Smorgasbord: Brain Research, a Giant Stinky Flower, and Vegan Breakfast Vittles

Greetings from the land of overscheduling!

You may have noticed that my typical Monday post hasn’t gone up yet. And it’s Wednesday.

I do have an excuse, though, and it’s a pretty good one.

Boosting Brainpower
You see, this past Friday and Saturday, I attended the International Conference on Nutrition and the Brain presented by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Jam-packed with the latest brain research presented by leaders in the field, the conference was an incredible opportunity to learn about promising avenues for using nutrition and lifestyle to prevent, manage, and potentially even reverse certain brain conditions.

For example, did you know that, at least in older adults, brisk walking 3 times per week can actually increase the size of a brain structure critical for memory?¹ Basically, by getting moving, you can physically grow parts of your brain. How cool is that? (Read my other tweets from the conference here.)

Kirk Erickson, Ph.D., discussing the effects of exercise on the brain]

Anyhow, my big plan was to digest all this great information on Sunday and have a post packed with brain-boosting recommendations up bright and early on Monday morning. Tuesday at the very latest. Definitely.

Well, then life happened—attending to family obligations, catching up on work—and just when I thought I’d have time to write, whammo! I got hit with more time-sensitive projects.

A Giant, Stinky Distraction
To make matters worse, on Monday evening, I decided that in lieu of getting things done, I’d go see this:

Yep, that’s a giant flower. One that happens to smell like a rotting wildebeest and blooms only when it feels like it. And if that’s once every 7 years, well, so be it.

This behemoth is called a Titan Arum (a.k.a. “stinky plant” or “corpse flower”), and I’d been eagerly anticipating its unfurling for nearly a week, checking the webcam at the U.S. Botanic Gardens at all hours.

So when the massive flower finally deigned to bloom this past Sunday night, instead of doing the wise and responsible thing and foregoing this rare and stinky event, on Monday evening, my mom and Jeff and I headed over to the gardens to see it. (In my defense, the blooms typically only last 24-48 hours before collapsing.)

While the flower was awe-inspiring to behold, it was surprisingly un-stinky. (Apparently, it had unleashed the brunt of its pungency on Sunday night.) But nonetheless, it was still pretty incredible.

Needless to say, however, my upcoming conference recap and tropical chopped salad posts are both going to be delayed.

Veggies for breakfast
In the meantime, though, I thought I’d share this morning’s plant-powered breakfast, in honor of “What I Ate Wednesday.”

Kale with sweet ginger dressing and mango

Brown rice with almond milk, flax seed, and dried fruit

Because kale’s not just for dinner. (And neither is brown rice.)

Well, it’s back to the grindstone for me. In the meantime, I hope you’re all having a great week, eating healthy, and staying active—your brain will thank you!

1. Erickson, Voss, Prakash, et al. (2011).

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