MIND meal plan, for your brain.
The MIND diet blends the Mediterranean and DASH patterns and puts leafy greens, berries and fish front and center. Here is a week at about 1,700 calories a day. Alma can fit it to your goal.
Built from the MIND study and AHA advice.
The rules
Three habits from the MIND score
Leafy greens, every day
Spinach, kale or arugula in a salad or as a cooked side.
Berries twice a week or more
Blueberries and strawberries, fresh or frozen.
Fish weekly, olive oil as the fat
Salmon, sardines or trout, and olive oil in place of butter.
Sample week
Seven days of MIND meals
About 1,650 to 1,700 calories a day. Scale portions to your needs. Find your number
Day 1Monday
BreakfastOatmeal with blueberries and walnuts½ cup dry rolled oats cooked in 1 cup oat milk, ¾ cup blueberries, 10 walnut halves, cinnamon
LunchChickpea and spinach salad1 cup chickpeas, 2 cups spinach, cucumber, 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon, 1 slice sourdough
SnackGreek yogurt with strawberries¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup strawberries, 1 tsp honey
DinnerBaked salmon with farro and kale5 oz salmon, 1 cup cooked farro, 1½ cups kale sautéed in 2 tsp olive oil
About 1,690 kcal93 g protein35 g fiber
Day 2Tuesday
- BreakfastWhole-grain toast with peanut butter and banana2 slices whole-grain sourdough, 1½ tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana
- LunchLentil soup with a whole-grain roll2 cups lentil and spinach soup, 1 whole-grain roll, 1 tsp olive oil
- SnackAlmonds and an apple1 apple, 2 tbsp almonds
- DinnerRoast chicken with quinoa and green beans4½ oz roast chicken breast, 1 cup cooked quinoa, 1½ cups green beans, 2 tsp olive oil
About 1,660 kcal96 g protein43 g fiber
Day 3Wednesday
- BreakfastSpinach and mushroom omelet with toast2 eggs with 2 cups spinach and ½ cup mushrooms in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 slice whole-grain sourdough, 1 orange
- LunchTuna, white bean and tomato salad1 can tuna, ¾ cup white beans, tomato, red onion, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 slice sourdough
- SnackBlueberries with walnuts¾ cup blueberries, 3 tbsp walnuts
- DinnerTofu and broccoli stir-fry with brown rice5 oz firm tofu, 2 cups broccoli, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 tbsp tamari, 1 tsp sesame oil
About 1,650 kcal101 g protein34 g fiber
Day 4Thursday
- BreakfastOvernight oats with berries and chia½ cup rolled oats, ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp chia seeds, ½ cup berries, 2 tbsp walnuts
- LunchBarley and roasted vegetable salad1 cup cooked barley, roasted pepper and zucchini, ½ cup chickpeas, 1 tbsp olive oil plus 2 tsp for the vegetables, 2 cups arugula
- SnackHummus with carrots½ cup hummus, 1 cup carrot sticks
- DinnerBaked cod with sweet potato and greens5½ oz cod, 1¾ cups sweet potato, 2 cups kale, 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon
About 1,680 kcal97 g protein45 g fiber
Day 5Friday
- BreakfastYogurt with berries and granola1¼ cups plain Greek yogurt, ½ cup mixed berries, ⅓ cup granola
- LunchTurkey and avocado sandwich4 oz roast turkey breast, sliced, 2 slices whole-grain sourdough, ⅓ avocado, arugula, 2 tsp olive oil
- SnackOrange and pistachios1 orange, 2 tbsp pistachios
- DinnerShrimp with whole-wheat pasta5 oz shrimp, 1¼ cups cooked whole-wheat pasta, zucchini, 2 cups spinach, ½ cup tomato sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil
About 1,700 kcal132 g protein26 g fiber
Day 6Saturday
- BreakfastBuckwheat pancakes with strawberriesTwo pancakes from ½ cup buckwheat flour and 1 egg, ⅔ cup Greek yogurt, 1¼ cups strawberries
- LunchKale and white bean soup2 cups kale and white bean soup, 1 thick slice sourdough, 2 tsp olive oil
- SnackCottage cheese with blueberries¾ cup cottage cheese, ½ cup blueberries
- DinnerChicken and olive traybake with potatoes4½ oz chicken breast, 1⅓ cups potatoes, 2 tbsp olives, 2 tsp olive oil, rosemary
About 1,680 kcal122 g protein32 g fiber
Day 7Sunday
- BreakfastPoached eggs on whole-grain toast2 eggs, 2 slices whole-grain sourdough, ½ avocado, sliced tomato
- LunchSardines on rye with tomato1 can sardines in olive oil, 2 slices rye bread, 1 tomato, 2 cups arugula, 1 tsp olive oil, lemon
- SnackPear and walnuts1 pear, 3 tbsp walnuts
- DinnerBaked trout with lentils5 oz trout, 1 cup cooked lentils, 1 cup carrots, 2 tsp olive oil
About 1,710 kcal110 g protein33 g fiber
Shopping list
What to buy
Most days
Dairy, in small amountsGreek yogurt, cottage cheese, a little fetagreek yogurtcottage cheese
Now and then
Cheese and butter stay small here. Olive oil takes their place.
Make it yours
This week is a sample. Alma builds yours.
- Meals fit to your goal and the foods you like
- Log a meal by photo, voice or text in about 10 seconds
- Every meal gets an Alma Score from 0 to 100
Questions
What people ask
What is the MIND diet?
MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Researchers at Rush University built it as a hybrid of those two patterns. It scores leafy greens, other vegetables, berries, nuts, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry and olive oil, and limits butter, cheese, red meat, fried food and sweets.
Does the MIND diet improve memory?
Not settled. In observational studies, people who scored higher on MIND had slower cognitive decline. But a 2023 randomized trial in the New England Journal of Medicine found no significant difference in cognition over 3 years between a MIND diet and a control diet, with both groups eating slightly less. The National Institute on Aging says more research is needed.
What foods do you limit on the MIND diet?
Butter, cheese, red meat, fried food, pastries and sweets. In the original scoring, red meat is under four meals a week, butter under a tablespoon a day, pastries and sweets under five a week, and cheese and fried or fast food under once a week. Nothing is banned. How often is what counts.
How many calories is this meal plan?
About 1,650 to 1,700 calories a day, with 90 to 135 grams of protein and 25 to 45 grams of fiber. Your needs depend on your size, age and activity, so scale portions. The calorie calculator gives you a starting number.
How is MIND different from the Mediterranean diet?
They overlap a lot. MIND does not set a high fruit target or ask for fish more than once a week. It names leafy greens and berries, and it sets limits on butter, cheese, red meat, fried food and sweets, which the Mediterranean pattern leaves looser.
Can you follow the MIND diet without fish?
Yes. Keep the leafy greens, berries, beans, nuts, whole grains and olive oil, and take the fish points from what you do eat. Flax, chia and walnuts carry some omega-3 fats, though not the same kind as oily fish. If you eat no fish at all, ask your clinician whether a check on your intake makes sense.
How do I tell whether my week is on track?
Log each meal in Alma by photo, voice or text in about 10 seconds. Every meal gets an Alma Score from 0 to 100, drawing on Harvard's Alternate Healthy Eating Index, which rewards the greens, berries, beans and fish this pattern is built on. The fiber and plant diversity calculators fill in the week.
Sources
Written by Alma from the sources below and reviewed October 28, 2026. Calories and protein are estimates. This is general information, not medical advice. If you manage a health condition or take medication, check changes with your clinician. Editorial standards
- National Institute on Aging: What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer's disease?
- Morris MC, et al. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement, 2015
- Barnes LL, et al. Trial of the MIND diet for prevention of cognitive decline in older persons. N Engl J Med, 2023
- Cleveland Clinic: The MIND diet, what to know
- American Heart Association: Fish and omega-3 fatty acids
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, USDA and HHS
- USDA FoodData Central, for calorie and protein estimates
Get a week built around you.
Tell Alma your goal and the foods you like. It plans the meals and scores each one.