Main Dishes for Strong Nails (Recipes)

Make your fingernails and toenails stronger from the inside out with these super-nutritious recipes! The following recipes use foods that provide plenty of vitamin C, carotenoids, iron, biotin, vitamin E, or other nutrients that can help you grow strong nails.

Now, before you let out the foodie in you and check out into the recipes below, you may want to read the section Diet Tips for Growing Strong Nails and the section Best Foods for Nails for more general information about how diet is linked to strong nails.

Steamed Asparagus with Sesame Seeds

Turbo-charge your diet by eating asparagus, a highly nutritious vegetable packed with nail health promoting micronutrients. The sesame seeds featured in this mouth-watering dish are packed with zinc and iron which are crucial for strong nails and hair.
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Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto

This simple recipe helps you create a risotto that's full of flavor and micronutrients that help promote nail health. In addition, it delivers a good amount of protein which can improve nail strength and speed up the rate of nail growth.
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Beet and Carrot Salad with Ginger

This intriguing recipe pairs beets with carrots to create an a natural remedy for brittle nails. Beets are an plant-based source of iron, a mineral that helps prevent dry nails, washboard ridges, and upturned nails (as opposed to nails with a downward curve). Carrots on the other hand are rich in vitamin C which is known to increase iron absorption from foods.
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Beet and Carrot Soup

This recipe pairs beets with carrots to create an impeccable weapon for fighting brittle nails. Beets contain plenty of iron which helps prevent dry nails, washboard ridges, and upturned nails. The carrots in this soup deliver vitamin C which is known to boost iron absorption from foods.
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Spinach and Mushroom Omelet

Eggs are one of the best natural sources of biotin (vitamin B7) and cobalamin (vitamin B12). Biotin which has been shown to significantly increase nail plate thickness and to reduce nails' tendency to split while a sufficient intake of cobalamin is needed in order to avoid nail dryness, overly curved nail ends, and darkened nails. The spinach and mushrooms in this omelet provide plenty of other important B vitamins, including vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B3, and vitamin B1.
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Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, carotenoids, and iron, all of which help keep nails strong.
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Tangy Tomato Soup with Basil

Tomatoes, the key ingredient in this pleasantly tangy soup, are rich in vitamin C, carotenoids, and iron, all of which help keep nails strong.
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Carrot, Tomato and Lentil Soup

Carrots provide tremendous amounts of beta-carotene which helps promote nail health due to its role as a precursor to vitamin A. But the nail health benefits of this soup do not end there: the lentils in this soup pack a protein punch and provide plenty of nail health promoting B vitamins.
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Barley Soup with Beans and Basil

Beans pack a protein punch to promote nails growth, but they are also a great source of nail friendly vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, and biotin. Supplementation with biotin has been shown to significantly increase nail plate thickness and to reduce nails' tendency to split.
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Salmon Salad

Salmon is a beauty food par excellence. Not only does it help keep the skin soft and smooth, but it also promotes strong nails. In addition to containing a substantial amount of protein, salmon is loaded with vitamin B12, with a 260-calorie serving packing more than 50 percent of the reference daily intake for this important vitamin. A deficiency of vitamin B12 can lead to excessive nail dryness, overly curved nail ends, and darkened nails.
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Carrot and Avocado Salad

Avocados pack vitamin C and vitamin E, a stellar vitamin combo for maintaining healthy nails. A deficiency of vitamin C may contribute to the development of hangnails and ingrown toenails while vitamin E promotes the circulation of the blood that carries oxygen to the nail beds, which in turn boosts nail growth. Vitamin C and vitamin E protect each other and are more effective when consumed together.
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Arugula, Avocado and Tomato Salad

Avocados are crammed full of vitamin C and vitamin E, two important minerals for maintaining healthy nails. A lack of vitamin C may result in hangnails and ingrown toenails. Vitamin E improves circulation of the blood that carries oxygen to the nail beds. Vitamin C and vitamin E protect each other and are more effective when consumed together.
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For more recipes that can help you maintain strong nails, visit the main recipe directory of HealWithFood.org's Guide to Maintaining Strong Nails.