5 Brain-Healthy Things I'm Into This Fall
Including a super easy recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Figs
Hello, brain health ambassadors! I write to you from Tecate, Mexico where I am the visiting chef at Rancho La Puerta all this week. Besides giving talks about brain health and teaching cooking classes, I am excited to work with local chefs on a special Dia de los Muertos dinner celebration. More on that next week!
We have been digging into some really complex topics this month and I love seeing how much everyone is learning. Today, I thought it would be fun to share a few things I am really enjoying as I transition into fall and get ready for winter.
Chocolate-Dipped Figs. I came up with this treat because I always have dried figs, almond butter, and dark chocolate on hand. Figs are a good source of fiber, calcium, and flavonoids, and they are a potassium-rich post-workout snack. They make up the base of these Fig and Almond Snack Bars and are the topping on these Roman Overnight Oats. The Pear and Fig Breakfast Crisp in my book is another delicious way to enjoy dried figs.
Find the recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Figs below.
Fix & Fogg Everything Butter on crisp apples. It’s fun to discover a new nut butter that fits all my criteria for a brain-healthy convenience food: no sugar, no added oils, and full of whole food ingredients. This one exceeds expectations with its toasty flavor and creamy texture speckled with the goodness of seeds: hemp, chia, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower. Two tablespoons provides a serving of nuts and seeds, important for heart and brain health, along with 8 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. At about $8 a jar, it’s a bit of a splurge so I don’t let my husband use half the jar for his PB&Js. It’s perfect on apples, though, or stuffed into Chocolate-Dipped Figs.
Working on grip strength with these rubber bands. You may have read that a strong grip is associated with a healthy brain. And it’s true! Many studies have found an association. The latest analysis from the 2021 UK Biobank study of over 460,000 participants showed those with the strongest grip had 70% less dementia compared to those in the lowest quartile of grip strength. It’s easy to workout your hands with these resistance bands (which I discovered thanks to fitness expert Jeff Turner) fitting in several sets a day while sitting at my desk. Even easier: start with ordinary thick rubber bands, and order these special ones if you need more resistance.
Saving vegetable scraps for stock. Excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen book. Photograph by Alexandra Grablewski. Homemade stock. If you are following a brain-healthy diet, chances are your kitchen cranks out a lot of vegetable scraps. I’m talking about the root ends of onions, the green scallion parts, carrot and zucchini tops, and more. While making a pot of stock seems like a big deal, I have a streamlined method in the Pantry chapter of my book. Here’s the gist: Start by stashing scraps in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Keep adding to it each time you have vegetable scraps until the bag is full—now you have enough to make stock! Cover with 5 quarts cold water, add a piece of kombu, 8 peppercorns, and a bay leaf. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours, strain, and use right away or freeze for later. You can do this on the stovetop, in an Instant Pot, or a slow cooker—I give you detailed instructions in the book. You’ll have about 5 quarts of nutrient-dense stock for all of your cooking. Based on the prices of boxed broth at my grocery store, one batch shaves about $45 off my grocery bill.
Cold morning walks. Cold plunging into water may be the rage (and have some health benefits) but I like to start the day with a cold morning walk. When the temperature drops in the fall, the natural tendency is to spend more time indoors. I push back by bundling up first thing to head out into the cold.
Exercising in the cold may have the same immune-boosting benefits as taking a cold plunge. While that data is evolving, what we do know is this: Walking just 20 minutes a day may reduce dementia risk by 40%. A brisk walk gets your heart rate up for more blood flow to the brain. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) goes up, too, helping to build and repair brain cells. Walking even stimulates neurogenesis—the process of making new brain cells. In a recent study, as few as 3,826 steps a day was enough to measure a reduction in dementia risk. Bonus points if you walk in nature or with a friend—both are shown to have brain health benefits.
