When we were babies (or now raising babies), our parents took time to warm bottles, test (or even make from scratch) baby food and patiently try to feed it to us. Our parents would stand in grocery stores and carefully examine baby food labels. And now Millennial parents browse for hours online, looking for the best diet for their babies (or grandbabies). We’ll even panic over pet food, hoping the dog is getting a balanced combination of kibble. From bully sticks to jerky, pet lovers are examining every food in the pet aisle before buying anything.

Ironically, while we’re looking out for babies and puppies, we’re not thinking about mind-diet recipes. We’ll head to the first drive-thru or grab an armful of frozen food with unknown ingredients. If it’s fast, hot and free, we’re in! The problem with this speedy food option is salty foods (and sugary foods) catch up to us sooner or later, whether that’s diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or gout. And we don’t always know what all we’re ingesting.

“You know what watch you have on, shoes you have on, shirt you have on, pants you have on, dress you have on,” Styles P of The Lox said on the “Tamron Hall Show.”

The rapper and owner of Juices for Life continued, “You know what kind of car you have. You put the best gas and oil in it. You should do the same for yourself. You should look up what you’re putting on the inside as well as the outside.”

What Is a Mind-Diet Recipe?

The Official MIND Diet’s 20-year research introduces people to nutritious, disease-fighting foods that help our inner and outer self.

Martha Clare Morris, the director of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and the MIND Center for Brain Health at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, wrote a book about this dietary trend. If followed, the food suggestions inside the book can help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, help with weight loss and improve cognitive health.

Best of all, these five simple mind-diet recipes don’t take a massive amount of time to prepare.

Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes

Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a plate of blueberry pancakes? Instead of piling on the sugar, dairy milk and salt, you can try making Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes with spelt flour, quick oats and honey. And skip the canned blueberries; buy them fresh from a produce aisle instead.

Peachy Corn and Tomato Summer Salad

Chances are you’ve had a cold salad with onions, corn and tomatoes before. And you may have munched on a peach separately. But this Peachy Corn and Tomato Summer Salad mixes them altogether, along with pita bread and a few extra seasonings.

Curried Sweet Potato Salad

We already know there will be upturned noses and “Who made the potato salad?” comments no matter what the recipe is. This Curried Sweet Potato Salad comes fairly close to Classic Potato Salad. Use both russet potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with the usual boiled eggs, mustard, mayonnaise and celery.

There may be some initial hesitation in this mind-diet recipe about adding hummus and curry powder, but it’s worth a taste test. And no potato salad is complete without the notorious paprika. (Fun fact: Paprika can help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease, improve immunity, and alleviate gas. It’s not just decor for your side dish.)

Sauteed Greens

Although collard greens have more fiber than Swiss chard and kale, preparation for this Sauteed Greens recipe isn’t too far off from the former green vegetable. Keep in mind that Swiss chard tastes more like spinach, and kale can be tough to eat if you don’t massage it well beforehand. Even after the garlic, olive oil and shallots are added, if you find yourself not loving this recipe, switch to collards and see if that’s more your speed.

Turkey Chili

The best part about chili is the base ingredients are more often than not a hit with everybody. With an assortment of spices, tomatoes, beans and garlic, you can make this Turkey Chili your own. Vegetarians and vegans can easily swap out the chicken broth and ground turkey in this recipe for vegetable broth, mushrooms or a vegan meat substitute.

Being Mindful Of Your Food With a Mind-Diet Recipe

Any of these five can be eaten with confidence, especially when it comes to fiber and protein. You can even match a couple of them together. For dessert, try memory-boosting food choices such as fresh berries, grapes, watermelon, oranges or apples. And, depending on the time of day, tea or coffee are good “dessert” options. Not only do both beverages improve memory, but they also help with concentration.

And while you’re serving all of these mind-diet recipes, practice mindfulness (focusing fully on the sight, taste and texture of food without being distracted by TV, radio, computers). Between the two, your inner health could be as good as your outer health.