As the Holiday season continues, healthy eating goals have a tendency to fly right out the window. We are here to keep you motivated!

• Can Eating a Mediterranean Diet Benefit Your Brain?

• What is the DASH Diet?

• Fermented Garlic Honey to Drizzle on Pizza Crusts!

Healthy News Doses

Live and Eat Your Best Mediterranean life!

I don’t know about you, but I LIVE for that cliche Mediterranean lifestyle. What I wouldn’t give to spend my life in Italy soaking up the sunshine and olive oil!

But did you know following a Mediterranean diet can help maintain cognitive functioning as we age? While the definition of a traditional “Mediterranean” diet varies by source, it is generally accepted as a diet that emphasizes plant-based foods, healthy fats like olive oil, seafood, nuts, and seeds.

A recent study was published that followed 840 people over 65 years of age in France. Of these participants included in the sample, roughly 65% were female.

Basically, they found evidence that healthy diets were related to less cognitive decline over time for the study participants, on average. It’s amazing how our diet impacts not only how we feel, but also how well we are able to think in the long-term as we get older!

What’s your favorite Mediterranean dish?

What is the DASH Diet?

As explained by the Mayo Clinic, “The DASH diet focuses on vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans and nuts. The diet limits foods that are high in salt, also called sodium. It also limits added sugar and saturated fat, such as in fatty meats and full-fat dairy products.” In essence, it sounds like a Mediterranean diet with a low sodium emphasis.

A study out of New York University’s Medical School recently published their long-term findings looking at the relationship between adherence to the “DASH” diet, or “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension” and subsequent cognitive functioning later in life.

The study noted that, “Women who adhered most closely to the DASH diet had a 17 percent reduction in the odds of reporting multiple cognitive complaints.”

Study author Yixiao Song stated, “Our data suggest that it is important to start a healthy diet in midlife to prevent cognitive impairment in older age.”

Study co-author Fen Wu, PhD, added the following summary, “Following the DASH diet may not only prevent high blood pressure, but also cognitive issues.”

Some serious food for thought!

Bake Amazing Gluten-Free Sourdough at Home That Beats Store-Bought Every Time!

This recipe is not just easy, but the results are outrageously delicious. Discover the secret to making sourdough that’s not only healthy but also has everyone raving. Imagine biting into a slice with a crispy, chewy exterior and a soft, flavor-packed middle – that’s what you get here.

Your loved ones will be amazed ❤️, asking for seconds and the recipe. Unlike regular bread loaded with unhealthy ingredients, this Gluten-Free sourdough is a powerhouse of health benefits, thanks to its prebiotics, probiotics, and nutrient-rich profile.

Lower in glycemic index, it’s great for blood sugar control and more!! Get ready to fill your home with the irresistible aroma of freshly baked, gluten-free sourdough that tastes too good to be true!

Upgrade Your Plate

Fermented Garlic Honey to Drizzle on Pizza!

Garlic is well-known for its immunity-boosting and brain-boosting properties. But have you ever tried fermenting garlic in pure honey, to make your own garlic-flavored honey at home?

The Fermentation product basket outlined above provides a really cool recipe for this garlic honey, which includes a bit of added rosemary. As the whole garlic cloves ferment below the surface of the honey, the honey becomes less viscous and easier to pour. It’s AMAZING for drizzling on pizza crusts after they come out of the oven!

Cooking Corner

Stuffed Cucumber Barrels

For a guilt-free healthy appetizer that is sure to please your guests, family, and friends, check out this FREE RECIPE below for Stuffed Cucumber Barrels, filled with pine nuts, shallots, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice!

Stuffed Cucumber Barrel Ingredients: 

• 5 small Lebanese Cucumbers (tiny cucumbers that are six inches long), cut into ¾-inch sections,

• or “barrels.” You get about 7-8 “barrels” per cucumber.

• ¼ shallot, finely minced

• ½ clove raw garlic, finely minced

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

• 1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly-grated

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• A small pinch of freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste

• A small pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Stuffed Cucumber Barrel Instructions: 

1. Wash the cucumbers, and cut them into ¾-inch sections.

2. Use a small melon-baller or tiny spoon to scoop out most of the center of each cucumber section.

3. Lightly salt the hollowed-out cucumbers.

4. *This hollowed-out area in each cucumber barrel is where you will add an oversized scoop of the filling, described below.

5. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the minced shallot, minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, red pepper flakes, freshly-ground black pepper, and ground cayenne pepper.

6. Mix to combine, and taste.

7. Add more lemon juice, Kosher salt, or freshly-ground black pepper, if desired.

8. Stuff the hollowed-out cucumber pieces with the filling, and arrange the bite-sized stuffed cucumber barrels on a plate.

Serve and enjoy

Don’t forget to join our Facebook Foodies Group if you haven’t already! It’s basically a digital kitchen where you’ll find even MORE foodie inspo.

As always if you have any questions, feel free to reach out 🙂 

Your recipe giver,

Andy G

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