Cultivate a HEALTHY Mind from Tasty Food!

For those of your out there that have been following Whole Food Love on social media, you know Meg and I are in our first week of our Done with Diets summit! It has been amazing to connect with all of our incredible experts and the excitement shines through in each interview. It’s also been interesting that so many leaders in their field LOVED the opportunity to talk about the same topic…why DIETS do NOT work!

Now I don’t want to giveaway too much of the insights from the interviews, but there are a number of reasons why a restrictive diet doesn’t work to achieve the results as marketed, and it really has nothing to do with willpower. We often begin a diet with only outwardly physical results in mind: lose weight, get a flat stomach, melt those love-handles, etc. but it’s a whole other story when we turn our focus INWARD.

I preach that foods can heal and even Hippocrates knew that food could be used as medicine, so I was beyond excited when I connected with Rebecca Katz, professional chef and Culinary Translator. Rebecca has an unique background and amazing story that led her to create her latest cookbook The Healthy Mind Cookbook: Big-Flavor Recipes to Enhance Brain Function, Mood, Memory and Mental Clarity. After her father died of dementia, subsequent to struggling with the disease for a decade, Rebecca just accepted that her brain had an “expiration date of seventy or so.” After some intense research Rebecca was liberated and refused to accept the idea that our brains go soft as soon as we reach “senior citizen hood.”

Instead, Rebecca created her Culinary Pharmacy- where we have all the tools to maintain a healthy, useful brain long after receiving our AARP membership card. Food can be a great boon to relaxation, mood enhancement, and supercharge brain cell regeneration[1], block memory attacking molecules, and even improve detoxification. We have this power, through our food choices to stay sharp, and be present with our grandchildren, and family for years to come! Experiencing the fading memory that we associate with age doesn’t have to be inevitable! And I haven’t even gotten to the best part about the whole idea yet….the YUM factor!

So move over Mary Poppins, because no spoonful of sugar is required for this medicine to go down! The recipes from Rebecca’s book are healthful, make you feel great, are easy to create, but most importantly taste DELICIOUS! Rich foods like avocado, zesty cilantro, memory boosting parsley, and Rebecca’s secret weapon: pumpkin seeds are key. This is an example of the perfect marriage between “good for you” and “good for your taste buds!” Before I give away too much of my amazing interview with Rebecca (signup @ www.donewithdietssummit.com to have it sent directly to your inbox), I proved the YUM factor for myself with the following Shrimp Stuffed Avocados 2.0 recipe, courtesy of The Healthy Mind Cookbook !

Ingredients

2 large ripe avocados

wedge of lime, for freshly squeezed juice

sea salt

1 lb. shrimp, cooked and cut into bit size pieces

1 Granny Smith apple, cut into bite-size pieces*

2 scallions, sliced

1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, toasted (optional)

Dressing:

½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro

¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

¼ cup EVOO

3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. ground coriander

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed

¼ tsp. sea salt

*Apples are on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen List, so Whole Food Love recommends buying organic

Directions:

1. Combine the dressing ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Spritz with lime juice and sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Make a well in the avocado halves by scooping out some flesh, but be sure to leave ½ inch border.
4. Place the scooped avocado chunks in a bowl and mash lightly with a fork. Add the shrimp, apple, scallion, and 4 Tbsp. of the dressing; stir until evenly coated. (Reserve the rest of the dressing in the fridge up to 5 days for another use, but don’t plan on any leftovers- these avocado boats are too YUM.)
5. Spoon the shrimp mixture into the well of the avocado halves, making a nice mounded scoop in each.
6. Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and serve immediately!

Note: The shrimp salad, sans avocado, will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

So treat your taste buds and support your brain cells at the same time. Don’t miss my interview with Rebecca Katz, simply signup and we’ll email it directly to you! Let us know what you think of the recipe and what YOUR biggest reason is for wanting a healthy brain in the comments below!

 

Live your WHOLE life,

Shannon + Meg

 

[1] Research is suggesting it’s possible to supercharge the new cell production and preserve our minds through food. The Healthy Mind Cookbook– Rebecca Katz