MORE MAPLE SYRUP PLEASE!

Great news people - you should definitely splurge on maple syrup. it's loaded with zinc and manganese (important antioxidants). plus, it's all natural. it's like drinking the blood of a tree - very good for you. so, next time you have a sweet tooth, forget the swiss cake roll and go for pancakes (you can get them in whole grain, fiber loaded, and lots of other healthier variations) and maple syrup. you can also use it as an alternative to sugar or sweetener in your coffee. it's got 210 calories per 1/4 cup, but i didn't say drink the whole bottle. if you're going to splurge on calories, this is definitely the way to do it. i try to work fiber pancakes with maple syrup into my diet several days a week. just be sure you get 100% pure maple syrup and not syrup that is mixed with anything else.

All you ever wanted to know about Acai

Trying to research Acai (pronounced ah-"sigh"-EE), and which brand is best, is like talking to a lawyer - sounds good until you realize these companies pay people to promote their company. All of them tout their product as "scientifically" proven (none of them are, by the way.) Keep in mind as you read this, I did all my research on the internet so it may be as much B.S. as everything else you read about it on the net. However, I have tried nearly every brand of Acai available to me and will rate each product according to the following factors: taste, health, price, if it's organic, and the prettiness of the bottles.

First, a little background information:
1. Acai is native to Brazil, and may be the most nutritional berry available.
2. There are more antioxidants in Acai than any other fruit, and it is loaded with Omega fatty acids.
3. You can purchase Acai in many forms, but my favorite is a good juice drink.
4. Acai has been shown to help with diabetes, digestion, heart health, mental clarity, energy levels, and even cancer.

Things to AVOID:
1. Acai that is filled with a lot of magnesium stearate, multidextrin, or soy lecithin.
2. Do NOT buy Acai from an internet company who sends you a "free trial" -- they will continue to charge your credit card money for months after your "free trial" is over. If you try to call them to cancel, you will NEVER speak to an actual person! I learned this the hard way when I ordered Resveratrol supplements a few years ago. I had to cancel my credit card at the bank and get another one. It was a huge pain in the ass. Don't do it. Stay safe and buy your Acai in a store.
3. Plastic bottles -- the juice in plastic bottles has to be extremely hot when they fill it in order to kill germs in the plastic. This causes plastic "leeching," which means you may as well just go to McDonalds and order a Big Mac and a supersize coke. If you're buying juice, go for the glass bottle. If you're buying capsules, some types of plastic are ok.
4. Read the ingredients -- NO SUGAR and NO PRESERVATIVES!!! Also, many Acai drinks are mixed with more apple, orange, and other juices than actual Acai. Make sure Acai (or Acai puree) is at the top of the ingredient list.

Now for my recommendations:
* I have not tried it, but I've read that Amazon Thunder is the safest company to buy Acai from.

All of the following are available at your local Kroger -
1. R.W. Knudsen Organic Acai Berry: glass bottle, no sugar, and certified organic. Only downside is that it includes a significant amount of other juices like Apple, Strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry. (you can tell when this is the case because pure Acai Juice is THICK!)
2. Zola: Main ingredient is Acai, it's certified organic, has a bit too much sugar, and is in a plastic bottle (though it claims to be "gently" flash pasteurized), and has soy lecithin.
3. Sambazon: organic (but not USDA certified, so who knows?), plastic bottle, and it contains the devilish soy lecithin.

Vodka and Vegetables

Everyone knows I hate vegetables (except corn). Everyone also knows I love vodka. Now, I have a solution! Green smoothies made of fruit juice and an assortment of veggies I would NEVER eat (like broccoli, spinach, blue-green algae, barley grass, artichokes, etc.) mixed with vodka! It's really not a bad drink as long as you don't look at it while you're guzzling it down your throat. For the record, Dr. Amen does not recommend alcohol as part of the brain diet, but hey, nobody's perfect. I like to think the vegetable juice cancels out any negative effects of god's most brilliant creation -- absolut!