With Turkey Day coming up again, I was perusing my notes on various menus, all including pumpkin of some sort, and that’s how I was reminded that on my list of brain boosting foods are pumpkin seeds, among other things. Peas, for instance.
Top of the list, though, are fatty fishes, not plants. Salmon, sardines, anchovies. Evidently, those who eat fish a couple or three times a week have the scales fall from their eyes, at least about fish fat.
And then there are berries. Blueberries, specifically. Antioxidants galore. A sweet neighbor of mine brought back blueberries from Oregon to Los Angeles. Now, if you’d had her blueberries you’d never touch one that hadn’t been imported from her vines. But I love all berries and can’t help but succumb (sometimes) to common blueberries. Still, I always pine for her fresh picked berries. I wonder if my brain knows the difference?
Sugar is a brain food. On the whole, though, I’m more of a “give me a fresh hunk of parmesan” person. Still, in the morning when you’re trying to get the gears going, it’s espresso time, so indulge — and no guilt.
And now we get to coffee. I say a creamy caffé with nice rich foam, a discreet touch of sugar, and Bob’s your uncle. My brain insists on the bit of sugar. What? Sugar is a brain food. On the whole, though, I’m more of a “give me a fresh hunk of parmesan” person. Still, in the morning when you’re trying to get the gears going, it’s espresso time, so indulge — and no guilt.
Of course green tea is the brain stimulator of many health nuts, yoga enthusiasts, meditators, booga-booga believers. We’re all aware now of the undisputable benefits of green tea. The Japanese swear that drinking green tea and longevity have a positive correlation. And yet … Sorry, folks, my wake-up java will never be replaced and that’s that.
On to curcuma, those little cute yellow roots that you see in health food stores. When you try to grate them you find that your hands — and your clothes! — have turned bright saffron yellow in the process. Heaven knows what your insides look like, but maybe don’t plan any scans for a few days unless you want them in technicolor.
But curry simply would not be curry without turmeric. The other night, I made a curry dinner for friends and along with the jolt it gave to our ailing joints, it absolutely devastated my guest’s new pale blue silk shirt. She is still scouring the internet to find a way to remove it, but she informed me that the curry was worth it.
The humble egg is also a brain booster, which is good because I would never give up my scrambles, soufflés, omelets, or oeufs mayonnaise for all the chai in Tina.
Now we are at the broccoli, broccoli Romano, cima di rape, cicoria, and the spinach part of the list. Antioxidant veggies we all love. Or hate. Frankly, if I could eat only rape and broccoli romano with that aforementioned chunk of good parmesan, I would be happy. At least for a week or so, but some tummies simply do not accept broccoli, so perhaps it’s better to move on to chocolate.
The other night, I made a curry dinner for friends and along with the jolt it gave to our ailing joints, it absolutely devastated my guest’s new pale blue silk shirt. She is still scouring the internet to find a way to remove it.
Now we’re talkin’. Seratonin, energy, anti-whatevers aside, chocolate just tastes so incredibly good, especially the dark, dark ones around 85 percent. I did know someone some years ago who hated chocolate, but we weren’t friends for long.
As for those pumpkin seeds that contain copper, zinc, iron, and magnesium, one wonders if it’s wise after eating them to get too close to a magnet. And let’s face it, extracting seeds from a fresh pumpkin is not my favorite pastime — they all stick together and are gooey and then you have to dry them somewhere and it’s raining and the oven is broken and…
Hey, I’m pretty sure that pumpkin, in a can or fresh, might have just as much influence on my cerebellum as the seeds.
But right now, I’m adding maple syrup, toasted pecans, fresh eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt to my Thanksgiving pie, and if that doesn’t top the list of brain food, I don’t know what does!
