Rebuild from Depression Blog

Lamb is a rich food that tastes great with the new crop of butternut squash and pumpkin. It may also fight depression.

In the book Rebuild from Depression, I identify the foods highest in combination of the seven depression-fighting nutrients (deficiencies of which are most associated with depression in the medical literature.) I use the USDA's databaseof over 5,000 foods. Read more about the Rebuild philosophy on food and depression.

Beef liver (and other animal livers) may be nature's top depression-fighting food. Liver and onions is absolutely the best way to eat it fresh. Check out Mom's recipe for flash fried beef liver for our favorite way to prepare it.

What goes with beef liver and onions as a side dish? I asked Mom.

Mom recommends:

1. Rice pilaf and a green salad.
2. Baked potato and a carrot salad.
3. Baked squash and a marinated tomato salad.
4. Quinoa and asparagus.
5. Bulgur pilaf and green beans.

Enjoy this frugal dinner option. Find more frugal ideas at The Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Read more on the fat content of beef liver and more about the nutritional value of beef liver.

Sea scallops are a great depression-fighting food. They are loaded with vitamin B-12 (a vitamin for depression), zinc, magnesium, and iron. In the book Rebuild from Depression, I list scallops as a "depression buster food."

I buy my scallops at Trader Joe's and always look for their giant scallops. They are amazingly tender if you don't overcook them. (Watch them carefully as they cook and pull them off the heat when they begin to flake apart.)

Whenever I cook scallops, I keep it simple: I cook them in garlic butter and serve them over rice. I noticed that Diane at Simply Real Food took a bit of a twist last month and fried them in bacon grease and added some greens at the end (Diane's fried scallops). I will be trying that with my next scallop purchase.

Isn't it great that such tasty food is loaded with nutrients?

The great thing about beef liver is that it has the real food form of folic acid, folate, and it has a whole lot of it. Liver contains over 65% of the daily requirement of folate for a 30-something woman.

You can check out folic acid in food at a list developed by the USDA. Note that most of the top foods are "enriched" -- folic acid was added to the food. There are exceptions at the top of the list like various beans, asparagus, and okra. Beef liver is right there with those high folate foods near the top of page 2. It is the high level of folate in liver along with the B-12, B-6, zinc, and iron that make liver a depression-fighting food.

The big question with liver, however, is not if it is nutritious. It is "how to actually eat liver?" Our favorite liver recipe is Mom's fried liver and onions. It is slightly breaded and flash fried. You might also want to check out ideas from Mom about side dishes that go with liver and onions.