Looking for a healthy, nutrient-dense snack to satisfy a sweet tooth? Dr. Michael Karlfeldt, ND, PhD talks with Mike Grant from Papa Joe’s Restaurant about a healthy, blood sugar balancing, and nutrient-providing snack parfait treat as an alternative to processed, sugary bowl of commercial ice cream or yogurt with additives and preservatives.
Mike also suggests an easy-to-prepare entree recipe that’s easy to make with real, healthy ingredients to keep your brain, nervous system and entire body feeling well.
Dr. K: What do you have for us today?
Mike Grant: So we’re talking emotional health, and I’m thinking snack foods or entree foods that make you feel better. Sometimes when people are sad you think they might want to have ice cream or chocolate. So I want to make a simple parfait with yogurt for the probiotics, some fresh fruit, and whole grain, gluten-free granola which increases the seratonin, which makes you feel way better than eating that sugary bowl of ice cream.
I’m going to put this together, and you can talk about what I’m doing here because I’m using goat yogurt in this recipe.
Dr. K: It’s interesting that you chose goat yogurt. Goat is one of those dairy products that is really easy-to-digest. Supportive of the digestive system and doesn’t put stress on it, and contains probiotics. The gut is considered your “second brain”, because there are so many neurotransmitters located there. So, by supporting your digestive tract with probioitcs, you feel happier.
MG: It looks good, it’s going to taste great. And it’s good for that emotional boost.
Dr. K: Exactly. A lot of times when you feel down, you don’t have the energy to cook a lot. So this is quick and instead of getting that sugar high, and which then comes with a sugar drop, this will sustain you.
MG: For an entree we have a fresh red bell pepper. Again, whole grain brown rice, a little beef that I rendered the fat out, of and some veggies. Stuff them, and it will go in the oven for about 15 minutes. It looks good, so you will feel good about eating it. It’s also going to provide you with those good whole grains, the veggies. It makes you feel better and it’s better for you.
Dr. K: Eating colorful food has a huge impact on how you feel emotionally. And also the grains, have a lot of minerals and B vitamins which are crucial to feel happy and get energy, which is essential for brain function.
Photo by Alisha Hieb on Unsplash.
