There's something wild about this food.

Now, what were all those foods that they said were good for boosting brain power and memory? They’re on the tip of my tongue…sweetbreads? No. Recalled eggs? Nope. Smarties?

I remember, thanks to Cynthia Green and the editors of Prevention magazine and their new book Brainpower Game Plan, where they cite 7 foods that increase brain power and might even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease:

1. Fatty fish with omega 3s – salmon, tuna, mackerel, etc. Experts from many sources seem to agree that wild salmon is at the top of the list.

2. Leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are the most powerful brain protectors. A Harvard study showed that women who ate mostly these vegetables, reduced the age of theirbrainone to two years. Remember that91 yearold nutritionist of mine? eat that cauliflower and you might She mandated that everyday we have at least one serving of either: broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts or cabbage.

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Lemons are the worker bees of the kitchen. Take an inexpensive cut of meat or fish, give them some lemon love and you’ll get tangy and tenderized entrees. If that doesn’t convince you, try these other uses for lemons from Real Simple.
My lemon chicken is adapted from Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Remember to double your needs so you can reinvent them later in the week, but try to keep serving sizes at 4 oz each; meats and fish should be thought of more as side dishes rather than main courses.
Lemon Chicken (three recipes): read more

The 91 yearold nutritionist had warned me against theatre popcorn – “they’re little fat balls,” she scolded, “if you eat them you’ll wear them.” I go to movies as much for the popcorn as I do for the movie, in fact, the popcorn gave the best performance in Sex and City 2.

I knew that popcorn, although a good source of fiber, was a disaster of Titanic proportions at the theatre, but I had no idea until I stumbled upon a report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest who conducted a study on theatre popcorn. According to the CSPI, a medium and large size of theatre popcorn can run as high as 1200 calories and three days worth of saturated fat. Note: the CSPI also found that in some theaters both the medium and large are roughly the same amount of popcorn, just in different shaped containers. Bastards!.

I was convinced. I brought in my own contraband of healthier popcorn, Orville Redenbacher’s 100-calorie bags. They became my go-to snack for the theatre and for late-nights at home.

Then, I readDanielle Omar’s blog (scroll to June 18) and learned something bad about my habit. read more

Dining in the wild at Governors’ Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya Africa

We packed up the kids, bug repellent steeped in DEET, cameras in every format, four packs of gum and a 22-day supply of anti-malaria pills and headed out on a 30-hour trip from Los Angeles to Nairobi, Kenya. They say, and by they I mean the voices in my head, we go on safari to live among the animals and to experience an exotic adventure in a tented camp within the wild kingdom where giant elephants and ferocious lions roam freely.

Griffin and I, from the confines of our tent. Note the young human has strewn his shoes about the floor much like he might in his native habitat.

We humans become the captive, confined within the safety of a 4-wheel drive landcruiser and the reinforced canvas tent, and watched by a few armed guards who might ward of any charging beasts. But, the reason I share any of this with you at Crunch Time, is that amid this travel adventure of a lifetime out in the remote wilderness with limited electricity and plumbing, I was captivated by having the freshest of foods with abundant produce, properly cooked vegetables and prepared salads, and of all things succulent soups. Who knew that Kenya, a country that straddles the equator, would be the place to find amazing soup. Truly, I thought we’d be lucky to have a biscuit and banana for breakfast.

Chef Jackson from Governors’ Camp

Although each of our seven different accommodations offered fine food, it was really the mastery of Chef Jackson and his team at Governors’ Camp that deserved to be on a pedestal. Governors’ Camp is in the heart of Masai Mara and run by just the nicest and most professional bunch of people. It was established thirty years ago and has remained untarnished. Our tents were nestled into a riverbank forest within the mara and open to large game and any other creature that made its way into camp. Many evenings we were detained by guards to avoid the “dangerous” elephant eating from trees outside of our tent. I swear I brushed my hair in the bathroom while the elephant yanked the brush just ten feet away “Is that you Dan?”

photo taken by the brilliantly talented Kendall, my daughter

Yet, within this remote and savage environment,the dining team at Governors’ Camp was able to create wonderful, healthy foods for all the guests three times a day.

Chef Jackson was kind enough to share some of his food preparation secrets with me and I am passing them along. I was most impressed by the quality of the bread products, the fresh salads, vegetables and the soups.

Today: “Granolla” Bars

Start with an inventive mixture of cereals, seeds, nuts and any grains. Chef Jackson includes bran flakes, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats, sliced almonds. Melt together brown sugar and butter until the sugar dissolves, add honey and brings to a soft boil. Pour the hot mixture of brown sugar and honey into the cereal and combine fast and press into a greased pan. You have about five minutes before it gets too hard to work with. Slice into squares while still warm and somewhat pliable. Check here for refined recipe.

The cooled bars will becrunchy hard for those hardcore game drives, but if you prefer softer bars, add more honey.

If this doesn’t get the kids to the table, nothing will. This clever idea comes from the wish-I-had-thought-of-it file and designer Diana Paisis. Airplane Food is a set of disposable placemats that fold into paper airplanes. Each set of 52 placemats offers five unique retro airplane designs. They come shrink wrapped to be the perfect gift for that kid who needs incentive to clean his plate or the parent who is tired of the struggle. Amazon sells them for $12.99 and even offers used for less yuck, but you can find them for a dollar or two less at various online sites like Fat Brain or Perpetual Kid. I noticed Fat Brain warned that these placemats are not safe for kids under 3 yearsold which made me wonder is it the threat of choking on a wad of placemat or is it papercuts on the tiny wrists that concern their lawyers. Safe flight!