Entertaining Harissa Traybake

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No, it’s not entertaining in the sense that it will tell you jokes or perhaps dance for you, but rather: it can be easily prepared in advance, kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, and reheated when needed as part of a spread when entertaining, leaving you more time to spend with your houseguests

Aside from its convenience, it is of course nutritious and delicious:

You will need

  • 14 oz cherry tomatoes
  • 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
  • 2 eggplants, cut into ¾” cubes
  • 1 red onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp harissa paste
  • 1 tbsp ras el-hanout
  • 1 tsp MSG or 2 tsp low-sodium salt

Method

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

1) Preheat the oven to 400℉ / 200℃

2) Mix the onion, eggplant, and garlic (whole cloves; just peel them and put them in) with the olive oil in a mixing bowl, ensuring everything is coated evenly.

3) Add in 1 tbsp of the harissa paste, 1 tbsp of the ras-el hanout, and half of the MSG/salt, and again mix thoroughly to coat evenly.

4) Bake in the oven, in a walled tray, for about 30 minutes, giving things a stir/jiggle halfway through to ensure they cook evenly.

5) Add the cherry tomatoes to the tray, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

6) Mix the chickpeas with the other 1 tbsp of the harissa paste, the other 1 tbsp of the ras-el hanout, and the other half of the MSG/salt, and add to the tray, returning it to the oven for a final 10 minutes.

7) Serve hot, or set aside for later, refrigerating once cool enough to do so. When you do serve, we recommend serving with a yogurt, cucumber, and mint dip, and perhaps flatbreads (you can use our Healthy Homemade Flatbreads recipe):

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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  • The Smartest Way To Get To 20% Body Fat (Or 10% For Men)

    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.

    20% body fat for women, or 10% for men, are suggested in this video as ideal levels of adiposity for most people. While we certainly do have wiggle-room in either direction, going much higher than that can create a metabolic strain, and going much lower than that can cause immune dysfunction, organ damage, brittle bones, and more.

    This video assumes you want to get down to those figures. If you want to go up to those figures because you are currently underweight, check out: How To Gain Weight (Healthily!)

    Look at the small picture

    The main trick, we are told, is to focus on small, incremental changes rather than obsessing over long-term weight loss goals (e.g. 20% body fat for women, 10% for men).

    Next, throw out what science shows doesn’t work, such as restrictive or extreme dieting:

    • Restrictive dieting doesn’t work as the body will try to save you from starvation by storing extra fat and slowing your metabolism to make your fat reserves last longer
    • Extreme dieting doesn’t work because no matter how compelling it is to believe “I’ll just lose it in this extreme way, then maintain my new lower weight”, the vast body of research shows that weight loss in this way will be regained quickly afterwards, and for a significant minority, may even end up putting more back on than was originally lost. In either case, you’ll have put your mind and body through the wringer for no long-term gain.

    The recommendation comes in three parts:

    1. Shift your mindset: detach motivation from timelines and vanity goals; focus instead on lifelong health and sustainable habits.
    2. Use an analytical approach: apply engineering principles: collect honest data and identify bottlenecks. Track food intake consistently, even during slip-ups, to identify areas for improvement. You remember the whole “it doesn’t count if it’s from someone else’s plate” thing? These days with food trackers, a lot of people fall into “it doesn’t count if I don’t record it”, but a head-in-the-sand approach will not get you where you want to be.
    3. Tackle bottlenecks incrementally: focus on one small, impactful change at a time (e.g. reducing soda intake). This way, you can build habits gradually to prevent willpower burnout and sustain your progress.

    As an example of how this looked for Viva (in the video):

    • > 30% body fat stage: she focused on reducing processed foods and portion sizes.
    • 29–25% body fat stage: she prioritized nutrient-dense foods and reduced dining out.
    • 24–20% body fat stage: she added strength training, improved sleep, and addressed her cravings and energy levels.

    In short: look at the small picture; adjust your habits mindfully, keep a track of things, see what needs improvement and improve it, and don’t try to speedrun weight loss; just focus on what you are tangibly doing to keep things heading in the right direction, and you’ll get there 1% at a time.

    For more on all of this, enjoy:

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

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Lose Weight, But Healthily ← our own guide, which is also consistent with the advice above, and talks about some specific things to pay attention to that weren’t mentioned in the video

    Take care!

    Share This Post

  • Anti-Inflammatory Pineapple Fried Rice

    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.

    Fried rice is not most people’s go-to when one thinks of health food, but this one is. It’s packed with plenty of nutrients, many of which are anti-inflammatory, but the real star is the pineapple (with its high bromelain content and thus particularly potent benefits).

    You will need

    • 2½ cups cooked wholegrain basmati rice (you can use our Tasty Versatile Rice recipe if you don’t already have leftovers to use)
    • 1 cup pineapple chunks
    • ½ red onion, diced
    • 1 red bell pepper, diced
    • ½ cup sweetcorn
    • ½ peas
    • 3 green onions, chopped
    • 2 serrano peppers, chopped (omit if you don’t care for heat)
    • 2 tbsp coconut oil
    • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
    • 1 tbsp black pepper, coarse ground

    Method

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

    1) Fry the red onion, serrano peppers, and ginger in the coconut oil over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.

    2) Add the pineapple, bell pepper, sweetcorn, peas, and black pepper, stirring frequently, for about another 3 minutes.

    3) Add the rice, stirring gently but thoroughly, until fully reheated and mixed in.

    4) Serve, garnishing with the green onions.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

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

    Take care!

    Share This Post

  • Maximize Your Misery! (7 Great Methods)

    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.

    Let’s imagine that instead of being healthily fulfilled in life, you wanted to spend your days as miserable as possible. What should you do?

    Here are a few pointers:

    Stay still

    Avoid physical activity and/or outdoor exposure, to avoid any mood-lifting neurochemicals. In fact, remain indoors as much as possible, preferably in the same room.

    If you want to absolutely maximize your misery, make your bedroom the sole space for all activities that it’s possible to do there.

    Disrupt your sleep

    Keep an irregular sleep schedule by varying your bedtime and wake-up times frequently. Sleep in as much as possible, and make up for it by staying up late to ensure ongoing exhaustion.

    Maximize screentime

    Use digital entertainment as much as possible to distract you from meaningful activities and rest—as a bonus, this will also help you to avoid self-reflection.

    Begin and end your day with a device in hand.

    Fuel negative emotions

    If you’re going to focus on something, focus on problems you cannot control, to stoke the fires of anger and angst.

    A good way of doing this is by staying informed about distressing events, while avoiding meaningful actions to address them. Contribute only in token gestures, and then lament the lack of change.

    Follow your impulses

    Act on short-term desires without considering long-term consequences, while avoiding behaviors that you know might improve your mood or wellbeing.

    Trust that doing the same things that have not previously resulted in happiness, will continue to reliably deliver unhappiness.

    Set goals to miss

    It’s important that your goals should be vague, and overly ambitious in their scope and/or deliverability. Ideally you should also disregard any preparatory work that a person would normally do before embarking on such a project.

    Bonus tip: you can further sabotage any chances of progress, by waiting for motivation to strike before you take any action.

    Pursue happiness

    Focus on chasing happiness itself, instead of improving your situation or skills. Treat happiness as an end goal, instead of a by-product of worthwhile activities.

    Want to learn more?

    If you’d like to know many more ways to be miserable, we featured these 7 from this book of 40, which we haven’t reviewed yet, but probably will one of these days:

    How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use – by Dr. Randy Paterson

    Alternatively…

    If for some strange reason you’d rather not do those things, you might consider a previous article of ours:

    How To Get Your Brain On A More Positive Track (Without Toxic Positivity)

    Enjoy!

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  • Considering taking Wegovy to lose weight? Here are the risks and benefits – and how it differs from Ozempic

    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 weight-loss drug Wegovy is now available in Australia.

    Wegovy is administered as a once-weekly injection and is approved specifically for weight management. It’s intended to be used in combination with a reduced-energy diet and increased physical activity.

    So how does Wegovy work and how much weight can you expect to lose while taking it? And what are the potential risks – and costs – for those who use it?

    Let’s look at what the science says.

    Halfpoint/Shutterstock

    What is Wegovy?

    Wegovy is a brand name for the medication semaglutide. Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA). This means it makes your body’s own glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, called GLP-1 for short, work better.

    Normally when you eat, the body releases the GLP-1 hormone which helps signal to your brain that you are full. Semaglutides enhance this effect, leading to a feeling of fullness, even when you haven’t eaten.

    Another role of GLP-1 is to stimulate the body to produce more insulin, a hormone which helps lower the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. That’s why semaglutides have been used for several years to treat type 2 diabetes.

    Pack of Wegovy injections
    Wegovy is self-injected once a week. S Becker/Shutterstock

    How does Wegovy differ from Ozempic?

    Like Wegovy, Ozempic is a semaglutide. The way Wegovy and Ozempic work in the body are essentially the same. They’re made by the same pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk.

    But there are two differences:

    1) They are approved for two different (but related) reasons.

    In Australia (and the United States), Ozempic is approved for use to improve blood glucose levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. By managing blood glucose levels effectively, the medication aims to reduce the risk of major complications, such as heart disease.

    Wegovy is approved for use alongside diet and exercise for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, or 27 or greater but with other conditions such as high blood pressure.

    Wegovy can also be used in people aged 12 years and older. Like Ozempic, Wegovy aims to reduce the risk of future health complications, including heart disease.

    2) They are both injected but come in different strengths.

    Ozempic is available in pre-loaded single-dose pens with varying dosages of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg per injection. The dose can be slowly increased, up to a maximum of 2 mg per week, if needed.

    Wegovy is available in prefilled single-dose pens with doses of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, or 2.4 mg. The treatment starts with a dose of 0.25 mg once weekly for four weeks, after which the dose is gradually increased until reaching a maintenance dose of 2.4 mg weekly.

    While it’s unknown what the impact of Wegovy’s introduction will be on Ozempic’s availability, Ozempic is still anticipated to be in low supply for the remainder of 2024.

    Is Wegovy effective for weight loss?

    Given Wegovy is a semaglutide, there is very strong evidence it can help people lose weight and maintain this weight loss.

    A recent study found that over four years, participants taking Wevovy as indicated experienced an average weight loss of 10.2% body weight and a reduction in waist circumference of 7.7cm.

    For those who stop taking the medication, analyses have shown that about two-thirds of weight lost is regained.

    Man leans against a bridge rail
    Wegovy can help people lose weight and maintain their weight loss – while they take the drug. Mladen Mitrinovic/Shutterstock

    What are the side effects of Wegovy?

    The most common side effects are nausea and vomiting.

    However, other serious side effects are also possible because of the whole-of-body impact of the medication. Thyroid tumours and cancer have been detected as a risk in animal studies, yet are rarely seen in human scientific literature.

    In the four-year Wegovy trial, 16.6% of participants who received Wegovy (1,461 people) experienced an adverse event that led to them permanently discontinuing their use of the medication. This was higher than the 8.2% of participants (718 people) who received the placebo (with no active ingredient).

    Side effects included gastrointestinal disorders (including nausea and vomiting), which affected 10% of people who used Wegovy compared to 2% of people who used the placebo.

    Gallbladder-related disorders occurred in 2.8% of people who used Wegovy, and 2.3% of people who received the placebo.

    Recently, concerns about suicidal thoughts and behaviours have been raised, after a global analysis reviewed more than 36 million reports of adverse events from semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy) since 2000.

    There were 107 reports of suicidal thoughts and self-harm among people taking semaglutide, sadly including six actual deaths. When people stopped the medication, 62.5% found the thoughts went away. What we don’t know is whether dose, weight loss, or previous mental health status or use of antidepressants had a role to play.

    Finally, concerns are growing about the negative effect of semaglutides on our social and emotional connection with food. Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests people who use semaglutides significantly reduce their daily dietary intake (as anticipated) by skipping meals and avoiding social occasions – not very enjoyable for people and their loved ones.

    How can people access Wegovy?

    Wegovy is available for purchase at pharmacists with a prescription from a doctor.

    But there is a hefty price tag. Wegovy is not currently subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, leaving patients to cover the cost. The current cost is estimated at around A$460 per month dose.

    If you’re considering Wegovy, make an appointment with your doctor for individual advice.

    Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland and Emily Burch, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Lecturer, Southern Cross University

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

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  • The Philosophy Gym – by Dr. Stephen Law

    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.

    If you’d like to give those “little gray cells” an extra workout, this book is a great starting place.

    Dr. Stephen Law is Director of Philosophy at the Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford. As such, he’s no stranger to providing education that’s both attainable and yet challenging. Here, he lays out important philosophical questions, and challenges the reader to get to grips with them in a systematic fashion.

    Each of the 25 questions/problems has a chapter devoted to it, and is ranked:

    • Warm-up
    • Moderate
    • More Challenging

    But, he doesn’t leave us to our own devices, nor does he do like a caricature of a philosopher and ask us endless rhetorical questions. Instead, he looks at various approaches taken by other philosophers over time, and invites the reader to try out those methods.

    The real gain of this book is not the mere enjoyment of reading, but rather in taking those thinking skills and applying them in life… because most if not all of them do have real-world applications and/or implications too.

    The book’s strongest point? That it doesn’t assume prior knowledge (and yet also doesn’t patronize the reader). Philosophy can be difficult to dip one’s toes into without a guide, because philosophers writing about philosophy can at first be like finding yourself at a party where you know nobody, but they all know each other.

    In contrast, Law excels at giving quick, to-the-point ground-up summaries of key ideas and their progenitors.

    In short: a wonderful way to get your brain doing things it might not have tried before!

    Get your copy of The Philosophy Gym from Amazon today!

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  • What’s the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest? One’s about plumbing, the other wiring

    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.

    In July 2023, rising US basketball star Bronny James collapsed on the court during practice and was sent to hospital. The 18-year-old athlete, son of famous LA Lakers’ veteran LeBron James, had experienced a cardiac arrest.

    Many media outlets incorrectly referred to the event as a “heart attack” or used the terms interchangeably.

    A cardiac arrest and a heart attack are distinct yet overlapping concepts associated with the heart.

    With some background in how the heart works, we can see how they differ and how they’re related.

    Explode/Shutterstock

    Understanding the heart

    The heart is a muscle that contracts to work as a pump. When it contracts it pushes blood – containing oxygen and nutrients – to all the tissues of our body.

    For the heart muscle to work effectively as a pump, it needs to be fed its own blood supply, delivered by the coronary arteries. If these arteries are blocked, the heart muscle doesn’t get the blood it needs.

    This can cause the heart muscle to become injured or die, and results in the heart not pumping properly.

    Heart attack or cardiac arrest?

    Simply put, a heart attack, technically known as a myocardial infarction, describes injury to, or death of, the heart muscle.

    A cardiac arrest, sometimes called a sudden cardiac arrest, is when the heart stops beating, or put another way, stops working as an effective pump.

    In other words, both relate to the heart not working as it should, but for different reasons. As we’ll see later, one can lead to the other.

    Why do they happen? Who’s at risk?

    Heart attacks typically result from blockages in the coronary arteries. Sometimes this is called coronary artery disease, but in Australia, we tend to refer to it as ischaemic heart disease.

    The underlying cause in about 75% of people is a process called atherosclerosis. This is where fatty and fibrous tissue build up in the walls of the coronary arteries, forming a plaque. The plaque can block the blood vessel or, in some instances, lead to the formation of a blood clot.

    Atherosclerosis is a long-term, stealthy process, with a number of risk factors that can sneak up on anyone. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diet, diabetes, stress, and your genes have all been implicated in this plaque-building process.

    Other causes of heart attacks include spasms of the coronary arteries (causing them to constrict), chest trauma, or anything else that reduces blood flow to the heart muscle.

    Regardless of the cause, blocking or reducing the flow of blood through these pipes can result in the heart muscle not receiving enough oxygen and nutrients. So cells in the heart muscle can be injured or die.

    Heart attack vs cardiac arrest
    Here’s a simple way to remember the difference. Author provided

    But a cardiac arrest is the result of heartbeat irregularities, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively around the body. These heartbeat irregularities are generally due to electrical malfunctions in the heart. There are four distinct types:

    • ventricular tachycardia: a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm in which the heartbeat is more than 100 beats per minute (normal adult, resting heart rate is generally 60-90 beats per minute). This fast heart rate prevents the heart from filling with blood and thus pumping adequately
    • ventricular fibrillation: instead of regular beats, the heart quivers or “fibrillates”, resembling a bag of worms, resulting in an irregular heartbeat greater than 300 beats per minute
    • pulseless electrical activity: arises when the heart muscle fails to generate sufficient pumping force after electrical stimulation, resulting in no pulse
    • asystole: the classic flat-line heart rhythm you see in movies, indicating no electrical activity in the heart.
    Aystole heart rhythm showing no electrical activity
    Remember this flat-line rhythm from the movies? It’s asystole, when there’s no electrical activity in the heart. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

    Cardiac arrest can arise from numerous underlying conditions, both heart-related and not, such as drowning, trauma, asphyxia, electrical shock and drug overdose. James’ cardiac arrest was attributed to a congenital heart defect, a heart condition he was born with.

    But among the many causes of a cardiac arrest, ischaemic heart disease, such as a heart attack, stands out as the most common cause, accounting for 70% of all cases.

    So how can a heart attack cause a cardiac arrest? You’ll remember that during a heart attack, heart muscle can be damaged or parts of it may die. This damaged or dead tissue can disrupt the heart’s ability to conduct electrical signals, increasing the risk of developing arrhythmias, possibly causing a cardiac arrest.

    So while a heart attack is a common cause of cardiac arrest, a cardiac arrest generally does not cause a heart attack.

    What do they look like?

    Because a cardiac arrest results in the sudden loss of effective heart pumping, the most common signs and symptoms are a sudden loss of consciousness, absence of pulse or heartbeat, stopping of breathing, and pale or blue-tinged skin.

    But the common signs and symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain or discomfort, which can show up in other regions of the body such as the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Also frequent are shortness of breath, nausea, light-headedness, looking pale, and sweating.

    What’s the take-home message?

    While both heart attack and cardiac arrest are disorders related to the heart, they differ in their mechanisms and outcomes.

    A heart attack is like a blockage in the plumbing supplying water to a house. But a cardiac arrest is like an electrical malfunction in the house’s wiring.

    Despite their different nature both conditions can have severe consequences and require immediate medical attention.

    Michael Todorovic, Associate Professor of Medicine, Bond University and Matthew Barton, Senior lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University

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

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