Keep Your Brain Alive-Libby Deege

Switching things up can be fun and it can also be good for your brain. Here are a few suggestions to incorporate into your meal time routine!! Enjoy!

Try Musical Chairs!
Have everyone switch seats. In most families, everyone has his or her "own" seat. Switching seats changes whose "position" you occupy. who you relate to, and your view of the room! It even changes how you reach for the salt and pepper!

Plan a Democratic Meal.
Let each person in the family (even the youngest) decide one item on the menu. Peanut butter and steak may not sound appetizing, but is it not going to hurt you, and it may provide material for some bizarre associations.

Introduce Novelty.
Eat Waffles or cereal for dinner. The Norwegians eat their man meal for breakfast. You could try that too. Change the order in which you eat your food. Try starting with the dessert and ending with the chips. this may seem frivolous but your brain won't think so. it's primed to handle this unexpected strategy. Change where you eat your meal- a different room, outside, on the porch on the floor, BE creative.
Try eating your food using your "wrong" hand. Small changes like this makes even the most routine acts of eating challenging!!

Get Cooking!
Cook something from scratch. It doesn't have to be a five course gourmet meal. making a simple Italian pasta sauce give all your senses a good workout. As you chop and saute onions, herbs and spices, aromas permeate the kitchen and flood you with memories. You're engaging your tactile senses when chopping and peeling, and then in testing the consistency and texture of the sauce as it reduces. A good cook constantly tastes for flavor, adding and adjusting spices a little at a time.

Just remember changing things up and doing things a little differently is great for your brain and also your spirit. Try one tonight!!