Many Brain Health Kitchen students have been, or currently are, taking care of someone with dementia.
When my brother stepped in to live with our mother, who has dementia, it was meant to be a temporary solution. She had just been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. My siblings and I were reeling from the diagnosis and trying to figure out what to do. Could she stay in her house? Would she need to move to assisted living? She couldn’t drive any more, so how would she get where she needed to go, like the grocery store, doctor’s office, and hairdresser?
Now, five years later, my brother still lives with our mom and is her primary caregiver. Just like in millions of other families across the U.S. faced with this situation, home care still makes the most sense even though at this point her dementia has progressed beyond MCI. Eighty percent of the 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are receiving care in their home from a caregiver like my brother. And while my siblings and I all try to chip in to help take care of Mom, it’s my brother who does the heavy lifting—juggling his full-time job with meal planning, cooking, cleaning, shuttling, and managing her schedule.
A small army of unpaid dementia caregivers
There are nearly 16 million unpaid dementia caregivers in the United States. This is a small army of sons, daughters, wives, husbands, grandchildren, friends, and partners, who provide a total of 18.5 billion hours of unpaid care each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The majority of caregivers are part of the “sandwich generation”—middle-aged, adult children, like my brother, who are also holding down jobs outside the home and raising their own kids. Another large portion are spouses over age 65 caring for their wife, husband, or partner. Believe it or not, an estimated 250,000 dementia caregivers are children and young adults between the ages of 8 and 18.
BHK alumna Karen was a caregiver to the love of her life.
Women as caregivers
Women shoulder the majority of the caregiver burden, making up two-thirds of all unpaid dementia caregivers. This means they’re doubly at risk, since as you may already know, women are more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s than men, making up two-thirds of diagnosed Alzheimer’s cases. Figuring out why women get more Alzheimer’s than men is a hot area of research. It could be that women’s immune systems are more wired to mount an inflammatory response. (This response could lead to chronic inflammation in the brain, which many researchers believe is a root cause of Alzheimer’s.) Although not formally studied, exposure to the stress of caregiving may put women at an especially heightened risk group.
Caregivers area at increased risk for dementia themselves
I worry about my mother’s dementia progressing to an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s where she will no longer be able to live at home. I am also concerned, however, about the toll caregiving will take on my brother’s health. While caregivers perform an important service for society and their relatives, they do so at considerable cost to themselves. According to 2020 data from the Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures, dementia caregivers under chronic stress have poorer health when compared to non-caregivers of the same age. They are at a greater risk for anxiety, depression, and have a higher rate of mortality. Not only that, caregivers are at an increased risk (as high as 70% greater) of developing Alzheimer’s themselves. Some of this may be actually attributable to genetic factors because caregivers are often first-degree relatives of their care partners. A large part, however, probably comes from living with a high level of stress that takes its toll over years, including lack of sleep, less time for exercise and self-care, and a reliance on inflammatory processed foods, as can happen when there’s just no time to cook. (The Standard American Diet, aka SAD or the Western diet, is high in packaged and processed foods that are high in added sugar, unhealthy fats, and artificial food additives—all of which are bad for brain health.)
The impact of a brain-healthy lifestyle
Brain-healthy lifestyle interventions may slow down the progression from early stages of Alzheimer’s (like MCI) to more advanced ones. These interventions have an even more profound impact on someone with no evidence of Alzheimer’s at all, now referred to as Alzheimer’s “Stage 0.” Here’s the tricky thing—research now shows that Alzheimer’s starts developing in the brain 20 to 30 years before symptoms are apparent. What this means for you is that putting lifestyle changes in place before Alzheimer’s develops is more important than ever. The goal is to avoid getting any type of dementia, and now is the time to act, particularly for caregivers. So while you may never know whether you prevented cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s through changing what you eat and other tweaks (like getting plenty of exercise and the right amount of sleep), the end goal is still the same—to stay in Stage 0. This newly described Stage 0 signifies the decades-long, asymptomatic period of time in which the brain is influenced by a complicated interplay of environmental factors and genetics. Research shows that it’s in these asymptomatic stages—Stages 0 and 1—that following a brain-healthy diet can slow down the Alzheimer’s process in the brain.
Put another way: If you don’t have Alzheimer’s disease, you are in Stage 0. Right now, everything you do in your life has the power to prevent Alzheimer’s or allow it to take root.
Enter: My Caregiver Recipe Series
Everyone is a caregiver at some point in their lives..
I’ll be introducing regular recipes geared towards caregivers to help lighten the load. These recipes simplify the task of cooking, alleviate decision fatigue (like what to make for dinner), and provide a steady diet of neuroprotective foods that will nourish the caregiver, too. The Brain Health Kitchen approach takes into account caregivers’ stressful, time-crunched lives. I know caregivers like my brother have very little time to cook. And yet, given their higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, caregivers need to flood their brains with a steady diet of neuroprotective foods.
These recipes are designed to nourish the caregiver as well as the person with Alzheimer’s he or she cares for.
After talking to many caregivers about what they need in meal preparation, I developed these Brain Health Kitchen recipes with the following tenets in mind:
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- Easy and Straightforward: Each recipe comes together in under 30 minutes, with easily accessible ingredients, with as few pots and pans as possible.
- Food that Soothes: We all crave comfort food when under duress. These brain-healthy makeovers of my favorite comfort foods are designed to be crowd-pleasing, familiar, and soothing, without being laden with inflammatory ingredients like added sugar and unhealthy fats.
- Packed with Brain-Healthy Ingredients: All recipes adhere to MIND diet guidelines, which includes foods from the 10 brain-healthy food groups using brain-friendly cooking techniques like slow cooking, braising, and steaming.
- Reasonable Portions: Many recipes serve two, since that’s the set up for many caregivers. They can be easily scaled for more people, or in some cases, I’ll give bigger batch recipes that are freezer-friendly.
- Recipes Use Pantry Staples: Caregiver Recipes lean heavily on brain-healthy pantry staples, like canned beans, tinned seafood, whole grain, and frozen berries.
- Shopping List: And, each recipe provides a shopping list to help you organize meal planning.
Keeping expectations realistic
It’s not always possible to eat perfectly all the time, even in the best of circumstances! This is true for everyone, but especially for time-crunched, exhausted caregivers. So while it may not be attainable to cook every meal from the most pristine brain-healthy foods, a real-life scenario may be to include just one brain health superstar in each meal. This could be a half-cup of berries (frozen, fresh or dried), a glass of almond milk, a polyphenol-rich cup of tea, or an omega-3 packed portion of eggs or fatty fish.
Try to include at least one brain health superstar in each meal
Former first lady Rosalyn Carter became a caregiver at the age of 12 when her father was diagnosed with leukemia. “There are only four kinds of people in the world,” she has said. “Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”
For those of you who are currently caregivers, Brain Health Kitchen is here for you.
Print Recipe
Roasted Caprese with Shrimp, Avocado, and Feta
Think of this easy, one-pan dish as a cold-weather version of the Caprese Salad of Italy, upgraded with shrimp and avocado to make it a meal. Roasting the tomatoes not only concentrates their flavors, it boosts lycopene content, a boon for brain health. I like to scoop out the seeds with a sharp spoon (like a grapefruit spoon) first; this way the olive oil and balsamic vinegar stay put in the little tomato cup, infusing it with flavor as it roasts.
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the tomato halves on the baking sheet cut-side up. Drizzle the oil and vinegar evenly over the tomatoes and sprinkle with the salt. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and starting to brown on the edges. Add the shrimp to the baking sheet nestled amongst the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for another 10 minutes.
To serve, divide the tomatoes evenly between 4 plates. Top each tomato with a shrimp, a few slices of avocado, feta, and basil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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One-Skillet Huevos
This riff on Huevos Rancheros makes good use of pantry staples, cooks up in under 20 all in one skillet. The huevos can be made as mild or as spicy as you like, depending on the type of salsa you choose. I like this with a green chili salsa from a jar that has a medium heat.
Votes: 4
Rating: 4.75
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Votes: 4
Rating: 4.75
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Instructions
Combine the beans, salsa, nut milk, and salt in a large skillet. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Use a spoon to make a well in the sauce and crack an egg into it. Repeat with as many eggs as you want to cook and that your skillet allows.
Cover tightly and adjust the heat so that the sauce is gently bubbling at a low simmer. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs: about 7 minutes for a jammy yolk or longer for a fully cooked one.
To serve, scoop out some of the sauce and an egg or two into each bowl. Top with avocado slices and scatter with scallions, if using. Serve with warm tortillas on the side.
Print Recipe
Pasta e Fagioli
Think of this recipe for weeknight pasta e fagioli as a template for a nourishing one-pot meal. Like many of my recipes, this one is a formula you can tinker with depending on what’s in season and what’s in the pantry and fridge. In this version, for instance, I love using gigante beans (aka large white runner beans), a staple of Greek and other Mediterranean dishes. Gigantes have a substantial, meaty texture, which holds up when reheated, and their generous size make this hearty soup feel like a meal. Other beans that also keep their shape after reheating and freezing (because you will probably want to double the recipe to freeze a batch for later) are cannellini, cranberry, navy, and chickpeas.
The Parmesan rind, if you have one, creates a deeply flavorful soup that tastes like it’s been simmering all day.
Votes: 8
Rating: 4.75
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Votes: 8
Rating: 4.75
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Instructions
Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it starts to shimmer, add the carrots, onion and a pinch of the salt, and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to let it burn.
Add the broth, beans, marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, the remaining salt, and Parmesan rind (if using). Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with the lid askew, and cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes until the soup is thick enough to coat the beans.
Add the kale and the pasta and continue to simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until the pasta is al dente, or cooked through but still chewy, not soft.
Taste and season to your liking with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve hot with a spoonful of grated Parmesan, if using. When the soup is gone, discard the Parmesan rind.
Recipe Notes
More easy substitutions include: 2 chopped shallots or leeks for the onion, frozen chopped kale instead of fresh, and marinara sauce from a jar. Just be sure to look for a brand of marinara that is low in sodium, added sugar and saturated fat.
To Store: Keeps tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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