I love tuna casserole. It is about the only fish dish that I really like. So, I decided to upgrade my current recipe to include the foods recommended on the MIND diet.

I started as usual by looking to see if others had done this. What to my wondering eyes should appear but a recipe by Martha Stewart – not specifically for the MIND diet, but it uses olive oil in the white sauce. It’s really very similar to the recipe that I used to use before I started being lazy and using canned soup.

Here is my adaptation:

Tuna Casserole for the MIND diet           Print version

• 2 cans tuna – 5 oz. chunk light in water ( I use Chicken of the Sea)
• 4 servings* whole grain noodles (2 cups dry)
• 1 cup frozen peas, cooked most of the way

“White” sauce:

• 2 TBSP olive oil -I use a lighter tasting oil
• 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ cup 1% milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Topping:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 slice whole wheat bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cook the noodles as directed on the package, or maybe a bit shorter time.

*I use Kroger wide egg noodles made with 100% whole grain. The package says that 1 cup dry is a serving, but that much is 210 calories. So, I use ½ cup as a serving.

2. While the noodles are cooking, make the “white” sauce. Heat the 2 TBSP olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour and cook for about a minute over medium heat.

I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour, which is just as much a whole grain as regular whole wheat flour. It is just a bit lighter, although it doesn’t quite make a white white sauce.

3. Add the chicken broth and the milk and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until thickened. Be careful that it doesn’t boil over if you pan in small. Stir frequently. Add the Salt, Pepper, Onion flakes, and Garlic.
4. Open and drain the tuna. I have the handiest gadget for doing that. Add the tuna and the peas to the white sauce. Drain the noodles and add the noodles, mixing well.
5. Pour this mixture into a prepared 8 inch square pan (prepared, of course, with olive oil spray).
6. Make the crunchy topping. Toast the slice of whole wheat bread and cool. Actually, it works well to do this a couple of hours ahead and then let it sit and dry for a couple of hours. I usually don’t think to do that. Put the 2 tsp. olive oil in a medium fry pan and crumble the toasted bread into it. Mix to coat it as much as possible and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. You could probably skip this because it will brown on top of the casserole.

Sprinkle the topping over the prepared casserole. Cover it with foil. Now that you have almost every pan in your kitchen dirty, you can finally put the casserole in the oven.

7. Bake the casserole for about 20 minutes; remove the foil and bake another 10 or so.

Now that I look back to see how much I “adapted” from Martha’s recipe, I see there are quite a few changes. I used whole wheat noodles, whole wheat flour, and changed the topping, omitting the cheese (a MIND diet food to avoid). I used quite a bit less chicken broth and milk, but I learned when I made white sauce not to use so much liquid.

Makes 4 servings.   Calories as calculated by Myfitnesspal.com= 321

Thoughts on this recipe and my almost perfect MIND diet day

All in all, I thought this was an acceptable tuna casserole. My husband even chose a left-over serving for his lunch the next day and there were lots of other good things to choose from. But, it is not quite as good as the tuna casseroles I have had that contain cream cheese or lots of other cheese.

I do feel really good about my almost perfect MIND diet day! I ate all 10 of the MIND diet recommended foods, although some not in quite enough volume to be a full serving (whatever that is). This is what I ate:

• Tuna Casserole – contained fish, a serving of whole grain*, olive oil, and an “other” vegetable.
• Salad made of red leaf lettuce, dressed with light balsamic vinaigrette made with olive oil
• A 5 oz glass of wine
• Breakfast was a Strawberry Oatmeal Muffin (made with oatmeal and olive oil) and a Yoplait lite Blueberry Yogurt
• Lunch was Chili con Pollo (poultry, beans, other vegetable)
• Snack was ½ oz of almonds

So, I had at least some of all the recommended foods, but I might have been a little short on 3 servings of whole grain and a whole serving of berries. I did go a little over my 1000 calorie limit.

The MIND diet recommended foods:

1. Green, Leafy vegetables,  6 or more servings per week
2. Other vegetables, at least 1 serving per day
3. Berries, especially strawberries, 2 or more servings/week
4. Nuts, 5 or more servings/week
5. Olive Oil, use as primary oil
6. Whole grains, 3 or more servings/day
7. Fish, 1 or more servings/week
8. Beans, more than 3 times/week
9. Poultry, 2 or more servings/week
10. Wine, 1 glass/day

Delaying Alzheimer’s

By the way, if you are interested in delaying Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders, brush your teeth!  It sounds funny but that’s the advice in a recent PsyBlog post. Actually, it is more like take good care of your teeth and gums because “A number of studies have shown that having few teeth, possibly as a consequence of earlier gum disease, is associated with a greater risk of developing dementia.”

PsyBlog posts are short synopses of ideas and findings from studies, which are usually cited. Cognitive decline is a frequent topic.