This is your brain on food

Protect your brain, protect your health.
Nourish your brain, nourish your health.
Sounds easy, and with this book, it is.

What you eat can stave off depression, Alzhemier's, diabetes, heart disease.
Even better, there are many delicious foods you can eat to battle diseases, stress and anxiety.

Katz and Edelson's formula to maximize flavor and brain health:  FASS.  Fat Acid Salt Sweet.  Instead of sugar, they advocate organic grade B maple syrup.  If something doesn't quite taste the way you want it, no need to start over, there's probably a FASS fix.  Add lemon juice.  Or, add salt.

The recipes in this book are easy to follow and do not require fancy, difficult-to-find ingredients.  Each recipe lists the calorie count, fat content, protein, fiber, sodium, carbohydrates so you can keep track.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this mindful review.

Alan Turing's Apple Enigma Salad

Every year, I'm fortunate to be invited to a spectacular Oscars party.   There's a red carpet, Dame Edna, a pool.  All guests are highly encouraged to dress up in costume (representing any Oscar-nominated film of that current year or for an Oscar Best Picture any year) and must bring an Oscar-inspired dish for the current year.

We chose the Imitation Game.  Since Alan Turing ate an apple a day, I decided to make an Apple Enigma Salad.  Ingredients included shaved fennel, English peas, frisee, Fji apples, toasted walnuts, white and red Easter egg radishes, shaved English cheddar, and nasturtiums (freshly picked from my garden).  Tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Several folks at the Oscars party thanked me for bringing something healthy and green.  It went fast.

I can't wait until next year.

This Big Hero 6 red velvet cupcake made me smile.

"Oh Baymax, I am satisfied with my dessert."

This is how I sold a TV pilot.

The University of Chicago asked me how I sold a TV pilot

Here is the link to the blog post.

http://www.uchicagoartsalumni.org/blog.html?aid=256

Clean Slate

CLEAN SLATE

from the 

Editors of Martha Stewart Living

Eating "clean" can be really challenging, and lonely.  I know, my gym friends and I call it the "anti-social" diet.  I love food, follow food, live for food.  Many of my friends are foodies who will travel great distances for that perfect dish.   It's hard to meet friends in restaurants where there's so much butter, salt and fat.  But, we all crave friends and flavor.

That's where Clean Slate can help.  The photographs are healthy and attractive, showcasing a burst of colors and flavors.  Healthy should never mean boring.  Maybe you can invite some of your foodie friends to taste some of these recipes.  A healthy life helps you feel and look your best.  Who doesn't want to feel their best?  

The recipes are pretty basic which proves going healthy doesn't require long hours.  The squash salad with tomatos, zucchini blossoms, and ricotta is a piece of art.  I've wowed guests with my own version.  I like to hit the ground running in the morning, and just get to work so I particularly appreciate the drink recipes.  When I wake up, I prefer to put my thought in what I must accomplish, and these tonics are sure to set me in the right direction.  

With so much information swirling about, it can get really confusing.  Clean Slate knows this and offers easy visual charts and lists in the beginning of the book to help reference antioxidants, smart swaps, super detoxifiers, inflammation fighters, digestive aids.  

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Your Kitchen, Or Mine?

I have always wanted a dream kitchen.  You know, a kitchen with a lot of cabinets, a subzero refrigerator, Viking stove, and island in the middle where your guests can swarm.  I may never get one, but thanks to the kitchn cookbook, I need not feel deprived, embarrassed, or ashamed.  Really.

This book showcases a lot of kitchens and offers tips on how to organize even the smallest kitchen.  Kitchens come in all sizes, but great chefs are always awesome.  Why, because they can make great dishes in any kitchen.

Most of the recipes are quite simple and easy to follow.   This book is a wonderful resource, especially for novice cooks, and a welcome reminder that no kitchen is perfect.  The kitchen is always evolving.  And because the kitchen is the warmest room in the house, the place where everyone gathers, every kitchen is a dream kitchen.

I received this book from Books for Blogging for this Review.

A Good Food Day

A Good Food Day

by Marco Canora

If you're very lucky, every day is a good food day. 

Most of us, however, suffer bad food days like we suffer bad hair days.   When I'm on the road, on the plane, on the train, I have to settle for what I can get, not what is best for me.   Most of us need a few cheat days.  After all, nobody's perfect.

What I love about this book is that it reaffirms what I hold true and dear to my heart, and stomach:  good foods can and do taste good.  Being healthy does not mean sacrificing flavor.   It means changes, yes.  Exercise, yes.  Bland, no.

Marco Canora is a professional chef who was forced to make some life changes.  So, he wrote this book with every day recipes that will love your body, and your body will love.  His principles are simple and intuitive.  Real food.  Eating must be enjoyable.  Quality.  The photos will make your mouth water.  Keen emphasis on vegetables, grains and beans.

Show your body some love, and find the joy in healthful eating.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."