10 Snacks That Improve Your Mood & Mind

Brierley Horton, M.S., RD is a dietitian nutritionist, content creator and strategist, and avid mental health advocate. She is co-host and co-creator of the Happy Eating podcast, which breaks down the connection between food and mental wellness.

Did you know that what you eat can directly affect your mind? Yes, really—the nutrients in your diet have the power to influence your focus, memory, and mood. The research on the connection between food and long-term brain health and mental wellness is consistently growing. Generally speaking, eating a cleaner, more Mediterranean-like diet, as well as more fruits and vegetables is best for your mental wellness. 

So, with that said, we pulled together 12 snacks that science suggests have the potential to help your mind and balance your mood.

Berry Smoothie Bowl with Yogurt

Literally, every ingredient in this recipe (shown above)—from the probiotic-rich yogurt to the berries, magnesium-filled almonds, and even the omega-3s in the chia seeds—is fuel for your brain health! Let’s talk specifically about the berries, though: in a study published in 2019, participants who drank a smoothie made with a mix of berries improved their attention, memory, and so-called flexible thinking over the following 6 hours compared to participants who drank a placebo​. Newer research, published in October 2024 in the same journal, showed that consuming blueberries (typically in the form of freeze-dried blueberry powder or blueberry juice) helps improve mood in kids, teenagers, postpartum women and healthy adults.

Garden Veggie & Pita Board

Pair our Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread with your favorite veggies, but be sure to include some brightly-colored orange and red vegetables like carrots and red bell peppers. The compounds that give red bell peppers and orange carrots their brilliant hues are also good for your brain—called carotenoids, research shows they can help protect against age-related brain decline. Carotenoids also have powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which is good for mental wellness.

Egg & Veggie Muffin Cups

Yes, these are a great make-ahead breakfast item, but why not also have them for snack? Eggs deliver a handful of nutrients that are great for your mental wellness, such as B vitamins, choline, and tryptophan. Plus, a study published just last year showed another benefit to eating eggs. In a study of over 8,000 Chinese adults, researchers found that adults who regularly ate eggs had fewer depressive symptoms. In fact, for every additional egg eaten each week, risk of depressive symptoms dropped by 4%. 

Apple, Cheddar & Almond Snack Mix

Use our recipe to guide you, or get creative and improvise and use any apple (or pears!), almond butter, and your favorite Cabot cheese. Whatever you do, don’t skip the cheese! Recent research—published in PLoS One in December 2022—showed that middle and high school students who regularly ate dairy foods had more stress resilience than their classmates who weren’t regular dairy consumers.

Mini Taco Cups

This snack is a protein powerhouse. A single “taco” delivers 15 grams protein, or 30% of your Daily Value. What’s more—ground turkey is a pretty good way to get iron into your diet. It offers more iron than other poultry and your body also absorbs iron better when it comes from animal protein sources. Why is iron so important? Well, research has found that people who are iron deficient are more likely to be irritable and have a higher risk of anxiety and depression. 

Also, don’t skip the tomatoes—they’re a great way to add lycopene to your diet, which may be beneficial for cognitive performance.

Cheddar Cheese Compost Cookie

Sometimes a snack needs to fulfill that sweet tooth craving—and this one fits that bill. But these cookies also contain some cheese (which may help with stress resilience) and walnuts, which other research has shown helped college students improve their self-reported levels of stress, overall mental health, and sleep.

Yogurt Toast

For the biggest benefit, make this delicious recipe with whole wheat bread! It and eggs both deliver tryptophan and tryptophan helps your body make serotonin—that feel-good compound that helps regulate your mood. Also, don’t forget about that 2023 study that found regularly eating eggs could potentially help lessen depression symptoms.

Homemade Trail Mix

Sure, it sounds a tad un-original, but hear us out: when you build a trail mix with the right ingredients, it’s incredible brain fuel! We recommend almonds, dark chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, and raisins—all deliver healthy amounts of magnesium, which is key for mental wellness! In a review study published in 2021 in the journal Nutrients, researchers found that people who were merely low (not even deficient) in magnesium were at a higher risk of having depressive- and anxiety-like symptoms.

DIY Greek Yogurt Bark

To easily make your own, mix Cabot’s Plain Greek Yogurt with a liquid sweetener of choice (we recommend maple syrup!) or a bit of peanut butter. Then, spread the mixture on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; top with dehydrated berries, chia seeds, and/or mini chocolate chips. Freeze until frozen and then break into bite-sized pieces. Greek yogurt is the key ingredient here because it delivers probiotics, and research suggests that probiotics have “small but significant effects” on depression and anxiety. Also, while more research is still needed, a recent study (published in August 2023) found that healthy adults who added a probiotic supplement to their diet reported improved scores for their mood, anxiety, and depression. Researchers also measured their serotonin (the “feel good” hormone) and found it increased after 6 weeks of probiotic supplementation. 

Mac & Cheese + Your Favorite Leafy Green

Start with the first few steps of your favorite homemade mac & cheese recipe, and stir your favorite leafy green into the water in the final minute of cooking the pasta. Kale, spinach, and Swiss chard are a few of our recommendations. Next, drain the leafy greens and pasta together and prepare the rest of the mac and cheese as you normally would. Adding leafy greens to your macaroni and cheese is an easy way to up your veggie intake, which you now know supports your mental wellness. But also, in that same 2020 study in Nutrients, researchers also found that people who ate more leafy greens had better moods, more life satisfaction and optimism, and fewer depressive symptoms. 

Cabot Cottage Cheese + Salsa

Top a serving or two of Cabot’s Cottage Cheese with your favorite salsa, or simply chop up a handful of tomatoes and season with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. And in studies of people with low and high lycopene levels, low levels have been linked with poor cognitive performance, while high levels have been associated with better test scores, per a 2019 study in The Journal of Nutritional Sciences.

Popcorn

Did you know that popcorn is a whole grain? That’s a food group most of us need more of in our diet, and also eating foods that are low on the glycemic index (which whole grains are) may improve your attention and memory, according to one study. And other research has shown that eating a high-glycemic-index diet could raise your risk of depressive symptoms and fatigue.

A Quick Disclaimer

While the foods we talk about in this article have been associated with fewer depression symptoms and/or overall improved mental wellness and brain function, eating these foods won’t necessarily eliminate mental health conditions or symptoms. If you have a mental health condition or are struggling, it’s important to work with a health professional as your first line of defense.

We hope you will explore these foods that boost brain health. Nutrient dense snacks are so important for healthy minds and bodies of all ages. Also check out healthy snacks to go to help you stay on track.