 When the Alzheimer’s Association reached out to me asking to teach a virtual cooking class for Brain Health month in June 2020, I jumped at the opportunity. Many of the foods and dishes that find their way onto my menus and into my mouth are nutrient dense and provide a strong foundation for good health. However, I wanted to craft something that was specific to supporting the brain. I developed this salad to include two brain all-stars: leafy greens and walnuts.
Time after time, study after study asserts that the daily inclusion of leafy greens is correlated with slower cognitive decline and reduced inflammation. Greens are high in fiber, which prevents sharp increases in blood sugar, something that damages nerve and neuronal cells over time. They boast high levels of a myriad of phytochemicals that can combat oxidative stress, shore up our immune systems and modulate activity of genes involved in metabolism. Another reason to include greens… they taste delicious. I’d like to think that nature shaped walnuts like a brain to signify that this is exactly what they will support. Walnuts are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which support neuronal function and help to maintain the brain cell- membrane integrity. The walnuts are candied ever so slightly in maple syrup to both increase their crunch and to provide flashes of sweetness amidst the slightly bitter greens.
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 What’s life without a little sweetness? These little bites are so simple to make… don’t be scared off by the double boiler!
The antioxidants in the dark chocolate help to mitigate the effects of inflammation and promote vascular integrity. Walnuts have been found to improve the signaling between neurons in the brain and to promote neurogenesis, the production of neurons. Be sure to use dark chocolate for this recipe and not milk. While milk chocolate is very tasty, the milk has a protein called casein that binds to many of the antioxidants in the chocolate rendering them unusable to our bodies. |
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