Welcome to the positive corner of wellness. Here’s a daily digest designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Arnold's new podcast
The natural pain reliever
15-minute meal prep
Weekend Challenge
Arnold's Pump Club: The Podcast
Many of you have asked me to create a podcast so you can be part of our positive corner of the internet — even when you’re too busy to read the email. So we created this podcast for you. Here's a small preview of what's to come. Listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy podcasts. Subscribe today and let me know what you think. Do it now!
Natural Pain Relief
Ever been told to “walk off” pain or discomfort? Turns out, in the right situation, it's pretty good advice.
Walking might be one of the most effective ways to prevent knee pain, according to research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
The study examined knee pain in people above the age of 50 and found that those with consistent walking routines experienced significantly less knee pain. The reason? Apparently, you really do lose it if you don’t use it. The researchers suggest that movement is medicine and that walking can help reduce joint damage that occurs as we age because of lack of activity. Walking improves blood flow, helps with mobility, and strengthens bones. Not to mention, walking is also associated with reducing lower back pain.
Over-the-counter pain pills are a $20 billion industry. But research suggests that those anti-inflammatories might slow natural recovery and could even prevent muscle growth. So before you pop a pill, see if a little movement might provide some of the relief you desire.
15-Minute Meal Prep
Daniel here with another lazy/busy kitchen trick. You might be noticing a theme. Since I became a parent, I look for every opportunity to save time.
I love a good steak every once in a while. Almost nothing can beat a ribeye. Luckily, my favorite way to cook steak takes almost no active cooking time. My wife always seems shocked when I say I’m starting to cook, and we have dinner on the table less than 15 minutes later.
The trick is sous vide. If you haven’t heard of sous vide, it’s cooking in a warm bath at the temperature you’re shooting for, so there is no risk of over or under-cooking. I use sous vide I bought on Amazon, a big pot I already had filled with water, and a ziplock bag. You could probably do this without the machine if you’re willing to monitor the temperature of the water on a stove and keep it very, very low, but that defeats my purpose of avoiding active cooking time.
Here’s a full steakhouse-style dinner, done in less than 15 minutes of active cooking time.
Pick your favorite steak. Pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Drop in a ziplock bag, don’t seal.
Fill a pot with water, and attach the sous vide (or your thermometer, if you’re going manually).
Push the ziplock bag into the water, using displacement to push the air out of the bag while you hold the top and seal it once the air is pushed out so your bag isn’t floating.
We like our steak medium rare. So I set the temperature to 129 and turn it on (this means the water, and therefore the steak, will never go above 129).
Walk away. Live your life for an hour or two. You want at least an hour to get to a whole steak to temperature, but since it can’t get hotter, you have more time. If I’m in a hurry, I do an hour, but if we have things to do and I start early, I’ll leave it for 2.
At some point, meander back to the kitchen, open your windows, turn on your fan, put a cast iron skillet or your favorite pan on a burner, and make it as hot as you can. While it heats, prep your sides. I’ll normally make some rice in our rice cooker and trim some asparagus or mushrooms.
Once that pan is as hot as it’s going to get, pull your ziplock with your steak out of the water. Put a tablespoon of butter in the skillet or pan (remember what I said last week about the only thing to measure being oil or butter? It’s actually working for me).
Throw the steak in the pan. You only need a minute per side. It’s cooked. You’re just getting that delicious sear now.
Once you’ve seared both sides, move the steak to a cutting board (you don’t really need to rest sous vide steak like a normal steak since resting is to allow the meat to resettle from extreme heat, but we have to make some vegetables).
Throw your asparagus or mushroom, or vegetable of choice in the hot pan. Add salt and pepper. They’re going to cook fast - less than 5 minutes.
Plate your meal and enjoy!
(If you don’t have sous vide and are nervous about keeping water temperature stable, google “Reverse Sear” - it’s my second favorite way to make a steak and gives you a good amount of passive cooking time.)
Arnold's Weekend Challenge
I’ve been reflecting a lot lately, and Monday’s newsletter made me think this weekend’s challenge needed to revolve around flexing your empathy muscles.
A lot of people tell me they they want to help, but they’re overwhelmed dealing with their own problems and don’t even know where to start when it comes to reaching out to others. I have a solution that solves both.
So here’s my challenge to you.
First, I want you to think about something that has been stressing you out. Doing your taxes? Getting something fixed around the house? I want you to determine what you’ve been putting off that's taking up unnecessary energy. Then, I want you to follow my lesson from last week’s newsletter about procrastination. I want you to sit down and wipe that one thing — only one thing — off your plate. You’re doing it, and nothing is going to stop you.
Now sit back and enjoy that feeling. A weight should be lifted. That was one for you. You should have some space to think again. But you aren’t done because you’re going to use that mental energy you just saved and use it to help someone else.
Flex your empathy muscles. I don’t care if you help someone with their groceries, go online and donate to a charity, or share a meal with a homeless person you always walk past. Reach out and help someone else. And then tell me how it feels.
Thanks again for being a part of our village. We all hope you have a great weekend!
-Arnold, Adam, and Daniel
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