Tropical guacamole salsa is another easy way to serve healthy avocado

I recently posted a recipe for avocado and lime dip and touted all the great reasons for including avocados in our diet. Here’s another tasty avocado idea. Serve this salsa with traditional tortilla chips. It’s also nice as a side for chicken or pork. Or try it on toast in the morning with your coffee. Avocado – any time, anywhere. It makes you smile. What would a duck say who eats avocado? Guac!

Healthy avocado and lime spread

The super goodness of avocados

I went back to researching fats and oils recently and came across an excellent chart for choosing the best oils for good health. But sadly, it omitted avocado oil, one of my favorites. So I did a little digging around to learn more about avocados.

Turns out avocado oil has many amazing qualities. First off, it has a fat profile almost identical to olive oil. As olive oil is generally considered one of the healthiest fats you can use, that means ditto for avocado oil. Check out all that avocados can do for you below.

While looking around, I found two interesting recipes featuring avocados and tweaked them both to my liking. The first one appears here. It’s my avocado and lime spread. It’s easy and can be made up to 4 or 5 days ahead. Store it in the fridge under plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent exposure to air.

Battling Alzheimer’s disease – Part 4: Beets are a good bet

Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has done a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his forth and final installment.

Super beets: Beets are the ideal brain food. These ones are large enough to use as weights in your exercise class. But for best effect, we suggest you eat them.

Part 4 – Beets are a good bet

Beets may be our best defence against Alzheimer’s disease

You might be surprised to know that beets are one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. Their bright red color signals a wealth of antioxidants, which are potent fighters of inflammation in the body and, specifically, in the brain.

But beets offer the brain even more useful benefits. Betanin, the compound that accounts for the red hue of beets, disables a protein that contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. It is so effective that researchers are looking into betanin as a possible drug component for sufferers of this serious brain disorder.

Beets help keep the brain healthy in other ways, too. The rich red root contains nitrite, which when converted to nitric oxide, increases blood flow. More blood flowing into the brain means more oxygen, which increases the brain’s efficiency.

A Kid’s Favorite Crab Spread

Alaskan king crab – a true giant

Crab is a mild-tasting shellfish that most people like, even the kids. It is low in fat, containing only  82 calories in a 3-ounce serving, while supplying a third of your daily protein needs. Crab is a brain food,

Whipped goat cream, a tart cheese treat

Whipped goat cream

Once upon a time I came across a recipe that called for whipped goat cheese. So I took my basket and headed to the grocery store, where I eventually found a small tub of the stuff at three times the cost of regular, ordinary, every-day goat cheese.

When I finally had a minute to spare I sat down and examined the label. The ingredients were goat cheese and water… and a few chemicals. It seemed I’d bought a processed food fortified with who knows what. And I thought: why can’t I make that myself – and leave out the chemicals?

Crab dip is tops in sustainable fish dishes

Crab is a safe bet

Everybody loves fish for its lean protein and its omega-3s that do wonders  for our brains. But these days our poor heads are so bombarded with info on which fish are facing extinction or which types are loaded with deadly mercury that we are almost afraid to try any fish at all.

I’m here to tell you though that plain steamed crab meat is one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

Black magic: Chocolate syrup on ice

Just two ingredients…

Awesome! This idea came my way courtesy of the Paddington Foodie, chef extraordinaire. It’s ridiculously easy. Combining just two super-foods, this simple syrup zaps any dessert you like with goodness that is sure to grant you the superpowers of your dreams.

Hummus is Pretty in Pink

Awhile back, we roasted  up some tasty garbanzo beans to zap our good health with fiber and minerals. That bland little bean, which is part of the legume family… comes into its own, though, in the near Eastern dish known as hummus.

Let me introduce you to the Cinderella of the hummus crowd, a beet and garbanzo duo that knocks your slippers off!