Granted, knowing what to eat and actually doing it are two very different things. Happily, small tweaks to your kitchen environment can nudge you toward meaningful changes. These seven strategies will help you build brain-boosting habits and enjoy your time in the kitchen more, which Ramsey says is just as important. “Sure, eating for brain health is about consuming the right foods to feed your brain cells and help prevent inflammation. But it’s also about engaging with food and cooking in a joyful way.” To make grabbing them automatic, place the brain-healthiest nuts—almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts—in clear containers in the front of your pantry. Surround them with other healthy, tasty options, like seeds, dried fruit, roasted chickpeas, and dark chocolate (that’s at least 70 percent cacao). “Dark chocolate is a powerful tool in our eating-for-mental-wellness arsenal,” Dr. Ramsey says. “In one small study, regular dark chocolate eaters were 70 percent less likely to report depression.” Stash individually wrapped squares in a jar for a sweet snack. Make it a pleasure to use olive oil for the majority of your cooking by decanting it into a pretty ceramic or tinted glass bottle and keeping it on the counter. (Store it out of direct sunlight, which causes degradation, and avoid clear containers.) Don’t be shy about taking a bottle of E.V.O.O. to the table and drizzling it on dinner. “Olive oil helps your body absorb the nutrients in the other brain-friendly foods on your plate,” Dr. Fenn says. RELATED: 7 Strategies to Form Healthy Eating Habits, According to RDs RELATED: How to Start Eating More Anti-Inflammatory Foods—and Why It’s So Important Little jars and packages of fermented foods can get lost in your fridge, though, and it can be a challenge to figure out how to use them in everyday meals. To keep them handy, designate one shelf on the door as a spot for all your fermented products. Label it, and make a point to consume at least one of those foods daily. “Try stirring chopped kimchi into rice, adding kefir or yogurt to a smoothie, and mixing kombucha into cocktails or mocktails,” says Brierley Horton, RD, cohost of the Happy Eating Podcast. To make sure the good stuff doesn’t get buried, Laura Fenton, an organizing expert and the author of The Little Book of Living Small, suggests designating a bin for each category: one for produce, one for seafood and lean meats, for example. “You can always add bins if your freezer doesn’t have any,” she says. “Any plastic ones will work, including large food-storage containers without the tops.” RELATED: The 30 Healthiest Foods to Eat Every Day
