegetable broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a blender. Blend the ingredients until very smooth. Be careful, as the soup will be hot.
Step 3: Pour the soup back into the pot, add the lemon juice and the leafy greens, and cook on low heat for another 8-10 minutes until the greens are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.
(optional) Step 4: Serve hot with roasted chickpeas or toasted bread slices, and top with fresh thyme leaves and parsley.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped
4 garlic cloves - no skin
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 large carrot - chopped
1 large celery stalk - chopped
1 cup butternut squash - in cubes (or sweet potatoes, or extra carrots)
1 teaspoon thyme leaves - or 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
2 cans - chickpeas (15 oz) drained
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups dark leafy greens - finely chopped(kale, collard greens, spinach, Swiss chard)
2 tablespoons lemon juice - optional
salt & black pepper to taste
Studies show turmeric can help improve brain memory.
Try some of these recipes out, or share them with your friends!
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2021). 7 Health Benefits of Turmeric. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/turmeric-health-benefits
Foods linked to better brainpower. (2024). Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/foods-linked-to-better-brainpower
