Avoid Brain Decay by Eating Berries, Walnuts and Bright Veggies?

I'm thrilled; it seems as though my favorite fruits and vegetables — such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and colorful peppers — may be able to somewhat reverse the aging process.
Yes, you may have heard that these are good for you already in the media. But this news comes from a professional scientific journal: Science Daily. In its Aug. 24, 2010 edition, an article titled "Eating berries may activate the brain's natural housekeeper for healthy aging" gives the scoop: berries, walnuts and other, brightly-hued red, orange and blue druits and vegetables are high in polyphenolics. This means act as "housekeepers" in your brain cleaning up residue that otherwise would impede normal brain function.

I'll have to get back to you on the results, but I plan to make a salad with as many of these things as possible in it sometime soon.

Veggie pasta, with an emphasis on the veggies

One of the things I loved as a kid was spaghetti salad. I still do, but prefer to vary pasta shapes and the dressing a bit.
Last summer, quite by accident, I made a pasta salad with the things I had on hand. People kept requesting it when I went to parties. I made it with fresh veggies; I made it with frozen veggies. I made it with brown rice pasta, wheat pasta, even a mixture of the two once. It didn't seem to matter. The trick was the dressing.

On Sunday, I learned (in yet another serendipitous "mistake") that you can make pasta salad and vegetable soup at the same time in the same cooking pot; see my earlier post.  

I don't really measure the pasta, the veggies or the dressing, so I can't even call this a recipe. It's more of a suggestion to try for yourself. I know I'm probably driving some cooks crazy right now, though my favorite TV chef, Rachael Ray, will understand me if she ever sees this post. She's totally cool with the "dab of this, dash of that" school of cooking.

I use a base of approximately 1/4-cup Maple Grove Farms' sugar-free Bacon Vinaigrette, mixed with a few sprays of Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a soy product that I often use to substitute for salt-laden soy sauce), about 1 tsp. sesame seed oil, a dash of white balsamic vinegar, about 2 tsp. Maple Grove Farms' Vermont Sugar Free Syrup (or a tsp. of the real thing) and a pea-sized piece of Thai Kitchen's Green Curry Paste (just trust me when I say you want to thoroughly break it up and distribute it through the entire dressing). If you're not into sugar substitutes, use another brand of bacon vinaigrette (or make your own) and real maple syrup.

The dressing should taste like a vinaigrette with a touch of sweetness and a little smoky flavor. If it's too sweet to your taste, add either a little more Bacon Vinaigrette or a splash of white balsamic vinegar. You might want to add some of the cooked pasta water (a tablespoon or so); it helps make the dressing come together.

If you make the dressing more than a couple minutes before you drain the pasta and veggies and stir in it, you will need to beat the dressing again ... thoroughly. Toss the dressing with about 3-4 c. of your choice of a mixture of slightly cooked veggies and pasta. I suggest Oriental-style frozen veggies, which only require quick steaming (1-2 minutes, max), along with  the Tinkyáda brown rice pasta, which keeps its shape better than most pastas. Make this dish a meal: add chopped, cooked chicken.
 
My preferred ratio for veggies to pasta is between 1 1/2 and 2 times to 1; more dressing clings to pasta than veggies, which may be why I get away with less dressing than you would use for a bowl of pasta salad. 

Whatever pasta and veggies you choose, regardless of the proportions, make sure they are cooked al dente; otherwise, you'll have goopy pasta salad that mushes together.

(Note: Brown rice and whole wheat pastas tend to be an acquired taste. The photo and link I included is for large amounts of this pasta; try a single package first. I buy it in Kroger's organic area or at Whole Foods Market.)

Product Review: Amy's Brown Rice and Veggie Bowl (regular and light in sodium)

I try not to eat a lot of frozen dinners because even the ones with "healthy" in their names tend to be rather high in sodium. I try to shoot for something that's between 250-500 mg of sodium; I think most of us get too much of it. 

I have always liked the Brown Rice and Vegetables Bowl from Amy's. It comes close to the desired sodium range (540 mg). It is one of the best healthy dinners I've tried, with ingredients that I can pronounce.

One day, I accidentally grabbed Amy's Light in Sodium Brown Rice and Vegetables Bowl from the frozen section, which has about 250 mg. sodium. See meal description for this meal and Amy's other light-sodium selections here.

Both are excellent, but I have to give a slight edge to the higher-sodium version; however, the low-sodium version is great with the addition of just a little FRENCH'S® Reduced Sodium Worcestershire Sauce.