You can eat the seeds raw or roast them to bring out a little more flavor. From there, eat them as a standalone snack, or sprinkle them on your meal for more oomph. Tsui likes to use them as a topping to add “some extra flavor, texture, and nutrition” to dishes like yogurt, porridge, granola, and salads.
Dark leafy greens
Think salad staples like spinach, kale, broccoli, and Swiss chard. One cup of raw spinach contains 24 mg of magnesium, according to the USDA (and if the spinach is boiled, that number climbs to 156 mg—48% of the DV, per the NIH). Still, “I love to have it raw on a sandwich or as the base of a salad,” Dada says. “I might add some arugula or some other types of greens, too, just for some variation in texture.”
If you need some salad inspo to put a fresh spin on the format or find that standard kinds tend to leave you craving more, check out this list of five original recipes that pull off the impressive feat of managing to actually keep you full. And if you’re just not feeling the raw route one day, keep in mind that you can always incorporate leafy greens into baked goods like egg bites and frittatas.
Legumes
Soybeans are the face of this category—which you probably know best in edamame, their immature form. One cup contains 99 mg of magnesium, according to the USDA (100 mg per the NIH, or 24% of the DV).
While soybeans might be the best known bean source of magnesium, we’d be remiss not to mention that other types are packing too. In fact, the five most frequently purchased bean varieties in the US—pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, and chickpeas—all contain roughly between 79 to 120 mg per cup, according to the USDA (around 20 to 30% of the DV), with black and kidney beans at the high end. Meanwhile, lentils, another popular legume, fall slightly outside of that range, at 71 mg.
Chia seeds
Next up is another type of seed: One ounce of chia seeds (roughly 1/8 cup) contains 95 mg of magnesium, according to the USDA (111 mg per the NIH, or 26% of the DV). What’s more, the seeds—not labeled a “superfood” for nothing—contain a bunch of other beneficial nutrients, including protein (which helps build muscle and boost recovery post-workout), fiber (which prevents constipation and makes pooping easier), antioxidants (which stave off cell damage), and omega-3 fatty acids (which support heart and brain health), Dada says.
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