Commons Café

These are the best foods to snack on for maximum brain power (from avid snack lovers & dietitians).

🥑 Call us boring but avocado toast and adding avocados to smoothies is still delicious and nourishing.

🔵 Snack on blueberries as is or and add them to yogurt or oatmeal.

🥜 Try adding walnuts to your trail mix for extra crunch (and better cognitive function).

🌱 Crisp up some cooked lentils and toss them in your fave spices for a fun, crunchy snack.

🟣 Make a roasted beet hummus and munch away with whole wheat crackers or vegetables

🟡 Add turmeric to your smoothies or eggs for a dose of curcurmin, an anti-inflammatory.

☕ Drink a cup of coffee with a milk of your choice for caffeine and antioxidants.

🍫 Enjoy a chunk from a dark chocolate bar (70% or more cacao content) to improve attentiveness. ...

We think pickles make everything better, and it isn`t just because they are good for your gut! 🥒 (You have to believe us. Please.) Here`s why:

1️⃣ They`re delicious on a sandwich. And it doesn`t just have to be pickled cucumbers! A pickled onion is honestly the best move here.
2️⃣ They`re a perfect midnight snack, whether or not you choose to use a fork.
3️⃣ Add them to your next girl dinner. ✅
4️⃣ They help with your gut health (we had to include this for the dietitians to be happy).
5️⃣ Plus, if you have produce that might go bad soon, you can always pickle it to prevent it from going to a landfill! (Look at you go, you food waste fighter!) ...

Is your gut health key to glowing skin?

Your skin is your body`s largest organ, acting as a frontline defense for your immune system while maintaining your body temperature and helping you sense potential dangers like sharp objects or hot surfaces.

Your gut and skin are deeply intertwined through metabolic, immune, and hormonal pathways, meaning that if your gut health is off, your skin`s equilibrium can be disrupted leading to everything from acne to eczema.

A diverse and balanced gut microbiome can help you regulate inflammation (ahem, acne), strengthen your skin barrier, and support healthy immune responses. Here are key foods to help you support your gut health:
➡️ Onions, asparagus, barley, and oats are rich in prebiotics
➡️ Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickle boast a lot of probiotics

Enjoy more of these foods and your body will do the rest! Holistic gut support may be an effective way to get that glow others pay hundreds of dollars for. 🌟 ...

Did you know that what you eat has a huge impact on your skin? Explore the science of edible skincare (and, no, we don`t mean edible lip gloss 👄) to keep your skin firm, hydrated, and glowing. 🌟

1️⃣ Befriend your collagen by adding more bell peppers, strawberries, citrus, broccoli, and kiwi to your day-to-day meals. These foods contain a key antioxidant (Vitamin C) to synthesize collagen and protect you from UV-damage.
2️⃣ Protect your lipid layer with almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach, and avocados (Vitamin E). These foods help neutralize free radicals and support your natural oil barrier.
3️⃣ Moisturize. Hydrate your skin with water- and electrolyte-rich foods like cucumbers, watermelon, oranges, coconut water, and leafy greens.
4️⃣ Soften your skin with fatty acids found in salmon, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts (omega-3s). These may also help protect against acne!
5️⃣ Repair your skin with pumpkin seeds, lentils, chickpeas, cashews, and oysters. These foods are rich in a mineral (Zinc) that helps control inflammation and boost skin barrier function.
6️⃣ Hyaluronic acid isn`t just in pricey serums — your body can produce it with the right "precursors." Include more bone broth, soy, root vegetables, citrus, and leafy greens to produce your own elasticity boosting hydration!
7️⃣ Prevent skin aging with polyphenols found in berries, green tea, dark chocolate, olive oil, and red grapes! These antioxidants help protect the skin from sun damage and support your gut microbiome, which plays an important role in skin health.

Be skin savvy at snack time with these ideas:
🍓 Chia pudding with berries and walnuts
🫑 Hummus with bell pepper strips
🍌 Spinach, banana, avocado, and green tea smoothie ...

Get another taste of street foods for AAPI Heritage Month! This broad cross section of cultural foods ranges from the street stalls of Seoul to the islands of Hawai`i:

🇰🇷 Tteokbokki are chewy rice cakes in a gochujang-based sauce, a well-known Korean fermented chili paste. The comforting snack is often topped with boiled eggs, fish cakes, and scallions.

🌺 Spam musubi is a simple yet iconic handheld bite made with a slice of grilled Spam on top of sticky rice, which is held together with a strip of nori. It was invented in Hawai’i following World War II, representing the lasting legacy of American wartime rations and the influence of Japanese culinary traditions on local Hawaiian foods.

🇵🇭 Banana cue, a popular afternoon snack in the Philippines, features starchy yet sweet Saba bananas deep-fried and coated in caramelized brown sugar, served on skewers.

🇹🇭 Thailand`s Som tam is a vibrant and fresh green papaya salad with a balanced flavor of spicy, sour, sweet, and salty.

🇲🇾 Roti canai is a flaky, layered flatbread often served with lentils or curry for dipping. The flatbread reflects the history of Muslim communities from India migrating to Malaysia in the late 1800s and is now a staple of Malaysian cuisine.

Looking to try your hand making street food at home? Check out street food recipes inspired by our Bon Appétit chefs at the link in our bio! ...