Brain Power Cookbook: 175 Great Recipes toThink Fast, Kepp Calm Under Stress, and Boost Your Mental Performance

Contents

Foreword

Food for the brain

Brain food basics

Keeping your brain healthy

Use it or lose it

Brainy breakfasts

Berry yogurt swirl with walnuts and pepitas

Sourdough toast with ricotta and fresh fruit

Warm quinoa and cranberry cereal

Oatmeal with dried fruit compote

Blueberry and cranberry meusli

Blueberry and oat breakfast muffins

Beet and raspberry smoothie

Mixed berry smoothie

Berries

Mini salmon breakfast quiches

Spinach and feta omelets

Quinoa pancakes with raspberry compote

Boiled eggs with dukkah and asparagus spears

Roasted tomato, cannellini and avocado salad with pan-fried eggs

Eggs

Savvy soups and salads

Tuscan-style chicken, bean and tomato soup

Leek soup with oysters and whole-grain flatbreads

Japanese tofu miso soup with edamame and ginger

Beef and vegetable soup

Roasted carrot and caraway soup

Spinach and lima bean soup with Greek-style yogurt

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Spicy lentil soup with butternut squash, tomatoes and green beans

Legumes

Roasted butternut squash, beet and lentil salad

Tuna, tomato and bean salad

Grilled tuna with avocado

Trout, egg and asparagus salad

Purple potato and pumpkin salad

Apple and raisin coleslaw

Salmon and potato salad

Beef and broccolini salad

Soba noodle and salmon salad

Freekeh and baby kale salad with pepitas and ruby red grapefruit

Wilted Swiss chard salad with caramelized onions, walnuts and feta

Green leafy vegetables

Smart snacks, light meals and side dishes

Snack platters

Baked beans with corn chips

Avocado ricotta toasts

Spiced roast chickpeas and nuts

Mexican corn cobs

Fruit yogurt wedges

Celery nut boats

Egg and tomato crackers

Asparagus finger sandwiches with mustard egg spread

Savory beef and vegetables on whole-grain toast

Boston baked beans

Yogurt cups

Banana, cinnamon and dark chocolate

Pomegranate, pistachio and mint

Maple muesli with pepitas

Berries and walnuts

Honey, apricot and almonds

Spicy dates and figs

Huevos rancheros with green salsa

Rainbow trout, spinach and caper omelet

Swiss chard, almond and ricotta frittata

Scrambled egg and spinach tortilla

Crab and corn fritters with avocado and tomato salsa

Avocado

Stir-fried Asian greens and tofu with ginger

White bean, tomato and anchovy bruschetta

Portuguese-style sardines with peppers and caramelized onions

Sardine croquettes

Fresh spring rolls with sardines

Chicken liver bruschetta with orange zest and green herbs

Liver with mushrooms

Tuna, cucumber and watercress wraps

Turkey and bean burritos

Beef fajitas with avocado and tomato salsa

Ricotta and spinach gnocchi with tomato sauce

Farfalle with zucchini and pine nut pesto

Pasta with tomatoes and almond pesto

Penne with tuna, tomatoes and chickpeas

Tomatoes

Spaghetti with radicchio and tuna

Super side dishes

Japanese-style spinach with soy and sesame

Baked cauliflower with turmeric

Roasted radishes

Glazed baby brussels sprouts

Roasted lemon broccoli with almonds

Mashed sweet potatoes and butternut squash with sage

Glazed tomatoes with raisins, almonds and garlic

Baked stuffed peppers with herbed ricotta and tomato

Baked beets with balsamic-glazed shallots, walnuts and feta

Quinoa pilaf with almonds and sesame seeds

Spiced vegetable medley

Cauliflower fried rice

Brain-boosting dips

Edamame bean dip

Chunky avocado and tomato dip

Beet hummus

Asparagus guacamole

Mind-improving main dishes

Sesame-crusted kidney bean burgers

Kidney bean curry

Lentil moussaka

Whole grains

Oven-baked chickpea patties

Thai-style mussels with chile and basil

Brown rice paella with mussels and peppers

Grilled salmon with sautéed greens

Salmon, fava bean and asparagus fusilli

Herb-crusted salmon with spinach salad

Salmon with grapes and pepitas

Salmon with preserved lemon and green olives

Black bean and salmon tostadas

Brown rice risotto with salmon, lemon thyme and feta

Fish

Trout baked in grape leaves

Roasted trout on rainbow vegetables

Fish fillets with oat crumb topping

Tuna with parsley and pomegranate salad

Fish and broccoli bake

Indian-style tandoori whole fish

Pan-fried swordfish with grapefruit and avocado salsa

Roast chicken with lemongrass stuffing

Chicken and mushrooms in red wine

Almond-crumbed chicken schnitzels with steamed greens

Chicken and vegetable curry

Chicken and pepper skewers with chimichurri sauce

Roasted turkey breast stuffed with quinoa and herbs

Nutes and seeds

Beef and cranberry Moroccan-style tagine

Beef and vegetable stir-fry with almonds

Roast beef with salsa verde

Sweet potato and quinoa rosti with beef and basil dressing

Beef and vegetable skewers

Beef and lentil shepherd’s pie

Beef bolognese with tagliatelle

Smoked paprika lamb with whole-wheat couscous

Lamb skewers with satay sauce and Asian-style slaw

Spiced lamb with roasted beets and herbed hummus

Brain-boosting treats and desserts

Hot raspberry soufflés

Pear, cranberry and ginger crisp

Saffron and pistachio puddings with cardamom and honey syrup

Raspberry chia pots with coconut yogurt

Blueberry yogurt panna cotta

Low-fat dairy foods

Banana and raspberry yogurt ice cream

Buttermilk puddings with mixed berries

Coconut, mixed seed and almond-butter balls

Chewy bar cookies

Almond, cranberry and quinoa cookies

Ginger and chocolate cannellini bean cookies

Chocolate, chia and coconut chilled cookies

Guilt-free chocolate brownies

Chilled lime cheesecake

Blueberry yogurt tart with ginger crust

Carrot and walnut cake with tofu frosting

Olive, rosemary and walnut bread

Whole-wheat walnut and grape focaccia

Flaxseed and sesame whole-wheat rolls

Recipes and puzzles to boost your brainpower

Kick-start your day

Apple and cinnamon oatmeal

Eggs florentine

Whole-grain avocado and prosciutto toasts

Parmesan and herb scrambled eggs

Yogurt and oatmeal smoothie

Fruity barley breakfast loaf

Nut and cranberry muesli

Boost your performance

Mixed-grain muesli with cranberries and nuts

Oatcakes with berry ricotta

Creamy almond oatmeal

Scrambled tofu with rye toast

Mushroom and corn omelet

Mexican muffins

Avoid the afternoon slump

Chicken and avocado rolls

Satay beef rye wraps

Whole-grain lentil salad wraps

Cannellini bean and tuna salad

Egg and bacon tarts

Quinoa and apple pudding

Keep calm under stress

Chinese-style chicken and rice

Beef and lemongrass rice paper rolls

Cheesy potato and spinach bake

Hot caramel eggnog

Brazil nut cookies

Think fast

Chile pork tortillas

Nutty beef stir-fry

Chicken salad with ruby red grapefruit

Crepes with coffee cream

Chocolate and raspberry cake

Frozen yogurt with mixed berry compote

Sleep well

Butternut squash and currant frittata

Turkey rye pilaf

Lentil and spinach bake

Cheesy baked potoatoes

Duck breast with orange sauce

Saffron rice pudding

Glossary

Foreword

The human brain is a complex and intriguing organ that we are only just beginning to understand. Not only is it the seat of our consciousness and individuality, it enables our thoughts, emotions, movements, sleep and vital functions. Our brains require a lot of energy to function well, and a healthy diet is essential for providing our brains with power. As a clinician and a researcher, it is an exciting time to be working in the field of neuroscience, since we now know that the brain is capable of changing in response to the environment, and that we can influence the health and well-being of our brain throughout our lifespan.

In my clinical role, I have for many years faced the unfortunate task of informing people of irreparable brain damage. It is imperative that we take whatever steps we can to prevent damage and to bolster the resilience of our brains against disease. We need to take a multifactorial approach to keeping our brain healthy, and we must implement these strategies as early as possible, preferably no later than midlife. Nutrition is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle preventative approach. It is also important that we exercise regularly, get adequate sleep, reduce stress and tackle depression, keep our brain active and maintain a balanced social and working life. In addition, the role of vascular risk factors in terms of maintaining brain health cannot be understated. In general, ‘what is good for your heart is good for your brain’. This means that we must strive to keep our blood pressure in check, keep our cholesterol and blood glucose levels down, and maintain a healthy weight. A healthy, balanced diet can help to tackle all of these factors, while also providing protection against free radicals and other harmful substances.

The Brainpower Cookbook will provide you with the inspiration you need to take control of your diet, your lifestyle and your brain. It not only covers the essentials behind the science of healthy nutrition, but provides recipes that are thoughtful, tasty and practical. It may even provide you with some interesting brain trivia to discuss at your next dinner party. The vast range of recipes incorporates a wide variety of fresh ingredients that will promote optimal vascular health, boost antioxidants, reduce levels of brain inflammation and, most importantly, promote a sense of well-being. This book is a must-have for any person, at any life stage, who values a healthy brain as much as indulging in culinary delights.

Associate Professor Sharon Naismith

Clinical Neuropsychologist and Head, Healthy Brain Ageing Program, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia

Food for the brain

We all want to keep our brain in top condition, and it is becoming clear that nutrition makes a big difference. Optimal brain function relies on a good supply of just about every vitamin and mineral you’ve ever heard of, as well as a healthy cardiovascular system and a reliable fuel source. The best way to guarantee all of these is a healthy, balanced diet, rich in a wide variety of unprocessed foods. Increasingly, research is suggesting that supplements don’t give us the same benefits as eating micronutrients in whole foods, so this book has assembled a great collection of recipes based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and lean meats. Of course they’re healthy, but they’re also packed with flavor so you can enjoy feeding your brain.

Brain food basics

The brain is at the center of almost everything we do, yet for many years little was known about how the brain actually works. That’s changing now, due to technological advances in imaging and scanning that have allowed researchers to watch the brain in action.

Your amazing brain

Inside your skull, your brain is a mass of nerve cells, or neurons—twenty billion or more in just the cerebral cortex, the part that thinks. Each neuron has a long tail called an axon that acts like a communications cable, covered with a layer of insulation (called myelin), and carries electrical signals by branching and linking to perhaps a thousand other neurons. At each junction point, or synapse, chemicals called neurotransmitters take the message to receptors on the next neuron before being recycled or destroyed. The strength of the message can be increased or decreased by a variety of factors, such as chemical substances, hormones and your own behavior and thinking.

Some foods naturally contain substances that are similar to neurotransmitters in their structure and may have similar effects; other substances may help stimulate neurotransmitter production, block a receptor, or promote or inhibit the destruction of particular neurotransmitters, altering the duration of their action. This can be a very complex process (for an example, see The effects of caffeine).

Many of the substances that travel in our blood are prevented from entering the brain by the blood–brain barrier. This barrier exists thanks to the cells lining the brain’s blood vessels, which are wedged tightly together so that their membranes form a wall to exclude intruders. Only substances of a particular size, shape or composition can cross this wall. There are particular doors (transport carriers) that let in hormones, proteins and substances that we need for normal functioning.

Mood effects of food

It may seem odd to think that at any given time, your mood is the result of a combination of brain chemicals. Different substances are stimulated by events both in and out of your body. They can be affected by things that happen to you, such as winning a prize, losing your wallet, hearing a favorite song or being shouted at by a passing motorist. They can also be affected by what you eat.

These mood-affecting substances include the monoamines—neurotransmitters such as serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline (sometimes known as epinephrine), as well as related amine chemicals that can also affect neurotransmission. Each of the monoamines is transported into your cells by a specific transporter. Each has a particular role in the body, and each contributes to your overall mood and even perhaps some aspects of your personality.

Make time for a tea break. The many flavonoids and antioxidants in tea have been linked to the prevention of dementia.

Eat well to feel happy

The calm, feel-good message of the brain is serotonin. One of the building blocks of protein, an amino acid called tryptophan, is used to produce serotonin, so foods that are high in tryptophan, such as dairy foods, soy foods, eggs, meats and poultry, tend to promote a pleasant, relaxed state ready for sleep. Omega-3 fats also promote the production of serotonin.

Insulin helps tryptophan enter the brain, so foods that contain carbohydrate, which stimulates insulin secretion, may also help boost brain levels of serotonin. Carbohydrate also has the benefit of helping to prevent blood glucose levels from dropping overnight, which can cause a cranky mood and poor sleep. When it gets dark outside, the brain converts serotonin to melatonin, to promote sleep. Vitamin B6 and niacin are involved in serotonin production, too. Some antidepressant medications lift the mood by stopping serotonin from being broken down or removed too quickly.

Dopamine activates the pleasure/reward centers in particular parts of the brain, but it also appears to be involved in regulating the daily sleep–wake cycle, helping to switch off melatonin when it is morning and time to be awake.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline are involved in the body’s emergency response to danger and promote a fight or flight reaction, enabling the heart to beat faster and giving a surge of energy to the muscles. Ideally, this is a short-term process that switches off when the danger has passed. During prolonged stress, this response causes problems as it inhibits the normal digestion of food, interferes with sleep and brain function (such as memory), and prevents a happy, contented mood, increasing the risk of depression.

Altering your neurotransmitters

Individual variations in the production, absorption and destruction of monoamines may contribute to the mood differences between people. Some medications, smoking and foods may also alter these processes.

Substances related to the monoamines occur in foods such as aged cheeses, aged or processed meats, chocolate, alcoholic beverages and older foods that are nearing their use-by date. They can also be produced by gut flora, but normally we do not absorb them in a form that can affect us very much. However, some people do seem to absorb them, and if they cross the blood–brain barrier they can contribute to the mood effects of food in ways that are sometimes undesirable. For example, some people find they become euphoric after eating a lot of chocolate but then feel quite depressed a day or so later. This can be due to loss of serotonin that takes up to 48 hours to be replaced, while noradrenaline is present in higher amounts, resulting in a state similar to chronic stress.

Some vitamin deficiencies are very common among people with depression, highlighting the importance of particular nutrients in maintaining optimal mood. These include vitamin B12, thiamine, folate, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium.

The effects of caffeine

COFFEE, TEA AND COCOA contain caffeine (which is also found as an additive in some soft drinks). The level of caffeine peaks in your bloodstream about an hour after consumption, and lasts about four hours, after which it is metabolized in your liver.

This process produces a variety of other substances with their own power to alter blood pressure and blood composition, and also affect the brain and nervous system. Some of these effects may oppose one another. A major one is adenosine, which is a central nervous system neuromodulator, responsible for putting the brakes on the nervous system’s activity. One of the main roles of adenosine is to slow down the brain, ready for sleep. It gives rise to a sleepy feeling and dilates the blood vessels to give the brain a good supply of oxygen while you sleep.

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, preventing adenosine from doing its job and therefore delaying sleep. Caffeine also helps to promote the pathway that produces adrenaline, again increasing alertness, and it increases dopamine production. Different people may metabolize caffeine differently, resulting in a different balance of these substances and therefore a different overall effect or one that lasts for a shorter or longer time.

In addition to caffeine, chocolate, tea and coffee contain a range of other substances such as antioxidants that have their own effects, some that also alter brain function.

Quiz

Is your diet brain friendly?

You might already be eating a great diet for brain health. Here’s how to tell: Just answer the following questions by checking true or false.

For odd-numbered questions, score 1 for every false, and for even-numbered questions, score 1 for every true. Add up your score.

Score of 7 or higher: You are doing a good job of eating well to get the best performance from your brain. You can still improve, though, and this book may give you some useful ideas.

Score of 4 to 6: Your brain benefits from some of the things you are already doing, but you have lots of room for improvement. You might enjoy trying some of the suggestions in this book, to improve your diet for better brain health.

Score of 3 or lower: The good news is, you can achieve a significant improvement in brain health by making just a few simple changes to how you eat. You will be able to reduce the level of inflammation in your body and lower your risk of being overweight, having high blood pressure, diabetes and dementia. This book will inspire you to make a start.

The brain needs lots of fuel—it burns up 20 percent of your energy intake every day—but make sure it is the right fuel. Slow-release carbohydrates, such as legumes and whole grains, will give your brain a steady and even supply of glucose, helping you maintain your concentration.

How your brain gets its energy

Your brain uses up a lot of energy, perhaps 20 percent of your total energy expenditure. Its preferred fuel is glucose, and the brain needs a constant supply in order to maintain optimal activity. We obtain this glucose from the breakdown of carbohydrate foods—sugars and starches. Starch consists of long, branched chains of glucose molecules, which are split up into individual glucose units during digestion. Sugars are single or paired molecules—for example, table sugar or sucrose is a pair consisting of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose (the natural sugar found in fruit). Digesting a slice of bread might produce 15 to 20 grams of glucose, which is then absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream where it can be transported to cells for energy.

Glycemic index

Some foods release this glucose very rapidly, because it is in a form that is quickly digested and absorbed. Pure glucose syrup, which does not need to be digested, is an extreme example; other fast-acting foods include most sugary and refined carbohydrate foods (such as puffed rice cereal or fluffy white bread). The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of each food’s effect on blood glucose levels, and these refined foods have a high GI value, meaning the level of glucose in the bloodstream rises very rapidly after these foods are eaten. This triggers a rush of insulin that rapidly lowers glucose over the next hour or two, so that you may feel quite sluggish or hungry after the meal. Because the brain relies on a steady supply of glucose for fuel, it may not perform optimally when you mainly eat high-GI foods and snacks, as this can cause the level of glucose in your blood to fluctuate wildly. A high-GI diet can also have longer-term implications for your health, as repeatedly stressing the body’s insulin system is thought to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and promote inflammation in the body. This could affect the brain, too. A large Dutch study of nearly twenty thousand people found that stroke risk was higher in men consuming a high-GI diet.

Foods that empty more slowly from the stomach, and foods that are digested more slowly, tend to have a low GI value, thanks to a higher content of fiber or starches that are slow to break down, fat or protein that slows stomach emptying or other factors that