Are you enjoying Autumn? Here are some pretty pictures of fall foliage to help you appreciate the season! There is one changed photo in each set of photos. You can play more here. Thanks to Carl Lohrentz for the beautiful photography! 
Thanks for playing!
I love this time of year. It is time to wrap ourselves in a blanket of warm spices and surround ourselves with those flavors that just scream “fall is in the air”. Can you just smell the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the ginger, the allspice, the cloves? 
Did you know that those spices that make us feel the comfort of fall also provide our brains and bodies with a great dose of anti-inflammatory agents? True, true, true!
And did you know that those same properties help protect our brain? Also, true, true, true!
Some inflammation is good – it protects organs from damage. Too much inflammation can block pathways and inhibit good functioning. Consuming healthy levels of anti-inflammatory agents has been linked to all kinds of brain health improvements like reducing age related inflammation and slowing down the progress of buildup of beta amyloids found in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains (Frydman-Morom et al., 2011). Focusing on these same protective nutrients has, in research studies, been directly related to both increased cognitive functioning and actual brain mass (Bowman et al, 2012).
Not only do the deep, rich spices that remind us of fall make us feel good, they can also help us in our quest to keep our brains and bodies working well.
One of my absolute favorite ways to nourish my family’s brains with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant producing chemicals is to add Pumpkin Pie Spice to every day dishes.
Traditions keep us connected as a family so this week we added my favorite brain booster, Pumpkin Pie Spice, to a long standing holiday tradition – the holiday beer!
Check out the ingredients in this year’s Curran family fall / holiday brew below. In our house, the beer will name itself after the first mug or two…sometime in November!
MALTS:
CBW Brewers Gold Dry Malt Extract 
CBW Brewers Traditional Dark Dry Malt Extract
Extra Dark Aromatic Belgian Candi Sugar Crystals
GRAIN MIXTURE:
Pale 2-row malt
Flaked Oats
Chocolate Malt
Roasted Barley
Crystal Malt
HOPS
Cascade (in 3 stages)
YEAST
Liquid yeast (recommended by the guy at our brew store)
HOLIDAY TWISTS
Black licorice
Pumpkin Pie Spice
… and in all we do tons of love!
Are you ready for Autumn overload? Fall officially started on September 22nd! Check out these One of These Things is not like the Others puzzles in celebration of the season. There are five today!
Thanks for playing!
Cranium Crunches 