Power Foods for the Brain (29 page)
Read Power Foods for the Brain Online
Authors: Neal Barnard
Makes 3 cups
Brown rice is delicious when you learn the cooking secrets in this simple recipe. By toasting it first, then cooking it like pasta, it comes out absolutely perfect.
1 cup short-grain brown rice
3 cups water
In a saucepan, rinse the rice briefly with water, then pour off as much of the water as you can. You are now left with damp rice.
Place the pan over high heat and stir the rice until dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the rice is thoroughly cooked but still has a touch of crunchiness. Drain off any remaining water (do not cook it until all the water is absorbed).
To serve, top with sunflower or sesame seeds, soy sauce, or whatever you like.
Per ½-cup serving:
115 calories, 3 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 0.4 g sugar, 0.9 g fat, 7% calories from fat, 3 g fiber, 5 mg sodium
Serves 4
This is the Mexican version of Spanish rice and really deserves the roasted peppers in the option section! With a cup of beans, you can make this into a meal.
½ yellow onion, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes (or 8 tomatillos), chopped
1¼ cups water
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup brown rice
Optional: 1 diced roasted Hatch or poblano chile; or 2 to 3 tablespoons diced roasted green chiles
Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat; add the onion and cook until it is translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Add the tomatoes, water, vinegar, and salt and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and return to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 25 minutes.
Options:
Add the roasted pepper along with the tomatoes. If you prefer to roast your own chiles instead of using the canned version, place the chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat and toast until the side touching the pan is almost completely blistered. Flip the peppers and toast on the other side. Cool enough to handle, then peel as much of the blistered part of the skin away from the peppers as possible. The flatter your peppers, the more success you will have with this method.
Per serving (¼ of recipe):
182 calories, 4 g protein, 38 g carbohydrate, 2 g sugar, 1 g total fat, 7% calories from fat, 2 g fiber, 146 mg sodium
—JW
Sweet potatoes are one of the most healthful foods ever to pop out of the ground. Loaded with beta-carotene and naturally sweet, they are practically a meal all by themselves. There are countless ways to cook them; here are six very easy ones:
Boiled.
Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, toss into boiling water, and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash with a fork or immersion blender. If you like, stir in some orange juice or brown sugar, or top with cinnamon.
Steamed.
Cut the sweet potatoes into 2-inch chunks and steam for about 5 minutes in a steamer basket. Season with cumin, chili powder, and fresh cilantro. Mash and serve over rice.
Another way to season them is to whisk together 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise, the juice of 1 lime, and 1½ teaspoons curry powder; stir into the sweet potatoes and top with chopped fresh cilantro.
Baked.
Wet and pierce the skin with a fork, then place on a baking sheet or in an ovenproof pan and bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper.
As an extra-moist and delicious alternative, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the sweet potatoes directly on an oven rack, with foil or a baking sheet below to catch drips. Do not poke holes into the sweet potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 60 minutes.
And here’s a way to get really fancy: Peel and slice 1 or 2 sweet potatoes into ½-inch rounds and place in a baking dish. Whisk together ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano or rosemary and pour over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Roasted.
Cut into 2-inch cubes. Roast at 450°F alone or with onions, Brussels sprouts, or other root vegetables.
Microwaved.
Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork, then place in the microwave, jackets and all. Cover with a paper towel and microwave on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn them over and microwave for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Top with a little salt and pepper, or perhaps chopped walnuts or dates, raisins, or cinnamon. They also go well with salsa or hummus.
Slow-cooked.
Wash the sweet potatoes, but do not dry them, and fill a slow cooker with as many as it can hold. There is no need to poke holes in them or add any cooking liquid. Just cook on low for about 7 hours, until tender. Cut open and enjoy them plain, or remove the skins and mash them.
And did you know that you can use sweet potatoes as a thickener when making soup? They go especially well in broccoli soup and chili.
Per medium sweet potato
: 103 calories, 2 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 7 g sugar, 0.2 g total fat, 1% of calories from fat, 4 g fiber, 41 mg sodium
Serves 3
Moroccan mint tea, a gunpowder tea (meaning the leaves have been rolled into pellets) flavored with lots of mint, suffuses the couscous, giving it a full-bodied taste, which is balanced by sweet apricots, spicy chile paste, and salty olives.
¾ cup hot mint tea
¾ cup uncooked couscous
4 to 5 dried apricots, chopped
8 to 10 pitted dried black olives or pitted whole kalamata olives
1 tablespoon chile paste, preferably harissa sauce
½ cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Combine the hot tea and couscous in a medium bowl. As the couscous absorbs the liquid, slowly fluff it with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients, stir together, and serve.
Per serving (
of recipe):
404 calories, 14 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 11 g sugar, 3 g total fat, 11% calories from fat, 9 g fiber, 258 mg sodium
—JW
Serves 10 (makes 10 cups)
This dish really wows people and couldn’t be simpler. It goes especially well with steamed broccoli and a salad.
3 carrots, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
1 medium to large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, quartered and sliced
1 medium yellow onion, quartered and sliced
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon garlic powder (no salt added)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (no salt added)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray an 11 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Place the vegetables in the prepared baking dish and toss to mix. Whisk together the soy sauce, liquid aminos, water, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and pour over the vegetables. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1½ hours. Stir the vegetables and serve.
Per 1-cup serving:
66 calories, 2 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 0.1 g total fat, 2% calories from fat, 2 g fiber, 327 mg sodium
—Recipe from Riva Gebel
Serves 2
East African cuisine has long been influenced by India, but it has a more rustic, hearty feel to it.
1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
½ onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped, or 12 ounces crushed tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sea salt
3 plantains, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 3-inch strips
Optional: 1 diced jalapeño; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 cup chopped collard greens; 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a large dry sauté pan over medium heat until the coriander seeds start to pop, about 1½ minutes. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes, until the onion starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes and salt and continue cooking until the tomatoes reduce to a sauce. Add the plantains and simmer until they are cooked but not mushy, adding water to the pan every so often to make sure the sauce halfway covers the plantains.
Options:
If you use the jalapeño, add it along with the tomatoes. Same with the turmeric and collard greens. The turmeric will give this dish a tangy curry flavor, and the collard greens will pair naturally with the cumin tomato sauce. The peanuts are used as a garnish for the finished dish.
Per serving (½ of recipe):
398 calories, 6 g protein, 101 g carbohydrate, 48 g sugar, 2 g total fat, 5% calories from fat, 12 g fiber, 301 mg sodium
—JW
Serves 3
Pilaf, or pilau, is usually made with rice, but the nutty flavor of quinoa is an excellent canvas for the colors of the East African spices.
1¼ cups quinoa
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 serrano chile, minced (substitute ½ to 1 jalapeño for less heat)
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup sliced collard greens (or kale or mustard greens), stripped from stems
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Optional: 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
Steam the quinoa for 20 minutes using a steamer with reasonably small holes (don’t worry if some quinoa falls through into the water).
Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until they are just soft, about 3 minutes. Add the coriander and cumin seeds and cook for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, and chile and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, collard greens, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt and cook for about
5 minutes, until the collard greens are just tender. Stir in the steamed quinoa and slivered almonds, if desired.
Per serving:
324 calories, 15.6 g protein, 62 g carbohydrate, 4 g sugar, 5 g total fat, 14% calories from fat, 9 g fiber, 334 mg sodium
—JW
Makes about 1 cup
This is a healthy version of the cream gravy often used in the South. The flavor comes not from milk and fat but from pepper and other spices.
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour (preferably whole-wheat pastry flour)
teaspoon sea salt
½ to 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
Optional: 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary; 1 clove minced garlic; ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg; or ½ minced onion
Heat a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, salt, and pepper and toast, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until the flour develops a nutty aroma. Slowly stir in the soy milk about ¼ cup at a time, thoroughly incorporating each addition of liquid before moving on to the next. Simmer the gravy for about 5 minutes. If it gets lumpy, put it in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds, then return it to the pan.
Options:
If using the rosemary and/or garlic, add them immediately after all the liquid has been incorporated into the gravy. If you add the nutmeg and onion to the base recipe once the gravy starts simmering, you’ve got a classic French béchamel sauce.
Per ½-cup serving:
90 calories, 5 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 0.5 g sugar, 2 g total fat, 22% calories from fat, 2 g fiber, 315 mg sodium
—JW