Clinical psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry, author, researcher, farmer, father and kale lover, Dr. Drew Ramsey has a penchant for nutrients, particularly those that feed your brain.
Dr. Ramsey's latest book, Eat Complete, offers readers shopping lists heavy on fresh produce, examining the relationship between food and mental health. Recipes are simple, flavorful and thought-provoking.
I took a few minutes to pick Dr. Ramsey's brain about his favorites, and some surprises, in the produce aisle.
Produce Retailer: You founded National Kale Day and authored a book of kale recipes — what brought you to Eat Complete?
Dr. Ramsey: After having such success with National Kale Day and Fifty Shades of Kale, I wanted to move “beyond the kale.” There's a lot of controversy in nutrition, and I want to help people cut through that by focusing on the 21 most important nutrients for brain health.The goal of the book is to help people appreciate how certain nutrients affect brain functioning and teach them the top food sources for those nutrients, and the easiest ways to prepare them.
PR: How does produce fit in?
DR: What's exciting for you is that many of the top foods for brain health in terms of nutrient density are the rainbow of fruits and vegetables in the produce department. Eat Complete helps people understand how to more effectively use produce as a base of their diet. Many Americans have a script for their dinner plate — a meat, a vegetable and a starch. A major goal of eating for brain health is to help people create a real explosion of colorful produce.
PR: As you've gotten more involved with the produce industry over the past couple of years, how has that helped shape what you do?
DR: As Americans are focusing on more produce, it's really exciting to see growers continuing to meet people's thirst for something new, while giving them the healthiest food on the planet.
Dr. Ramsey's Produce Favorites:
KALE: Obviously. As founder of National Kale Day and author of Fifty Shades of Kale, it's kind of a given.
CITRUS: “Particularly lemons and oranges, both in cooking and as zest. One of my favorite tricks is to teach people to use citrus zest. It's so packed with a number of plant molecules that are good for our brain.”
TURMERIC: “We have a recipe for a turmeric pumpkin spice smoothie. It's really spicy and adds a different profile to start your day.”
NUTS: “Nuts are a real sleeper food in the sense that they're so packed with nutrition. They serve such an important role as a snack food, and this is where so many people struggle. Nuts and seeds like pepitas are in a lot of dishes and add in healthy fats and protein.”
PURPLE POWER: “I'm really excited to see so many producers add a rainbow of colors to their lineup, like maroon carrots, purple sweet potatoes and red kale.”