Coconut & Lemongrass Protein Soup

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The main protein here is pea protein, but the soup’s health benefits don’t stop there. With healthy MCTs from the coconut, as well as phytochemical benefits from the ginger and chili, this wonderfully refreshing soup has a lot to offer.

You will need

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 cup vegetable stock (making your own, or buying a low-sodium option)
  • 1 cup frozen petits pois
  • 1 oz fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • ½ oz lemongrass stalk, crumpled without being broken into multiple pieces
  • 1 red chili, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp white miso paste
  • zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Optional: garnish of your choice

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Mix the coconut milk, vegetable stock, ginger, and chili in a saucepan, and simmer for 15 minutes

2) Remove the lemongrass and ginger (and the chili if you don’t want more heat), and add the petit pois. Bring back to a simmer for about 2 minutes more, stir in the miso paste and lime, then take off the heat.

3) Blend the soup to a smooth purée. Since it is hot, you will need to either use a stick blender, or else a food processor that is ok with blending hot liquids (many are not, so don’t use yours unless you’re sure, as it might explode if it’s not made for that). Alternatively, you can let it cool, blend it, and then reheat it.

4) Serve, adding a garnish if you so wish:

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

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  • You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For – by Dr. Richard Schwartz

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    As self-therapy approaches go, the title here could be read two ways: as pop-psychology fluff, or a suggestion of something deeper. And, while written in a way to make it accessible to all, we’re happy to report the content consists of serious therapeutic ideas, presented clearly.

    Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a large, internationally recognized, and popular therapeutic approach. It’s also an approach that lends itself quite well to self-therapy, as this book illustrates.

    Dr. Schwartz kicks off by explaining not IFS, but the problem that it solves… We (most of us, anyway) have over the course of our lives tried to plug the gaps in our own unmet psychological needs. And, that can cause resentment, strain, and can even be taken out on others if we’re not careful.

    The real meat of the book, however, is in its illustrative explanations of how IFS works, and can be applied by an individual. The goal is to recognize all the parts that make us who we are, understand what they need in order to be at peace, and give them that. Spoiler: most what they will need is just being adequately heard, rather than locked in a box untended.

    One of the benefits of using this book for self-therapy, of course, is that it requires a lot less vulnerability with a third party.

    But, speaking of which, what of these intimate relationships the subtitle of the book referenced? Mostly the benefits to such come from a “put your own oxygen mask on first” angle… but the book does also cover discussions between intimate partners, and approaches to love, including what the author calls “courageous love”.

    Bottom line: this is a great book if you want to do some “spring-cleaning of the soul” and live a little more lightly as a result.

    Click here to check out “You Are The One You’ve Been Waiting For” on Amazon today, and try out IFS for yourself!

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  • ‘Noisy’ autistic brains seem better at certain tasks. Here’s why neuroaffirmative research matters

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Pratik Raul, University of Canberra; Jeroen van Boxtel, University of Canberra, and Jovana Acevska, University of Canberra

    Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference associated with specific experiences and characteristics.

    For decades, autism research has focused on behavioural, cognitive, social and communication difficulties. These studies highlighted how autistic people face issues with everyday tasks that allistic (meaning non-autistic) people do not. Some difficulties may include recognising emotions or social cues.

    But some research, including our own study, has explored specific advantages in autism. Studies have shown that in some cognitive tasks, autistic people perform better than allistic people. Autistic people may have greater success in identifying a simple shape embedded within a more complex design, arranging blocks of different shapes and colours, or spotting an object within a cluttered visual environment (similar to Where’s Wally?). Such enhanced performance has been recorded in babies as young as nine months who show emerging signs of autism.

    How and why do autistic individuals do so well on these tasks? The answer may be surprising: more “neural noise”.

    What is neural noise?

    Generally, when you think of noise, you probably think of auditory noise, the ups and downs in the amplitude of sound frequencies we hear.

    A similar thing happens in the brain with random fluctuations in neural activity. This is called neural noise.

    This noise is always present, and comes on top of any brain activity caused by things we see, hear, smell and touch. This means that in the brain, an identical stimulus that is presented multiple times won’t cause exactly the same activity. Sometimes the brain is more active, sometimes less. In fact, even the response to a single stimulus or event will fluctuate continuously.

    Neural noise in autism

    There are many sources of neural noise in the brain. These include how the neurons become excited and calm again, changes in attention and arousal levels, and biochemical processes at the cellular level, among others. An allistic brain has mechanisms to manage and use this noise. For instance, cells in the hippocampus (the brain’s memory system) can make use of neural noise to enhance memory encoding and recall.

    Evidence for high neural noise in autism can be seen in electroencephalography (EEG) recordings, where increased levels of neural fluctuations were observed in autistic children. This means their neural activity is less predictable, showing a wider range of activity (higher ups and downs) in response to the same stimulus.

    In simple terms, if we imagine the EEG responses like a sound wave, we would expect to see small ups and downs (amplitude) in allistic brains each time they encounter a stimulus. But autistic brains seem to show bigger ups and downs, demonstrating greater amplitude of neural noise.

    Many studies have linked this noisy autistic brain with cognitive, social and behavioural difficulties.

    But could noise be a bonus?

    The diagnosis of autism has a long clinical history. A shift from the medical to a more social model has also seen advocacy for it to be reframed as a difference, rather than a disorder or deficit. This change has also entered autism research. Neuroaffirming research can examine the uniqueness and strengths of neurodivergence.

    Psychology and perception researcher David Simmons and colleagues at the University of Glasgow were the first to suggest that while high neural noise is generally a disadvantage in autism, it can sometimes provide benefits due to a phenomenon called stochastic resonance. This is where optimal amounts of noise can enhance performance. In line with this theory, high neural noise in the autistic brain might enhance performance for some cognitive tasks.

    Our 2023 research explores this idea. We recruited participants from the general population and investigated their performance on letter-detection tasks. At the same time, we measured their level of autistic traits.

    We performed two letter-detection experiments (one in a lab and one online) where participants had to identify a letter when displayed among background visual static of various intensities.

    By using the static, we added additional visual noise to the neural noise already present in our participants’ brains. We hypothesised the visual noise would push participants with low internal brain noise (or low autistic traits) to perform better (as suggested by previous research on stochastic resonance). The more interesting prediction was that noise would not help individuals who already had a lot of brain noise (that is, those with high autistic traits), because their own neural noise already ensured optimal performance.

    Indeed, one of our experiments showed people with high neural noise (high autistic traits) did not benefit from additional noise. Moreover, they showed superior performance (greater accuracy) relative to people with low neural noise when the added visual static was low. This suggests their own neural noise already caused a natural stochastic resonance effect, resulting in better performance.

    It is important to note we did not include clinically diagnosed autistic participants, but overall, we showed the theory of enhanced performance due to stochastic resonance in autism has merits.

    Why this is important?

    Autistic people face ignorance, prejudice and discrimination that can harm wellbeing. Poor mental and physical health, reduced social connections and increased “camouflaging” of autistic traits are some of the negative impacts that autistic people face.

    So, research underlining and investigating the strengths inherent in autism can help reduce stigma, allow autistic people to be themselves and acknowledge autistic people do not require “fixing”.

    The autistic brain is different. It comes with limitations, but it also has its strengths.

    Pratik Raul, PhD candidiate, University of Canberra; Jeroen van Boxtel, Associate professor, University of Canberra, and Jovana Acevska, Honours Graduate Student, University of Canberra

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    The Conversation

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  • Zucchini & Oatmeal Koftas

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    These vegetarian (and with one tweak, vegan) koftas are delicious as a snack, light lunch, or side to a larger meal. Healthwise, they contain the healthiest kind of fiber, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, and beneficial herbs and spices.

    You will need

    • ¼ cup oatmeal
    • 1 large zucchini, grated
    • 1 small carrot, grated
    • ¼ cup cheese (your preference; vegan is also fine)
    • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • ¼ bulb garlic, minced
    • 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
    • Small handful fresh parsley, chopped
    • Extra virgin olive oil, for frying

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Soak the flaxseed in 2 oz hot water for at least 5 minutes

    2) Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil (and including the water that the flax has been soaking in) in a big bowl, mixing thoroughly

    3) Shape into small balls, patties, or sausage shapes, and fry until the color is golden and the structural integrity is good. If doing patties, you’ll need to gently flip them to cook both sides; otherwise, rolling them to get all sides is fine.

    4) Serve! Traditional is with some kind of yogurt dip, but we’re not the boss of you, so enjoy them how you like:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Healing Trauma – by Dr. Peter Levine

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Levine’s better-selling book about trauma, Waking The Tiger, laid the foundations for this one, but the reason we’re skipping straight into Healing Trauma, is that while the former book is more about the ideas that led him to what he currently believes is the best approach to healing trauma, this book is the one that explains how to actually do it.

    The core thesis is that trauma is a natural, transient response, and is not inherently pathological, but that it can become so if not allowed to do its thing.

    This book outlines exercises, trademarked as “somatic experiencing”, which allow the body to go through the physiological processes it needs to, to facilitate healing. If you buy the physical book, there is also an audio CD, which this reviewer has not listened to and cannot comment on, but the exercises are clearly described in the book in any case.

    The physical aspects of the exercises are similar to the principles of progressive relaxation, while the mental aspects of the exercises are about re-experiencing trauma in a safer fashion, in small doses.

    Any kind of dealing with trauma is not going to be comfortable, so this book is not an enjoyable read.

    As for how useful the exercises are, your mileage may vary. Like many books about trauma, the expectation is that once upon a time you were in a situation that was unsafe, and now you are safe. If that describes your trauma, you will get the most out of this. However, if your trauma is unrelated to your personal safety, or if it is about your personal safety but the threat still remains extant, then a lot of this may not help and may even make things worse.

    In terms of discussing sexual trauma specifically, it was probably not a good choice to favorably quote Woody Allen, and little things like that may be quite jarring for a lot of readers.

    Bottom line: if your trauma is PTSD of the kind “you faced an existential threat and now it is gone”, then chances are that this book can help you a lot. If your trauma is different, then your mileage may vary widely on this one.

    Click here to check out Healing Trauma, if it seems right for you!

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  • The Art Of Letting Go – by Nick Trenton

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    You may be wondering: is this a basic CBT book? And, for the most part, no, it’s not.

    It does touch on some of the time-tested CBT techniques, but a large part of the book is about reframing things in a different way, that’s a little more DBT-ish, and even straying into BA. But enough of the initialisms, let’s give an example:

    It can be scary to let go of the past, or of present or future possibilities (bad ones as well as good!). However, it’s hard to consciously do something negative (same principle as “don’t think of a pink elephant”), so instead, look at it as taking hold of the present/future—and thus finding comfort and security in a new reality rather than an old memory or a never-actual imagining.

    So, this book has a lot of ideas like that, and if even one of them helps, then it was worth reading.

    The writing style is comprehensive, and goes for the “tell them what you’re gonna tell them; tell them; then tell them what you told them” approach, which a) is considered good for learning b) can feel a little like padding nonetheless.

    Bottom line: this reviewer didn’t personally love the style, but the content made up for it.

    Click here to check out The Art Of Letting Go, and let go!

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  • Are Squats the Ultimate Game-Changer?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Jess Grochowsky, PT, DPT, MTC, CLT, CMPTP, says the answer is yes, and here’s why:

    The most complete exercise

    Squats are a powerful full-body exercise that targets legs, core, and (when weights are used) upper body. All in all, they enhance strength, mobility, metabolism, and joint health, making them essential for longevity and maintaining quality of movement throughout life.

    In particular, they allow a much greater range of movement through more dimensions than most exercises do, meaning that (unlike a lot of more linear exercises) they build functional strength that sees us well in everyday life—mobility, joint control, and muscle stability.

    Proper Squat Technique:

    • The squat involves lowering the center of mass (which is slightly behind your navel and slightly down; exact position depends on your body composition and proportions) toward the floor.
    • Use the “head to hips” principle to maintain a straight spine: as the head moves forward, the hips go back.
    • Different foot positions (sumo, narrow, etc) target various muscles.

    4 key variables to adjust squats:

    1. Base of support: the surface you stand on (firm vs unstable like a Bosu ball) affects stability and muscle engagement.
    2. Foot position: wide stances increase stability and target inner thighs and glutes; narrow stances focus more on quads.
    3. Weights: can use free weights, kettlebells, or bars. Adding weights increases intensity and can incorporate upper body exercises (e.g. bicep curls, overhead presses, etc).
    4. Squat depth: ranges from partial to deep squats, depending on functional goals.

    Types of squats and variations given in the video:

    • Firm surface squats: provide stability and allow even weight distribution.
    • Unstable surface squats: engage smaller stabilizing muscles.
    • Yoga ball squats: shift the center of mass backward, increasing quad and glute activation.
    • Weighted squats: add resistance to increase muscle load and core stability (e.g. one-sided weights for oblique engagement).
    • Dynamic weighted squats: incorporate quick movements, like kettlebell swings, for power and coordination.
    • Single-leg squats: enhance balance and increase workload on one side of the body.

    For more on all of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    The Most Anti-Aging Exercise

    Take care!

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