Brain Food

Almost a month away, winter break looms just close enough to tease students already feeling their mental reserves tapped out. The Daily Lobo feels your pain, so we took the trouble to determine what our brains need most to absorb and retain information. Not only that, we had enough brains cells in reserve to compile three cheap, easy and somewhat indulgent recipes that incorporate some of the many foods conducive to brain health.

BeetPoCarrot Hash

From A to Eat: 45 minutes
Omega-3 fatty acids: Olive oil
Phytochemicals: Beets, red potatoes, carrots and red onion

This is how the Daily Lobo makes a hash, but feel free to switch up the root veggies and their ratios as you please. The ratios are for a single serving — multiply for each person digging in.
You can get creative with the components without wrecking the hash. Although it may be counter-intuitive, you should avoid over-oiling the veggies, which robs them of that fine, crisp outer layer. The oil is the one measurement in the recipe you should stick to.

Prepare seasoning:
1 pinch marjoram
1 pinch oregano
1 pinch thyme
2 pinches salt
1 pinch pepper

Mix in a bowl and set it aside.

Prepare veggies:
1/2 cup beet cubes (about 1/2 inch diameter)
1/2 cup red potato cubes (about 1/2 inch diameter)
1/2 cup carrot slices
3/4 cup chopped red onion

Heat 1 minced garlic glove and 1 1/4 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Add veggies, seasoning and 1 tablespoon of water. Turn heat down to medium low. Stir and cover.

Let veggies cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to cook them evenly and on all sides. In the meantime, you can accomplish a bit of homework. Ten minutes isn’t too long to focus, and the hash won’t burn in that amount of time.

Let it cool a minute before digging in — what good is delicious brain food if you’ve singed your flavor receptors?

Note: You can dress up your hash with a balsamic reduction, which sounds fancy enough to impress but in reality is simple. Heat balsamic vinegar on medium in a pan until it thickens to a sauce. Drizzle on hash.

For a quick and dirty hash:

Grate a red potato and lay it out flat over 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Let it fry for five minutes before flipping. Let the other side fry for five minutes and serve. For extra flavor and crispness, sprinkle shredded parmesan on the potatoes before flipping.

Tuna Brain Up With…
Tuna salad scoop on bed of greens

From A to Eat: 10 minutes
Omega-3 fatty acids: Tuna, walnuts, spinach and olive oil
Phytochemicals: Purple kale and spinach

Make a bed for your fish:
A handful of purple kale
A handful of spinach

Arrange or toss on plate.

To get your fish ready for the bed, dress in mixture of:
1 can of tuna
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon (a few dashes) black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Drain the can of liquid matter before combining dressing with tuna, unless you prefer saucy tuna. You can enhance your tuna salad with apple or pears slices and a squeeze of lemon.
Scoop onto bed. Say goodnight, tuna!

When Life Makes You Nuts…
Fudgy oat and nut bars

From A to Eat: 10 minutes
Omega-3 fatty acids: Walnuts and flaxseed (optional)
Phytochemicals: Dark chocolate

Kick your snack food up a notch. For economic purposes, this one doubles as dessert.
The snacks will keep well in the fridge for up to a week, or longer depending on your tolerance and budget.

Melt 12 ounces of dark chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and mix with:

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (do not use the quick-cooking variety)
1/2 cup honey, or enough to hold the mixture together
1/4 cup flour, or ground flaxseed if you’ve got the cash for it

Shape fistfuls of the mixture into bars and let cool.

Overview of nutrients shown to promote brain development, memory functioning:

UNM nutrition professor Kathleen Hoss said the only specific nutrient proven to promote brain health is omega-3 essential fatty acids. Fatty fish like tuna and salmon have high concentrations of omega-3, she said.

For vegetarians, Hoss said the best sources of this essential amino acid are walnuts and ground flaxseed.

In general, Hoss said it is important for your meal to incorporate a wide spectrum of color by including a variety of fruits and vegetables. The richest, deepest hues are ideal because the color indicates the presence of phytochemicals, the plant pigment chemical compounds your body needs for all-around optimal health, according to the book “Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health.”

The book specifies that red, purple and blue have the kind of phytochemicals that help memory functioning.

Hoss said that chocolate is a source of flavonoids, a kind of phytochemical.

“It has to be the really dark chocolate, like the 75 percent or higher cacao, because you want to get the most phytochemicals, and the darker the chocolate, the more phytochemicals it has in it,” she said. “Milk chocolate, like M&Ms, doesn’t really do anything.”

Brain food according to “Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health:”

Red
Blood oranges, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, pink/red grapefruit, raspberries, red apples, red grapes, red pears (with skin), strawberries, watermelon, radicchio, radishes, red beets, red bell peppers, red onions, red potatoes, red tomatoes, rhubarb.

Blue/Purple
Blackberries, fresh and dried black currants, fresh and dried blueberries, elderberries, fresh and dried plums, purple figs, purple grapes, raisins, purple asparagus, purple bell peppers, purple cabbage, purple eggplants, purple potatoes.