To Nap Or Not To Nap; That Is The Question

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Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Can we say for sure the macros of our recipes? And can we advise about nighttime sleeping vs day napping?

  • Today’s main feature answers both of these questions—the answers are “no” and “yes”, respectively, but do check out our elaborations on both of those (and actual practical advice, of course)!

• Do you enjoy cooking in principle, but in practice find the shopping and preparatory work a bit much to maintain every day?

  • Today’s sponsor Purple Carrot is offering delicious and nutritious plant-based meals to your door, with a wide range of options to choose from (e.g. high protein, high fiber, lower calorie, gluten-free, etc).

• Today’s featured recipe is for a healthy, easy, strawberry cheesecake! Loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, this is a spectacular option for sunny summer afternoons.

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

A Word To The Wise

Watch and Learn

Exercise Scientist Explains Hormones & Weight Loss

Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!

Q&A Thursday

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

So, no question/request too big or small 😎

❝I like the recipes. Most don't seem to include nutritional profile. would lilke to see that. Macro/micro world.... Thank you❞

We’re glad you’re enjoying them! There are a couple of reasons why we don’t, but the reasons can be aggregated into one (admittedly rare) concept: honesty

To even try to give you these figures, we’d first need to use the metric system (or at least, a strictly mass-based system) which would likely not go well with our largely American readership, because “half a bulb of garlic, or more if you like”, and “1 cucumber” or “1 cup chopped carrot” could easily way half or twice as much, depending on the sizes of the vegetables or the chopping involved, and in the case of chopped vegetables measured by the cup, even the shape of the cup (because of geometry and the spaces left; it’s like Tetris in there). We can say “4 cups low-sodium broth” but we can’t say how much sodium is in your broth. And so on.

And that’s without getting into the flexibility we offer with substitutions, often at a rate of several per recipe.

We’d also need to strictly regulate your portion sizes for you, because we (with few exceptions, such as when they are a given number of burger patties, or a dessert-in-a-glass, etc) give you a recipe for a meal and leave it to you how you divide it and whether there’s leftovers.

Same goes for things like “Extra virgin olive oil for frying”; a recipe could say to use “2 tbsp” but let’s face it, you’re going to use what you need to use, and that’s going to change based on the size of your pan, how quickly it’s absorbed into the specific ingredients that you got, which will change depending on how fresh they are, and things like that.

By the time we’ve factored in your different kitchen equipment, how big your vegetables are, the many factors effecting how much oil you need, substitutions per recipe per making something dairy-free, or gluten-free, or nut-free, etc, how big your portion size is (we all know that “serves 4” is meaningless in reality)… Even an estimated average would be wildly misleading.

So, in a sea of recipes saying “500 kcal per serving” from the same authors who say you can caramelize onions in 4–5 minutes “or until caramelized” and then use the 4–5 minutes figure for calculating the overall recipe time… We prefer to stay honest.

PS: for any wondering, caramelizing onions takes closer to 45 minutes than 4–5 minutes, and again will depend on many factors, including the onions, how finely you chopped them, the size and surface of your pan, the fat you’re using, whether you add sugar, what kind, how much you stir them, the mood of your hob, and the phase of the moon. Under very favorable circumstances, it could conceivably be rushed in 20 minutes or so, but it could also take 60. Slow-cooking them (i.e. in a crock pot) over 3–4 hours is a surprisingly viable “cheat” option, by the way. It’ll take longer, obviously, but provided you plan in advance, they’ll be ready when you need them, and perfectly done (the same claim cannot be made if you budgeted 4–5 minutes because you trusted a wicked and deceitful author who wants to poop your party).

❝Is it good to nap in the afternoon, or better to get the famous 7 to 9 hours at night and leave it at that? I'm worried that daytime napping to make up for a shorter night's sleep will just perpetuate and worsen it in the long run, is there a categorical answer here?❞

Short version: generally considered best is indeed the 7–9 hours at night (yes, including at older ages):

Why You Probably Need More Sleep

…and sleep efficiency does matter too:

Why 7 Hours Sleep Is Not Enough

…which in turn, is influenced by factors other than just length and depth:

The 6 Dimensions Of Sleep (And Why They Matter)

However! Knowing what is best in theory does not help at all if it’s unattainable in practice. So, if you’re not getting a good night’s sleep (and we’ll assume you’re already practising good sleep hygiene; fresh bedding, lights-off by a certain time, no alcohol or caffeine before bed, that kind of thing), then a first port-of-call may be sleep remedies:

Safe Effective Sleep Aids For Seniors

If even those don’t work, then napping is now likely your best back-up option. But, napping done incorrectly can indeed cause as many problems as it solves. There’s a difference between:

• “I napped and now I have energy again” and you continue with your day

• “Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life age of the earth—but it was not the end.” and now you’re not sure whether it’s day or night, whose house you’re in, or whether you’ve been drugged.

These two very common napping experiences are influenced by factors that we can control:

How To Nap Like A Pro (No More “Sleep Hangovers”!)

If you still prefer to not risk napping but do need at least some kind of refreshment that’s actually a refreshment and not just taking stimulants, then you might consider this practice (from yoga nidra) that gives some of the same benefits of sleep, without actually sleeping:

Non-Sleep Deep Rest: A Neurobiologist’s Insights

Take care!

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Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

This Or That?

Vote on Which is Healthier

Yesterday we asked you to choose between strawberries and blackberries—we picked the blackberries (click here to read about why), as did 79% of you!

Now for today’s choice:

Click on whichever you think is better for you!

Recipes Worth Sharing

Healthy, Easy Strawberry Cheesecake

This is a great one to have up your sleeve (not literally; have it in the fridge instead) for a sunny summer afternoon. It's not only delicious (and dairy-free and gluten-free), but also loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals:

Click below for our full recipe, and learn its secrets:

One-Minute Book Review

Loving Life at 50+: Embrace Aging through Humor and Wellness – by Maria Sabando

What a pleasant mix of a book! Sabando writes about aging with a great blend of light-heartedness and seriousness, and gives extra attention to the important balancing act of:

1. Indulging sufficiently to enjoy life

2. Staying well enough to enjoy life

…because one without the other will not generally result in an enjoyable life! An American proud of her Italian heritage, she blends (as many immigrant families do) cultures and perspectives, aiming where she can for “the best of both” in that regard, too.

Nor is this just a philosophical book—there’s yoga to be learned here, chapter by chapter, and recipes peppered throughout. The recipes, by the way, are simple and… Honestly, not as healthy as the recipes we share here at 10almonds, but they are good and when it comes to those indulgences we mentioned, her philosophy is that strategic mindful indulgence keeps mindless binge-eating at bay. Which is generally speaking not a bad approach, and is one we’ve written about before as well.

When it comes to health advice, the author is no doctor or scientist, but her husband (a doctor) had input throughout, keeping things on track and medically sound.

The style is very casual, like talking to a friend, which makes for a very easy and enjoyable read. Absolutely a book that one could read casually in the garden, put down when interrupted, pick up again, and continue happily where one left off.

Bottom line: whatever your age (no matter whether your 50th birthday is in your shrinkingly near future or your increasingly distant past), there’s wisdom to be gained here—it’s not a manual (unless you want to treat it as one), it’s more… Thought-provoking, from cover to cover. Highly recommendable.

Click here to check out Loving Life at 50+, and love life at 50+!

Penny For Your Thoughts?

Wishing you the very best of health today and every day,

The 10almonds Team