Part 2: a Healthy Eating Blueprint
The step-by-step plan you need if you have made the decision to improve your metabolic health
Once you have made the decision to change the way you eat and are motivated to change your own health outcomes, that is the biggest hurdle. If you are ready…
This series, “Real Food Made Simple,” is a beginner’s guide crafted to make this transition approachable and sustainable. If you missed Part 1 of this series, find it here!
First, know that the food industry is motivated by profits, not your health. They profit when you are addicted to the perfect ratio of fat, salt, and sugar in the highly processed “foods” that they market to us. Most of the products available in grocery stores, fast food places, and convenience stores are not food at all. These products surround us, so it is going to take effort to choose real food. Real, whole food is what is going to nourish, protect, and energize your body, improve your metabolic health, and improve your blood sugar.
We will never count calories or diet. This is a process of learning to fuel your body with real food, maintain healthy blood sugar levels, enhance your wellness, improve your sleep, and generally feel good!
Here's my recommended process. Start with the first few steps, get comfortable, and add one more each week. Each new step supports your journey toward healthy blood sugar balance, vibrant aging, and metabolic health.
This is the step-by-step process that I recommend:
Week One:
Start with a pantry clean out—get rid of anything with added sugars (see this list of 71 names for sugar), seed oils (factory-made fats), (use this handy list) food coloring or dyes, or anything you cannot pronounce or recognize as food.
I love this process because it reveals how sneaky “food” companies are at getting us hooked on “food” that doesn’t serve our bodies. This is a great list of ingredients to avoid in processed food. For further reading, I highly recommend Ultra Processed People by Chris van Tulleken. *See the lists at the bottom of this post for examples of what to choose and avoid.
Use this downloadable list of foods to enjoy that support your metabolic health.
Still confused about what to eat? Start by making:
No Oats (free recipe)
Breakfast Cookies for breakfast (recipe for paid subscribers)
Dr. B’s Spring Roll Salad for lunches (free recipe)
Easy high protein Chicken Soup (free recipe)
Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies for dinner (free recipe courtesy of
)
Week Two:
Don’t drink your calories. This means no soda, fancy coffee drinks, frappuccinos, alcohol, energy drinks, sports drinks, hot chocolate, fruit juice, or coffee creamers. Enjoy herbal tea, sugar-free kombucha, sparkling water, green tea, unsweetened nut milk, dairy if you tolerate it, coffee, no sugar electrolytes or homemade electrolytes, or filtered water with lemon or cucumber.
Week Three:
Add a green smoothie, salad, or veggies to every meal. Adding veggies to each meal crowds out less nutritious options, giving you more fiber, antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. Get my free downloadable smoothie guide here if you need healthy, blood sugar-friendly smoothie inspiration and recipes. Eating real food will mean more time in the kitchen, but you are so worth it! You only get one beautiful body, so you might as well treat it with the best fuel.
Some ideas to get you started:
a green salad with chopped broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and a simple vinaigrette
steamed broccoli with melted butter
simple Green Blender Soup (free recipe)
this Italian Chopped Salad (California Pizza Kitchen copycat) as a meal (free recipe)
Week Four:
When you shop, stick to the outer aisles of the market and don’t buy anything that has more than 2 grams of added sugar per serving, factory-made fats, refined grain, unpronounceable ingredients, gums, food colorants, artificial flavors, or preservatives. This is an excellent comprehensive list of ingredients to avoid for good metabolic health. Check out this blog, which introduces you to “healthier” packaged foods that will support your metabolic health and blood sugar balance.
This week, focus on starting your day with protein and fiber. Fiber and protein first will help keep your blood sugar, energy levels, and mood stable. What does it look like to start your day with protein and fiber?
Some ideas to get you started:
15 Breakfast ideas for stable blood sugar (free recipes)
Breakfast cookies (for paid subscribers)
Creamy baked eggs (free recipe)
No Oats (free recipe)
Egg bites (free recipe)
Breakfast biscuits (free recipe)
or have lunch or dinner for breakfast! Soup makes a terrific breakfast, especially in the colder months. Try Thai chicken meatball soup, or my Lemon turmeric meatball soup.
Week Five:
Do a 7-day functional medicine detox— the first two days are a supported fast, followed by nourishing, real food. You can do this on your own, with a friend, with me and my community of detoxers every three months, or with my support at any time. I provide all the recipes you need here. Once you have detoxed from processed food and sugar, real food will taste so amazing that you won’t be able to stomach processed food anymore.
After the detox, you will feel so good that you will likely want to continue your healthy eating journey. My clients report a jumpstart on weight loss, less brain fog, better sleep, reduced blood sugar numbers, and more.
My husband (you may know him from Instagram as Dr. B) and I do this detox every three months for health maintenance, and I recommend it to my clients as well. Our next community detox will begin April 7, 2025, if you would like to join us!
Week Six and Ongoing!
Follow a blood sugar-friendly meal plan (free) that prioritizes protein, plants, and healthy fat. Two more meal plans are available here and here.
This is a sustainable, delicious, nourishing way to eat. It is not a fad diet or a quick weight loss scheme. It is a way to get healthier and improve your metabolic health and blood sugar balance.
This is a lifestyle choice of eating for metabolic health. It is not a quick fix. If you want support, I can guide you through this process. I can also create a custom meal plan for you. If that sounds like something you want to do, contact me here. Access my calendar here to book a consultation.
*Some Definitions:
Refined grain examples and what to choose instead now that you have decided to eat real, whole food:
white bread- choose flax bread, almond flour bread, or keto croissants
breakfast cereals- choose No Oats, eggs and veggies, or breakfast cookies
cakes- choose cakes made with real food ingredients like this Triple Chocolate Banana bread, this Pumpkin bread, or this Paleo citrus pound cake
white rice- choose cauliflower rice or riced broccoli instead
waffles- try these better for you waffles instead
pancakes- try these healthier, high-fiber pancakes instead
noodles- try lupin noodles, spaghetti squash, zucchini “noodles,” konjac noodles, or pea noodles
flavored or sweetened yogurt- try full-fat dairy yogurt, A2 yogurt, or unsweetened coconut yogurt, or this savory cottage cheese bowl by
smoothies- try homemade smoothies made with your blood sugar in mind. Use my free guide as your guide!
potato chips- try seaweed snacks, organic nuts, mixed seeds, or these curried nuts
sports drinks- try LMNT electrolytes or CURE electrolytes
Fats and oils to eat and avoid by Dr. Cate Shanahan:
Ingredients to Avoid by Vani Hari:
Each of these steps is a move toward a lifestyle that supports metabolic health, balances blood sugar, and promotes healthy, slower aging. The journey to eating real food is rewarding, but it’s also a learning process. As you adopt these practices, you may find that they begin to feel like second nature. Embrace the changes one step at a time and celebrate each small victory—before long, eating real food will become a natural, nourishing part of your life. Enjoy the journey!
Next week, in Part 3, I will share the Healthy Items I have on auto-ship that make eating real, whole food much easier. If you missed Part 1, Real Food Made Simple, you can find it here.
1// LUMEN is a great tool for helping you become more metabolically flexible. You breathe into the Lumen device to determine whether you are burning fat or carbs for fuel. The ideal is to wake up burning fat and utilize both fat and carbs throughout the day. Lumen helps uncover the hidden connections between your lifestyle and your metabolic health so you can focus on the changes that have the most impact on you.
Lumen is like having a pocket nutritionist. It helps you plan your macros and even gives meal suggestions in the app. Use coupon code BETHB to save.
2// I have been cooking and baking a lot recently in preparation for the metabolically healthy Thanksgiving Menu that I have prepared for paid subscribers! The Thanksgiving Menu will include a printable ebook of all the recipes along with individual links to print individual recipes.
If you have considered becoming a paid subscriber, now would be a great time! The holidays are a tricky time for blood sugar balance, and I have done the experimenting for you to be sure all of the holiday recipes (gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, and low glycemic) all produce a level glucose response.
3// Mark your calendars! I just got word of a surprise Fullscript SALE! 25% off everything from November 29th - December 3rd only. Be sure to mark your calendars to take advantage of the savings. You can set up an account here to access the savings. Fullscript offers practitioner-grade supplements, protein powder, collagen, personal care products, and more.
4// I have been using this new Banish micro-needling device for about a month now. I wanted to try it out before I shared it with you to make sure it was worth the hype. I am happy to say I think it is worth the hype! This is a safe, at-home microstamper system that helps promote collagen growth. I have been using it on my face, neck, and decolletage. The skincare products Banish offers scan “clean” using the Switch Natural App, which makes me very happy, too.
5// OMORPHO contacted me this week to offer you a coupon for their sleek, stylish, weighted vest, which Women’s Health magazine voted the best weighted vest. My vest hasn’t arrived yet, but use coupon code nestwellness15 to save 15% when you order.
Thank you🧡
This newsletter wouldn’t be possible without YOU! A huge THANK YOU to all who support my work here on Substack.
I have been sharing blood sugar-friendly, whole-food recipes (gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and mostly dairy-free) on my blog and Instagram for four years now, and I love this longer format here on Substack!
🧡P.S.
If you know someone with pre-diabetes, diabetes, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, or anyone eating for blood sugar balance, low carb, keto, grain-free, gluten-free, or just eating whole food for better health, will you forward my Substack to them? I would love it if you would share my page with a friend or restack to your notes. Thank you!
🧡Beth
Hi Beth,
Can you please send the new tea kettle you bought again? Is it also good for just heating water? Not only steeping loose leaf tea
Hi! Question about the upcoming group detox- is this something you think is possible for those tracking blood sugar due to reactive hypoglycemia? I love the idea of the detox but worried about how my body will respond