Meals That Can Boost Your Senses!

Experts have revealed the top meals which can boost your senses that include lasagne, a roast chicken dinner and a hearty soup.

Nutritionists have compiled a list of meals which each contain foods that help your sight, hearing, taste and smell.

Simple everyday favourites such as a roast chicken dinner are considered to be good for eyesight, thanks to the beta carotene in carrots, and lutein and zeaxanthin in green vegetables.

While chicken thighs are a good source of zinc which helps to maintain our sense of taste and smell.

And tomatoes in a lasagne contain lycopene, which can help maintain good eyesight, while beef contains vitamin B12 which may impact your sense of smell if you don’t get enough in your diet.

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Top 10 Sensory-boosting Meals

1. Spicy Cajun salmon with mango, sweetcorn and avocado salsa

This marinated salmon dish is brightly coloured which can help to stimulate your appetite. It is also good for your eye health as it is rich in both lutein and zeaxanthin. Lutein is especially beneficial for eye health as together with other potent antioxidants, this phytonutrient helps to block out visible blue light, which is one of the major causes of light-induced eye damage.

2. Roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup

This vibrant red soup is made from red peppers and sweet potatoes which are rich in the carotenoids lycopene and beta carotene which have been shown to support good eye health. These are converted to vitamin A in the body, which is essential for good eye health. Vitamin A helps by keeping the surface of the eye, or the cornea, moist and healthy. Beta-carotene has also been shown to help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

3. Crunchy radish, tomato and watermelon salad

How food sounds when you eat it is a sense that can make food more appealing. Foods such as radish have a satisfying crunch that adds texture to a dish. Recent research published in the American Journal of clinical nutrition involving over 65,000 women found that those with higher intakes of beta carotene were associated with a lower risk of hearing loss.

4. Blueberry and crunchy peanut butter baked oats

Oats are a healthy addition to any diet and when baked offer a crunchy texture to dishes which is appealing to the ear. Research published in the Journal of Epidemiology has shown that eating a healthy balanced diet may reduce the risk of acquired hearing loss. A healthy diet will include plenty of plant foods including wholegrains such as oats and antioxidant-rich fruits such as blueberries.

5. Thai prawn and lemongrass sweet and sour broth

Balancing different tastes can make dishes more satisfying to eat and one of the most common combinations is sweet and sour which is found in this soup. This dish is also a good source of zinc which is required by the body to maintain a good sense of smell.

6. Mushroom risotto

Mushrooms are a classic ‘umami’ food which means they give a rich savoury flavour. They also contain a source of zinc to help maintain good taste.

7. Korean beef stir fry

The smell is one of the main things people use to decide whether they will eat a certain food. This dish is scented with Korean flavours of ginger and sesame while B12 found in beef has been shown to have a role to play in your sense of smell.

8. Herb salad with pistachio, and pomegranate

Herbs are a good way to make any dish more fragrant and there is no rule on how they can be used. This dish combines multiple herbs to create a sense sensation plus the pistachio has the added benefit of zinc which can help to maintain a sense of smell.

9. Roast chicken dinner

Chicken thighs are a good source of zinc which helps to maintain our sense of taste and smell, while roasted veg is good for eyesight due to the beta carotene in the carrots, and lutein and zeaxanthin in the green vegetables.

10 . Lasagne

Tomatoes contain lycopene, which can help maintain good eyesight, while beef contains vitamin B12 which may impact on your sense of smell if you don’t get enough in your diet.