Upgrade Your Brain Recipe App Launches with New Meals to Boost Brain Health

Are you stuck in a recipe rut, cooking the same limited meals over and over again? Are you looking for ways to boost your brain health? The new ‘Upgrade Your Brain Cook App’ from foodforthebrain.org is the answer. It not only gives you easy meals from breakfasts to snacks, main meals and desserts but each recipe is designed to ‘dementia proof’ your brain.

Launched today by the educational charity foodforthebrain.org, the recipes are based on extensive research which has identified the four critical qualities of meals that link to better mood, memory and mental energy, banishing brain fog and forgetfulness. These essential components are a good quantity of brain fats, slow-releasing carbs, antioxidants and B vitamins.

Each recipe is scored accordingly, and if you choose something missing one of these critical components, it then shows you what to eat next or how to adapt what you’re eating to hit the brain-friendly zone.

“These are all easy-to-make, tried and tested recipes. We hope the App will not only get people out of the recipe rut but also educate and energise them in the process,” says founder Patrick Holford, a nutritionist, psychologist and author of 48 books, including his latest: Upgrade Your Brain.

And the extra good news? What’s good for the brain is good for the body. A recent study from the UK Biobank data shows that increased intake of omega-3 from fish oils reduces the risk of 35 diseases.

“As far as fish is concerned, we say ‘SMASH it – S for salmon, M for mackerel, A for anchovies, S for sardines and H for herring or kipper. But many people don’t know how to make delicious food with fish. The Upgrade Your Brain Cook App has lots of delicious recipes, from breakfast to desserts, snacks, and main meals, each with brain-friendly attributes.” Continues Holford.

Each recipe prioritises:

Low sugar (GL-friendly) options to help stabilise blood sugar and support healthy weight management.

Brain-fat-friendly ingredients to provide the right fats, such as omega-3, for cognitive function.

B-vitamin-rich meals to support energy, methylation, and homocysteine levels—key factors in maintaining brain health.

Antioxidant-rich dishes to neutralise oxidative stress, a major contributor to brain ageing.

Here’s an example of a ‘perfect’ day.

Once you’ve picked a dish from the App, it shows you what to eat next to tick the box for these four brain-friendly requirements for a perfect day. This sample menu, for example, is low in GL and high in brain fats. This is important as anything below 45 GLs helps you to lose weight, and foods high in brain fats give you extra credit for the next day.

The Upgrade Your Brain Cook App also lets you tailor recipes to your dietary preferences (e.g., dairy-free, gluten-free, plant-based) while ensuring your meals are both delicious and scientifically designed to promote brain health.

There are lots of delicious and easy-to-make recipes to suit everyone from vegans to meat eaters and those who choose to avoid gluten or other food intolerances, such as Coconut & Almond Porridge, Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut-lime Dipping Sauce; Crispy Chickpea & Kale Snack Bowl; Spiced Salmon Burger with Sweet Potato Fries & Slaw; Thai Fish Cakes with Satay Dipping Sauce; Tofu-Quinoa Poke Bowl; Avo-Edamame Hummus with Flaxseed Crackers; Chaat Masala Chickpeas; Cherry Sorbet; Pineapple-Watermelon-Pomegranate Fruit Platter; and many more.

Wendy is a case in point: “I lost six stone, reversed my diabetes, and my energy came back following these principles. My memory and mood are transformed. I love this App. It makes healthy eating doable and fun. The recipes are fantastic and easy to make.”

The recipes, devised by nutritionist and chef Kim Close and Fiona McDonald Joyce (author of five recipe books), are all tried and tested, firm favourites and let you adapt even something like burger and fries into a brain-friendly recipe such as ‘Spicy Salmon Burgers with Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries’ while still being absolutely delicious.

Here is a sample recipe:

The Upgrade Your Brain Cook App Spicy Salmon Burgers with Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries (serves 4).

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon fillets (about 150g each), skin removed
• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 200g cabbage, shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 50g mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into fries
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Toss sweet potato fries with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway, until crispy.

Pulse the salmon in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl, add Cajun seasoning, and form into four burger patties.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the salmon burgers for 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through.

For the coleslaw, mix the shredded cabbage and carrot with mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the spicy salmon burgers with coleslaw and sweet potato fries on the side.

Air Fryer Instructions: Preheat the air fryer to 200°C. Cook the sweet potato fries in the basket for about 15-20 minutes until crispy. Then, cook the salmon burgers for 10-12 minutes until they are fully cooked. Serve as above.

Upgrade Your Brain Cook App Chef Kim Close says, “I wholeheartedly believe that nutritious food can, and should be, really delicious. We are passionate about creating recipes that look and taste fantastic! With this app, you can cook these recipes for yourself and your family and see how healthy they score. Each recipe helps people to upgrade their nutritional knowledge and cookery skills and enjoy brain-healthy, delicious meals.”

Find out more about the Upgrade Your Brain Cook App at https://foodforthebrain.org/uybcookapp/.

All proceeds help the charity foodforthebrain.org research and educate people about what really prevents dementia.