Food and I.Q.

A new study finds that children who eat diets high in processed food (junk food) have lower I.Q.s. I am not surprised.

My family always believed there was a connection between intelligence and the food you eat. I have written about My Mother's Salmon before, so maybe you already know that when I was little, my Mom fed me salmon for breakfast on days when I had to take a test.

Very few ingredients used at True Thai are processed. I have not done a formal study, but I have noticed that the children who come here to eat on a regular basis seem to be very bright kids. I also think our adult customers are smarter than average, but maybe I am wrong about that.

In years past, True Thai has always had a good crowd on Super Bowl Sundays. I attributed this to our not having any TVs at the restaurant. I cannot say that any more. Last Sunday night it seemed as if there was one person at every table who was watching the game on their phone. I do not think there is enough salmon in the world to help these people.

Please do not think that I dislike all sports. If a Muay Thai boxing tournament is ever held in the Twin Cities, you will not find me at the restaurant watching on my phone. I will be sitting in the front row cheering.

And maybe eating some salmon.

Starting the day right

Reading an old newspaper I saw that a very bright young man just graduated from the University of Minnesota at the ripe old age of 13! Congratulations to Caleb Kumar for becoming the UM's youngest graduate ever.

Wow, and I thought I was precocious for having graduated from high school at the age of 15!

I don't know about Caleb, but I was the victim of a very harsh upbringing. Instead of getting to eat donuts and junk food like all my friends, my mother made me start the day by eating her special salmon dish. On our menu it is known as My Mother's Salmon because it's exactly the same recipe as what I ate each morning as a schoolgirl in Thailand.

Did it work? Well, none of my donut-eating friends graduated until they were 18 and by then I was off to America to study business at Kentucky Business College.

As for salmon, we now know that it is a great way of getting Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet. These are excellent for your brain, and they also have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint pain. Minnesotans are already familiar with these health benefits as the next best sources of Omega-3 fatty acids are sardines and herring!