Do you want to relax, feel less stressed at work, or avoid those tears of frustration during exams? Vegan brain food will help. What better way of taking care of our busy brain than by feeding it the fuel it needs?
Avocados
Love avocados? Did you know that besides their rich texture and flavor, avocados are loaded with vitamins? It’s a rich source of fiber, several B vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin E, and potassium (source: Wikipedia). It’s also very versatile. You can eat it fresh with some chips, make a guacamole dip, use it in salads and you can even make a nice, creamy chocolate pudding with it.
Walnuts
Have you noticed that a walnut resembles a shriveled brain, in a way? 😉 And it’s marvelous brain food! They are packed with a high concentration of DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that improves brain health.
Walnuts make a great snack and I have also used them – ground in the food processor – for pie bases and vegan cheese recipes (when I ran out of almonds or cashews I used walnuts instead and it was just as good).
Blueberries
Blueberries, which are considered a “super food” contain vitamins A, C and K, several B vitamins, dietary fiber, and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, and calcium (source: Wikipedia). With their high concentration of antioxidants they help to balance the free radicals in our bodies.
Blueberries are great for smoothies, as dessert toppings, or a healthy snack.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are rich in fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. They have also been linked to better gut health. (source: Healthline).
I love to use them for dessert.
==> Click here for a yummy chia seed pudding recipe. <==
Chia seeds can also be used for a refreshing drink. The recipe is easy.
- In a tall glass, squeeze half a lime
- Add one or two teaspoons of chia seeds (it depends on how much you want in it)
- Pour sparkling water over it and mix
- Enjoy!
It is one of the most refreshing drinks on a hot summer day. I love this!
Pumpkin Seeds
These tiny seeds are pumped with health benefits, also high in antioxidants, magnesium and fiber, scientifically linked to reduced risk of certain cancers, can lower blood sugar levels, and may even improve heart health.
Dark Chocolate
Last but not least, my favorite snack: chocolate! And I’m going to give you a list of reasons (or excuses 😉 ) to eat more of it.
- It’s a strong source of antioxidants
- May improve blood flow and lower blood pressure
- May reduce heart disease risk
- Can improve brain function
- May also protect your skin from the sun
The above mentioned points are all proven health benefits of chocolate. So, forget that feeling of guilt and break of a piece of that chocolate bar. You deserve it!
Just remember that it should be dark chocolate, NOT milk chocolate.
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A Few Tips
Instead of eating a chocolate bar, you could also break off a few small pieces and sprinkle them over your chia seed pudding.
Walnuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and blueberries could be mixed in with your granola in the morning
You could add blueberries to your chia seed pudding.
There are a lot more things you can do with these ingredients, I always say that the best meals are the ones that are improvised (and of which I rarely write down the recipes 😉 . Note to self, I must take notes when I’m improvising in the kitchen, so I can share it here 🙂
Hi Christine,
I love avocado salad, and I like to have them as breakfast on the weekends to treat myself. The taste is too good to resist every time I have it. As for dark chocolate, I didn’t know that it’s good for the human brain. And you are so right about the quilty after eating chocolate, hahaha…Perhaps now we can convince ourselves that eating chocolate is for our health!
Your tip about mixing up all the brain healthy food with granola sounds brilliant, so it’s my next goal for this coming weekend.
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Yes, mix it all up, these ingredients are perfect for that. I love avocado salad too. Yesterday I bought some avocados, I may use them for a salad or perhaps make some guacamole.
Thanks for your comment!
Hi Christine!
After reading your article I feel like making myself a delicious chia pudding! The truth is that I love all the ingredients you suggest. I used to drink soymilk with chia and berries for breakfast and I loved it. I don’t know why I stopped doing it, probably because when we are in a daily rush we don’t seem to have time to prepare things like this. But the truth is that it is very simple to make and very beneficial for our health as you say. I think I’m going to get back into this wonderful habit and consider your ideas.After all, if it’s good for our health and a little pleasure for our palate, what more do we want?
I am also a chocolate lover and I didn’t know all the benefits you mention! Pumpkin seeds in particular have caught my attention. How can I take them? Raw?
Thanks for reminding us how simple it is to eat well.
Best regards,
Marta
Hi Marta,
Soy milk with chia and berries sounds delicious. Yes, you should definitely take that up again 😉 I just ordered a new blender and I am looking forward to making my smoothies too (I can’t use my old blender at the moment).
Toasted or roasted pumpkin seeds taste really good. You can either buy them as a snack, or I sometimes buy a whole (or half a) pumpkin, collect the seeds, and I roast them myself in the oven, with any flavor I like, for example, just salt, or salt and pepper, or cumin, paprika, you can improvise here 🙂
we did not know that all these foods such as avocados and walnuts can make you relax and blueberries our favorite to-do smoothies. We use chia seeds and bananas and flax seeds, with almond milk. This is one recipe that we like with a little more add-ons in there but for the most part, this does seem to give us a lift if this is all we drink in the morning.
Promotes good health and a meal supplement to help hold us over till the afternoon, learned that it can be vegan brain-food.
Cheers,
Mathew&Deloris
Hi Matthew and Deloris,
Great! Bananas are also a nice add on, and flax seeds are loaded with nutrients.
Thank you for your comment!
My body feels so much better since I’ve added blueberries in my diet. I don’t get as much akes and pains after my training sessions, and they certainly do their magic when it comes to recovery.
To anyone that’s reading this comment – I higly reccomend you follow in my footsteps and have at least one handful on blueberries each morning. I promise your body will thank you for it!
You’ve reccomenden some great recipes, btw. I can’t wait to try them out!
Thank you for taking the time to write such an amazing post. I higly appreciate it and encourage you to keep up the excellent work.
Gorjan,
Thank you, Gorjan!
Have a great day!
Hi Christine,
They say that brain food is fish, so I have wondered what would be good brain food for vegans. Well, today I have found the answer and my girlfriend is going to love your article. She is going to love it because these are more new recipes for us to try and the recipes will help us with her brain.
I will let you know what she thinks and how we found the recipes and if in fact they do help us think better.
Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing.
All the best,
Tom
Great! Try out the chia seeds with lime and sparkling water, it’s so refreshing 🙂
Nice that you talk about chia seeds this is really important for me cause I’m a person who likes to eat a lot of protein and this can help me a lot. Thanks for sharing this good information. Keep the good work.
Venche
Hi Christine,
I don’t live by a strict vegan lifestyle but I do only eat vegan meals at home 6 days of the week and since cutting meats and dairy products out of my diet I’ve noticed a huge change in my health.
I’m more energetic and clear headed which was a huge thing for me while struggling with mental health issues!
I eat blueberries in my smoothie every morning so it’s good to know all the vitamins they contain!
I also love walnuts on salads and I really love foods that resemble the body part they are good for.
I’ve also been using flax seeds in my smoothies. Do you know if they are similar to chia seeds in their nutrients? I might consider switching to chia seeds to see if I notice a difference!
Hi Haley,
Flax seeds are definitely also very nutritious. Just keep on adding them to your smoothies. Both flax and chia seeds are similar in nutrients, but flax seeds have a higher amount of protein and omega-3 fats. Chia seeds have fewer calories and more fiber.
Plant-based food can make a huge difference when it comes to health, and also mental health. For a while I also mixed in some raw vegan meals and they always filled me with energy 🙂
Love all These Foods.
Chocoholic as Well 🙂