Your Questions, Our Answers!

Q: Recipes for insomnia and high blood pressure and good foods to eat for these conditions?

A: Insomnia can be caused by many things, and consequently can often require a very multi-vector approach to fixing it. But, we’ll start by answering the question you asked (and probably address the rest of dealing with insomnia in another day’s edition!):

• First, you want food that’s easy to digest. Broadly speaking, this means plant-based. If not plant-based, fish (unless you have an allergy, obviously) is generally good and certainly better than white meat, which is better than red meat. In the category of dairy, it depends so much on what it is, that we’re not going to try to break it down here. If in doubt, skip it.
• You also don’t want blood sugar spikes, so it’s good to lay off the added sugar and white flour (or white flour derivatives, like white pasta), especially in your last meal of the day.
• Magnesium supports healthy sleep. A fine option would be our shchi recipe, but using collard greens rather than cabbage. Cabbage is a wonderful food, but collard greens are much higher in magnesium. Remember to add plenty of mushrooms (unless you don’t like them), as they’re typically high in magnesium too.

As for blood pressure, last month we gave tips (and a book recommendation) for heart health. The book, Dr. Monique Tello’s “Healthy Habits for Your Heart: 100 Simple, Effective Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure and Maintain Your Heart’s Health”, also has recipes!

Here’s one from the “mains” section:

Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties with Not-Oily Aioli

❝This is a family favorite, and no one knows that it features puréed pumpkin! Most salmon cake recipes all for eggs and bread crumbs as binders, but puréed pumpkin and grated carrot work just as well, lend a beautiful color, and add plenty of fiber and plant nutrients. Canned salmon is way cheaper than fresh and has just as much omega-3 PUFAs and calcium. Serve this alongside a salad (the Summer Corn, Tomato, Spinach, and Basil Salad would go perfectly) for a well-rounded meal.❞

Serves 4 (1 large patty each)

Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties:

• 1 (15-oz) can pink salmon, no salt added
• ½ cup puréed pumpkin
• ½ cup grated carrot (I use a handheld box grater)
• 2 tablespoons minced chives (Don’t have chives? Minced green onions or any onions will do)
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ large lemon, sliced, for serving

Not-Oily Aioli:

• ½ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• Juice and zest from ½ large lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced fine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1. For the patties: mix all the ingredients for the salmon patties together in a medium bowl
2. Form patties with your hands and set on a plate or tray (you should have 4 burger-sized patties)
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Set patties in a skillet and brown for 4 minutes, then carefully flip.
5. Brown the other side, then serve hot.
6. For the Aioli: mix all the ingredients for the aioli together in a small bowl.
7. Plop a dollop alongside or on top of each salmon patty and serve with a spice of lemon.

Per serving: Calories: 367 | Fat: 13.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Protein: 46g | Sodium: 519mg | Carbohydrates: 13.2g | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugars: 9g | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 1mg | Potassium 696mg

Notes from the 10almond team:

• If you want to make it plant-based, substitute cooked red lentils (no salt added) for the tinned salmon, and plant-based yogurt for the Greek yogurt
• We recommend adding more garlic. Seriously, who uses 1 clove of garlic for anything, let alone divided between four portions?
• The salads mentioned are given as recipes elsewhere in the same book. We strongly recommend getting her book, if you’re interested in heart health!

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