Creamy Fortifying Cauliflower Soup

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The 10almonds Team

As delicious as it is super-easy to make, this one is full of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and some of the most health-giving spices around.

You will need

  • 1 quart low-sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cans cannellini (or other white) beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 5 minutes, and drained (if allergic, substitute chickpeas)
  • 1 bulb (yes, a whole bulb) garlic, roughly chopped
  • 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 10 fresh sprigs of thyme (keep them whole!)
  • 1 large fresh sprig of rosemary (keep this whole too!)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp red chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp black pepper, coarse ground
  • 1 tsp MSG or 2 tsp low-sodium salt
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Method

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

1) Tightly tie up the sprigs of rosemary and thyme with kitchen twine (shining a bright light on it and asking it invasive questions is optional)

2) Heat some olive oil to a medium heat in your biggest sauté pan or similar. Add the onions, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring as necessary. We are not trying to outright caramelize them here, but we do want them browned a little.

3) Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

4) Add the vegetable stock, and stir, ensuring no onion is stuck to the base of the pan. Add the cauliflower, cashews, beans, nooch, pepper, turmeric, and MSG/salt, stirring to combine. Don’t worry if the cauliflower isn’t all submerged; it’ll be fine in a little while.

5) Add the herbs, submerging them in the soup (still tied up bouquet garni style).

6) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes; the cauliflower will be soft when it’s ready.

7) Remove the bouquet garni, and blend the soup until thick and creamy. You can do this with an immersion blender, but to get the smoothest soup, you’ll need to use a stand blender. Either ensure yours is safe for hot liquids, or else allow to cool, blend, and reheat later. This is important, as otherwise your blender could explode.

8) Serve, using the lemon zest and chili for the garnish:

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

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

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  • Younger Next Year – by Chris Crowley & Dr. Henry Lodge

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    Is it diet and exercise? Well, of course that’s a component. Specific kinds of exercise, too. But, as usual when we feature a book, there’s more:

    In this case, strong throughout is the notion of life being a marathon not a sprint—and training for it accordingly.

    Doing the things now that you’ll really wish you’d started doing sooner, and finding ways to build them into daily life.

    Not just that, though! The authors take a holistic approach to life and health, and thus also cover work life, social life, and so forth. Now, you may be thinking “I’m already in the 80 and beyond category; I don’t work” and well, the authors advise that you do indeed work. You don’t have to revamp your career, but science strongly suggests that people who work longer, live longer.

    Of course that doesn’t have to mean going full-throttle like a 20-year-old determined to make their mark on the world (you can if you want, though). It could be volunteering for a charity, or otherwise just finding a socially-engaging “work-like” activity that gives you purpose.

    About the blend of motivational pep talk and science—this book is heavily weighted towards the former. It has, however, enough science to keep it on the right track throughout. Hence the two authors! Crowley for motivational pep, and Dr. Lodge for the science (with extra input from brain surgeon Dr. Hamilton, too).

    Bottom line: if you want to feel the most prepared possible for the coming years and decades, this is a great book that covers a lot of bases.

    Click here to check out “Younger Next Year” and get de-aging!

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  • Could Just Two Hours Sleep Per Day Be Enough?

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    Polyphasic Sleep… Super-Schedule Or An Idea Best Put To Rest?

    What is it?

    Let’s start by defining some terms:

    • Monophasic sleep—sleeping in one “chunk” per day. For example, a good night’s “normal” sleep.
    • Biphasic sleep—sleeping in two “chunks” per day. Typically, a shorter night’s sleep, with a nap usually around the middle of the day / early afternoon.
    • Polyphasic sleep—sleeping in two or more “chunks per day”. Some people do this in order to have more hours awake per day, to do things. The idea is that sleeping this way is more efficient, and one can get enough rest in less time. The most popular schedules used are:
      • The Überman schedule—six evenly-spaced 20-minute naps, one every four hours, throughout the 24-hour day. The name is a semi-anglicized version of the German word Übermensch, “Superman”.
      • The Everyman schedule—a less extreme schedule, that has a three-hours “long sleep” during the night, and three evenly-spaced 20-minute naps during the day, for a total of 4 hours sleep.

    There are other schedules, but we’ll focus on the most popular ones here.

    Want to learn about the others? Visit: Polyphasic.Net (a website by and for polyphasic sleep enthusiasts)

    Some people have pointed to evidence that suggests humans are naturally polyphasic sleepers, and that it is only modern lifestyles that have forced us to be (mostly) monophasic.

    There is at least some evidence to suggest that when environmental light/dark conditions are changed (because of extreme seasonal variation at the poles, or, as in this case, because of artificial changes as part of a sleep science experiment), we adjust our sleeping patterns accordingly.

    The counterpoint, of course, is that perhaps when at the mercy of long days/nights at the poles, or no air-conditioning to deal with the heat of the day in the tropics, that perhaps we were forced to be polyphasic, and now, with modern technology and greater control, we are free to be monophasic.

    Either way, there are plenty of people who take up the practice of polyphasic sleep.

    Ok, But… Why?

    The main motivation for trying polyphasic sleep is simply to have more hours in the day! It’s exciting, the prospect of having 22 hours per day to be so productive and still have time over for leisure.

    A secondary motivation for trying polyphasic sleep is that when the brain is sleep-deprived, it will prioritize REM sleep. Here’s where the Überman schedule becomes perhaps most interesting:

    The six evenly-spaced naps of the Überman schedule are each 20 minutes long. This corresponds to the approximate length of a normal REM cycle.

    Consequently, when your head hits the pillow, you’ll immediately begin dreaming, and at the end of your dream, the alarm will go off.

    Waking up at the end of a dream, when one hasn’t yet entered a non-REM phase of sleep, will make you more likely to remember it. Similarly, going straight into REM sleep will make you more likely to be aware of it, thus, lucid dreaming.

    Read: Sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming (actually a very interesting and informative lucid dreaming study even if you don’t want to take up polyphasic sleep)

    Six 20-minute lucid-dreaming sessions per day?! While awake for the other 22 hours?! That’s… 24 hours per day of wakefulness to use as you please! What sorcery is this?

    Hence, it has quite an understandable appeal.

    Next Question: Does it work?

    Can we get by without the other (non-REM) kinds of sleep?

    According to Überman cycle enthusiasts: Yes! The body and brain will adapt.

    According to sleep scientists: No! The non-REM slow-wave phases of sleep are essential

    Read: Adverse impact of polyphasic sleep patterns in humans—Report of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability consensus panel

    (if you want to know just how bad it is… the top-listed “similar article” is entitled “Suicidal Ideation”)

    But what about, for example, the Everman schedule? Three hours at night is enough for some non-REM sleep, right?

    It is, and so it’s not as quickly deleterious to the health as the Überman schedule. But, unless you are blessed with rare genes that allow you to operate comfortably on 4 hours per day (you’ll know already if that describes you, without having to run any experiment), it’s still bad.

    Adults typically need 7–9 hours of sleep per night, and if you don’t get it, you’ll accumulate a sleep debt. And, importantly:

    When you accumulate sleep debt, you are borrowing time at a very high rate of interest!

    And, at risk of laboring the metaphor, but this is important too:

    Not only will you have to pay it back soon (with interest), you will be hounded by the debt collection agents—decreased cognitive ability and decreased physical ability—until you pay up.

    In summary:

    • Polyphasic sleep is really very tempting
    • It will give you more hours per day (for a while)
    • It will give the promised lucid dreaming benefits (which is great until you start micronapping between naps, this is effectively a mini psychotic break from reality lasting split seconds each—can be deadly if behind the wheel of a car, for instance!)
    • It is unequivocally bad for the health and we do not recommend it

    Bottom line:

    Some of the claimed benefits are real, but are incredibly short-term, unsustainable, and come at a cost that’s far too high. We get why it’s tempting, but ultimately, it’s self-sabotage.

    (Sadly! We really wanted it to work, too…)

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  • Why 10,000 Steps Might Be Making Your Pain Worse (+ What To Do Instead)

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    Walking can be pleasant, but (unless you’re walking on rough terrain) in biomechanical terms it’s very repetitive, and doesn’t challenge muscles enough to build strength or improve balance.

    So, wear and tear can occur, but development won’t happen much after a certain very base level.

    Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis expert, explains how to fix that:

    Different Movements

    If you sometimes find yourself struggling with stairs, low chairs, or daily movement, that usually means your muscles lack the correct strength. As with any kind of strength training, your muscles need to be challenged with increasing resistance, not just the same repetitive movement, or else they will have no reason to get stronger.

    Dr. Kuhn recommends these exercises in particular:

    • Chair stands: sit at the edge of a chair, stand up, and sit back down to work your thighs, glutes, hamstrings, feet, and ankles. To make it easier, raise the seat height or use the chair arms for support. Alternatively to make it harder, hold a weight to your chest. Goal: 8–12 reps, 2–3 sets; optional 30-second test for number of stands.
    • Step-back with knee march: step one leg backwards, then bring your knee up to your chest before repeating to build your hips, glutes, core, and balance. To make it easier, shorten your step and knee lift, and hold a chair for support. To make it harder, take a bigger step, make a faster knee drive, and step up onto a stool. Goal: 10–12 reps per side, 2–3 sets.
    • Balance with weight pass: stand on one leg (or use your back toes as a sort kickstand for balance purposes, without putting much weight there) and pass a weight or object hand-to-hand. To make it harder, use a heavier weight and hold it further from your body. Goal: 20–30 passes or 30–60 seconds per side, 2–3 sets.

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

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

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like:

    How To Make Downhill Walking Easier On The Knees

    Take care!

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Related Posts

  • Artichoke vs Heart of Palm– Which is Healthier?

    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.

    The 10almonds Team

    Our Verdict

    When comparing artichoke to heart of palm, we picked the artichoke.

    Why?

    If you were thinking “isn’t heart of palm full of saturated fat?” then no… Palm oil is, but heart of palm itself has 0.62g/100g fat, of which, 0.13g saturated fat. So, negligible.

    As for the rest of the macros, artichoke has more protein, carbs, and fiber, thus being the “more food per food” option. Technically heart of palm has the lower glycemic index, but they are both low-GI foods, so it’s really not a factor here.

    Vitamins are where artichoke shines; artichoke has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E, K, and choline, while heart of palm is not higher in any vitamins.

    The minerals situation is more balanced: artichoke has more copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, while heart of palm has more iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc.

    Adding up the categories, the winner of this “vegetables with a heart” face-off is clearly artichoke.

    Fun fact: in French, “to have the heart of an artichoke” (avoir le coeur d’un artichaut) means to fall in love easily. Perfect vegetable for a romantic dinner, perhaps (especially with all those generous portions of B-vitamins)!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Artichoke vs Cabbage – Which is Healthier?

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • But First, Inner Peace – by Case Kenny

    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.

    The 10almonds Team

    Thinking positively and vividly imagining a Ferrari parked in your driveway will not, in fact, cause it to manifest there.

    You know what that method does work for, though? Feelings.

    This book is essentially a guided thought-and-feeling modelling system that, consisting of 60 chapters to be taken one-per-day, aims to rewire your mind for inner peace.

    This is not, however, just a matter of “imagine peacefulness”, or nice-sounding platitudes. Rather, at the end of each chapter there is an exercise and journaling prompts; effectively, work to do along the way.

    Weighing in at 438 pages, this is a sizeable book, but part of that is because of the space to write answers to journaling prompts. Still, it’s not exactly a pamphlet, either—there is serious and extensive content here too.

    Like any daily reader, you can zip through it all at once if you like, but a benefit to doing the chapter-a-day approach is that it sets a habit of mindful reflection, and gives you a chance to implement each thing, one per day, building up new habits in that regard, too. In contrast, reading it all in one sitting wouldn’t give that.

    Bottom line: without inner peace, we don’t have much. Treat yourself—you deserve it.

    Click here to check out But First, Inner Peace, and enjoy inner peace!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • Age & Strength Loss: What Happens When, & How Much Is Unavoidable?

    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.

    The 10almonds Team

    When it comes to aging and loss of strength, a lot of focus is placed on loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia).

    We talked about this in our article: Protein vs Sarcopenia: How Much Do We Need, Really?

    And that is important, but it’s not the whole story!

    Strong at every age

    You can be strong at every age, if and only if you’re very intentional about it.

    Researchers (Dr. Maria Westerståhl et al.) followed 427 people for 47 years, repeatedly measuring fitness, strength, muscle endurance, and power from adolescence all the way through into older adulthood.

    First, the bad news: physical performance overall peaks in early adulthood and begins declining at around 26 for women and 36 for men, with initially gradual losses that accelerate with advancing age.

    About that acceleration: aerobic capacity and muscular endurance initially fall by about 0.3–0.6 percent per year, later speeding up to roughly 2.0–2.5 percent per year, and the deterioration in muscle power gets a similar age-related acceleration.

    Next, the worse news: physical power specifically starts its decline even sooner than the other factors, with women having their peak around 19 and men having their peak around 27.

    It does, however, get worse: total losses in physical capacity from peak to age 63 range from 30–48%, which latter end of the range is quite a dramatic loss of physical capacity indeed. Note that that’s the aggregate figure, so we’re not just talking about strength here.

    Is there any good news? Yes: it’s never too late! People who became physically active in adulthood improved physical capacity by about 5–10%, showing that starting later still provides meaningful benefits. To be clear, that’s a net improvement of 5–10%, we’re not talking about shaving 5–10% off the 30–48% loss.

    If you want to go through all these numbers (and more) in detail, here’s the paper: Rise and Fall of Physical Capacity in a General Population: A 47-Year Longitudinal Study

    As for what this means in realistic terms: you’re probably not only not as strong as you used to be, but also not as fit, fast, mobile, and so forth. Your power (explosive power, like sprints or best-effort lifts) and endurance (like long-distance cardio, or isometric holds) are probably not what they used to be either.

    • On the one hand, you can improve them.
    • On the other hand, you do have to actually do it—merely knowing about it will not help if you don’t take action!

    So, how to do that?

    Read on…

    Want to learn more?

    Here are some very good starting points:

    And if you’re really serious about it, then for a much deeper dive than we have room for here, we highly recommend this excellent book we reviewed a while back:

    Unbreakable: A Woman’s Guide to Aging with Power – by Dr. Vonda Wright ← So, she wants us to avoid the train of sarcopenia → osteopenia → osteoporosis → fractures → infections → death, by reducing our risk factors early, and staying more robust and biologically younger.

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

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