Monthly Archives: September 2015

Impossibly Easy MIND diet recipe conversion

Recipes, The MIND Diet, Whole Grains

I have to admit that I have always liked using Bisquick, especially the Impossibly Easy Pie recipes.  I actually have a whole cookbook devoted to them.

However, when I reviewed the ingredients in the original Bisquick and even the HeartSmart Bisquick, they didn’t look to me like they fit the MIND diet very well.  Both have refined flour instead of whole wheat.  The main difference in the HeartSmart type that might make it a tweak healthier is that it has canola oil instead of Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil.

So, I decided to look for or concoct a healthier substitute. I found that I wasn’t the first with that idea – at least to make a substitute with whole wheat. There are lots of recipes out there, but the one decided would work best for me is this one for a “small portion.” Granted, this defeats the purpose of having a mix on hand to whip up something fast, but without the preservatives, I thought it would be better to make it when I need it.

Yikes, it has whole wheat, but also Crisco!  That seems kind of silly since the original and heart-smart Bisquick contain oils. For the MIND diet, I really wanted to use olive oil. I have run into this problem before when I made Pecan Cinnamon Scones. The original recipe called for butter or margarine, but I found lots of sites that said using 3/4 as much olive oil as butter or margarine works in most recipes.

So, this is now my version:

1-cup Bisquick substitute (B-sub) for the MIND diet                    PDF version 

  • 1 cup of whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 TBSP olive oil  (2 1/4 tsp)

Mix the olive oil into other ingredients with a pastry blender or put it in other liquids in the recipe in which you are using the B-sub.

 

For the first test of my new concoction, I decided to adapt this Impossibly Easy French Apple Pie from Betty Crocker.  Here is my version:

Impossible French Apple Pie for the MIND diet                         PDF version

Filling

  • 3 cups sliced apples – I peeled mine, but I have made this kind of recipe with the peels
  • 1 tsp cinnamon – I omitted the 1/4 tsp nutmeg because I really don’t like it
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup of Splenda (granulated) -the kind you buy in a big bag
  • 1/2 cup 1% milk
  • 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil (the 3/4 TBSP for the Bisquick sub and 3/4 TBSP for the recipe)
  • 2 eggs

Struesel:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour ( I didn’t add the rest of the Bisquick ingredients here)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar (2 TBSP)
  • 1/8 cup Splenda granulated (2 TBSP)
  • 1 1/2 TBSP oil

Slice the apples into a 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle with cinnamon and mix in a bit.
Mix the filling and pour over apple mixture.
Mix the struesel and sprinkle on the top
Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees.  Cool a bit before cutting.  Store left-overs (if there are any) in the refrigerator.

Impossibly Easy MIND diet recipe conversion

I have to admit that I have not tasted the pie yet. I made it this afternoon and my tasting panel (my husband and son) gave it the thumps up, even after I told them how I adapted it.

This pie was firmer than I remember fruit-based Impossible pies being. It made it easy to cut! My son said it was more like an apple bread, but he liked it. Maybe I could cut down a bit on the flour next time.

I am saving my piece for breakfast in the morning. I can’t really eat something like this as dessert because it has almost as many calories as I eat in a meal (237 calories). If you have read my post on eating dessert for breakfast, you know this is my strategy for eating dessert foods once in a while. I often make just one serving so I am not tempted by left-overs, but I know the left-overs of this pie won’t last long.

This is only the beginning. There are a jillion “Impossibly easy” recipes out there.

 

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Misleading information about the MIND diet

The MIND Diet

Be careful about information published about the MIND diet and related diets. I saw two examples lately that I thought were rather misleading.

The first was on a Prevention.com web site.  The site describes a bit about the MIND diet and quotes the statistics that it “may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 53%.”  Note that the articles about the MIND diet state that it may “slow cognitive decline” which is not quite the same as reducing the risk.

The part that I thought was misleading was that the article went on to describe 4 foods as key players in the MIND diet. Remember that there are 10 recommended foods, but the others were not mentioned.

Each of the 4 key foods was illustrated with a nice photo.  Also, the research referred to was only partly from the MIND diet study and some of it was different.  For example, in promoting fish, an article that recommended eating fish 3 times per week was described.  This is probably what turned me off. I am not really a fish lover, but I can tolerate fish once a week.  If I thought the MIND diet required me to eat fish 3 times per week, I would immediately shut down any further thought of following it.

Anyway, the article only partially describes the MIND diet. It doesn’t say anything that would hurt anyone, unless it turns them away from a diet that might help them.

The second article I saw was worse. It was in a Women’s World newspaper dated August 10, 2015, page 21. I never read this paper except for the front page when waiting at the cash register in the supermarket, but I saw this in the waiting room at a doctor’s office.

The MIND diet was not actually mentioned, but the Mediterranean Diet was described as helping to “stave off dementia.” That was attributed to Dr. Audrey Chun. I could not find a source for this but Dr. Chun does seem to be a legitimate authority on aging. It was the following sentence that caught my attention: “And the great news is, you don’t have to completely change your diet: Just 1/3 cup of nuts and 5 Tbs. of olive oil daily was shown to boost brain health!”

Do you know how many calories that is?  According to http://nutritiondata.self.com , 1/3 cup of walnuts provides 255 calories and 5 Tbs, of Olive Oil provides 595 calories. That would be 850 calories daily.

I am assuming that Tbs. stands for Tablespoons. It must be a misprint??  Who could eat that many calories in just oil and nuts and have enough left for the other healthy foods.  If you have read my previous post on my struggles to follow the MIND diet within 1000 calories per day, you know that I can’t eat anywhere near that much oil and nuts.

The source of that information was not clear in the article. The words ‘was shown to’ indicates there was a study involved, but the source was not cited.  Although it was in the same article as the information attributed to Dr. Chun, it didn’t really connect to her either.

Anyway, be careful what you read.  I was careful to give the recommendations described in the MIND study articles accurately.  If you don’t have access to a library at which you can obtain the research articles, you can obtain them through the Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association site.  Unfortunately, you will have to pay $30 each.

These are the articles and links at which you can access them:

  • MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging

http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/article/S1552-5260(15)00194-6/pdf
I think this one has the clearest table of foods and frequency of servings – the scoring plan for the study on page 3.

  • MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease

http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/article/S1552-5260(15)00017-5/pdf

Salads are Natural for the MIND diet

Leafy Vegetables, Recipes,

It’s really hot here in the midlands so not much cooking going on. It’s good weather for salads, though.  I have found several that seem like they are naturals for the MIND diet. Some need a bit of modification like switching to olive oil or omitting the cheese.  The salads below all contain 3 or 4 of the recommended MIND diet foods.

The first one that comes to mind is one of my favorites:

Mixed greens salad with strawberries and candied almonds
http://www.pickycook.com/soupandsalad/mixedgreenssaladwithstrawberriesandcandiedalmonds.aspx
I’m not going to repeat the recipes on this page. I will point out the foods recommended on the MIND diet and, in a few recipes, foods to avoid. These are the recommended MIND diet foods in the

  • Green, leafy vegetable
  • Berries
  • Nuts
  • Olive oil

This recipe is “just about perfect” for the MIND diet except for the sugar on the almonds.  I love them that way, but not sure if that might count as a pastry/sweet that is listed as a food to avoid on the MIND diet. Actually, the recommendation is to eat pastries/sweets less than 5 times a week. So, if you use the sugar, you might want to count against that. On the other hand, this salad is just about as good if you don’t sugar the almonds.

Bell Pepper, Tomato, Cucumber, and Grilled Bread Salad
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bell-pepper-tomato-cucumber-grilled-bread-salad

  • whole grain (if you use whole wheat bread)
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

I haven’t tried this one yet. It looks like the kind of recipe you can add a bit of chicken breast to and have a whole meal. The chicken would add a 4th MIND diet recommended food.

Bulgur Salad with Edamame and Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bulgur-salad-with-edamame-cherry-tomatoes

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain
  • olive oil

Another good way to get some whole grain in to a salad.

Black Bean and Corn Salad Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/black-bean-and-corn-salad-recipe.html

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • whole grain (corn)
  • olive oil

I love this one. I usually use a little bit of red pepper instead of hot sauce, and sometimes a few jalapeños.   I always add some cilantro.

Spinach, Apple and Pecan Salad
http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-apple-and-pecan-salad-29765

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Cabbage & Carrot Crunch Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/cabbage-and-carrot-crunch-salad?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign=ob%20articles

  • green, leafy vegetable
  • other vegetable
  • nuts
  • olive oil

Wild Rice and Celery Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/wild-rice-and-celery-salad

    • whole grain
    • other vegetable
    • berries (if you use the cranberries)
    • olive oil

Strawberry and Spinach Salad
http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/strawberry-and-spinach-salad

  • berries (strawberry vinegar sounds interesting)
  • green leafy vegetable
  • olive oil
  • omit the cheese for MIND diet (or use as “<1 per week”)

Three bean salad
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/86229/three-bean-salad/

  • beans
  • other vegetable
  • olive oil

Of course, you don’ t have to stick to 3 types of beans, or these exact ones. I have made this most often with green beans, yellow beans, and pinto beans.  I usually add more sugar or sweetener or agave than this recipe includes.  So, add more to taste.

Well, that is a pretty good collection.  It’s so nice to find recipes that already follow the MIND diet without having to make a lot of changes. If you have a favorite to add, please make a comment.