The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook (3 page)

Next, score
three points
for each of the following questions you answer “yes” to.

Once you have completed the quiz, determine how severe your condition is and whether you should go on the Basic or Advanced Plan by using this scoring key:

You may want to get your blood tested to learn more about your diabesity. Blood tests are useful in helping you identify whether you have diabesity, and how severe it is, and in tracking your progress over time. Ninety percent of people with diabesity are not diagnosed. Testing helps you confirm the diagnosis. Some labs let you order tests on yourself, or you can ask your doctor for these tests. Visit bloodsugarsolution.com/
get-tested-for-diabesity to learn what tests you should have, and download the free guide
How to Work with Your Doctor to Get What You Need.

Now that you know whether you have basic or advanced diabesity, you can get started. The recipes and meal ideas in this book will start you on a path to healing faster than you can say “sugar.” Not only will you lose weight and reduce the need for medication and insulin, but you will have more energy, be in a better mood, and even have a stronger sex drive. And many other chronic symptoms and diseases might just go away—because you are putting healing medicine (food) in your system in ways that turn all the right dials on your biology and give you an immediate biological upgrade.

The Blood Sugar Solution
and this cookbook are based on one very simple but powerful principle:
food is medicine.
Whole, real, fresh food has been proven to be the most powerful drug on the planet, improving the expression of thousands of genes, balancing dozens of hormones, optimizing the function of tens of thousands of protein networks. It can upgrade your biological software. It works faster, better, and cheaper than any other drug and has no side effects. If applied in the right way, it has the power to transform your biology and health—not in months or years, but in days or weeks.

If you took the comprehensive quiz you know whether you need the Basic or Advanced Plan for the Blood Sugar Solution. The Basic Plan is for people who have mild diabesity or who would simply like to prevent it. If you are on the Basic Plan, then a slightly higher carbohydrate load is permitted, as long as your body tolerates it. Small amounts of gluten-free
whole grains and nutrient-dense starches, such as sweet potato and squash, as well as a moderate intake of fruit, are acceptable on this plan. But the foundation should be high-quality protein, fats, and nonstarchy vegetables (see
Chapter 2
for a list of acceptable foods). If you reach the end of the program and still want better results, try the Advanced Plan for six weeks.

If you qualify for the Advanced Plan, you can reverse diabesity by adhering to a very low-glycemic diet. You can reboot your metabolism, but you have to be much more focused and committed. Many of my diabetic patients get off insulin and medication and reverse diabetes using this approach. The results are worth it. Even in six weeks you can see a profound difference. The diet is essentially one that our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate—protein and plants. Proteins include grass-fed meats or free-range chicken, low-mercury fish, omega-3 eggs, and nuts and seeds. A small amount of beans may be tolerated by some but can raise blood sugar in others. Notice what happens to you. Grains are gone! The only fruit allowed is berries—and only a small amount (½ cup). And vegetables must be low in starch—for example, cruciferous vegetables, green beans, all manner of crunchy vegetables, and sea vegetables, but no starchy veggies like winter squash, potatoes, or sweet potatoes.

Some of you might be interested in trying the recipes even if you are not on the program. By all means—please do! Notice how you feel when you eat whole, real, metabolism-boosting and -balancing foods. Explore how to cook with whole foods. Are you sensitive to gluten and/or dairy and want new allergen-free recipes to add to your mix? Have you heard how people’s lives have been transformed when they get rid of junk and sugar from their diet?
The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook
will help you discover food that inspires you, delights you, stimulates you, and invigorates you. Food to live by and food to heal by!

I asked my community to help create this cookbook. I combined their contributions with my own favorite recipes. I carefully read and tested each recipe and worked with my nutrition team to ensure that each ingredient fits within the guidelines of the Blood Sugar Solution. I have made
many of these recipes with my friends and family and, I promise, you will not be disappointed.

One last note. Let this cookbook bring out the inner nutritionist and chef in you. While following recipes is often helpful, fun, and nonstressful, you don’t need recipes in order to eat well. Often we forget how pleasurable it is to tune into our senses and use our intuition to literally play with our food. Traditional cultures didn’t rely on cookbooks—they used the most abundant foods in season to create nutritious meals that allowed our species to evolve and thrive. And, yes, while recipes can be a way to form community and pass on timeless rituals from one generation to the next, they can also help you create new rituals that represent your own beliefs, values, and tastes. Challenge yourself to create your own recipes and rituals for your family. Start your own cooking revolution!

Have you noticed that people love to gather in the kitchen? It is the place for nourishment and receiving life’s comforts. Good conversation, bonding with friends and family, and creating meals to sustain us all take root here. The sad thing about today’s fast-paced lifestyle is that it can be really difficult to slow down and spend time in this sacred space. Worse, it can be easier to grab convenient junk food if that’s what’s hanging around the home. These disease-creating foods are a sure obstacle to your success with the Blood Sugar Solution way of life. We have hundreds of genes that protect us from starvation, but very few that protect us from overeating. What we need is a lifestyle that makes cooking healthy, easy, and fun. It is time to get back to our roots and take back our kitchens!

When I was a boy, my mother told me, “If you can read, you can cook.” You don’t have to be Julia Child or Mario Batali. You can learn to create nourishing, delicious, and healthy meals quickly and inexpensively without enrolling in cooking school. Does this seem difficult to accomplish while living a full life with a never-ending schedule? You might be surprised to find it’s not. It just takes a little practice and planning.

If you are reluctant to cook or think you don’t have the time, these recipes might just save you from yourself. Most Americans spend more time watching cooking on television than actually cooking! Look carefully at your days, at where you invest your time and energy, and you just
might find that investing your time in preparing real food delivers higher dividends in health, pleasure, and connection to others.

Would you start any journey without the necessary equipment? Of course not! Following is a list of the tools you need for the care and feeding of a human being—
you,
and your friends and family. Give yourself permission to invest in high-quality kitchen tools that will last a lifetime. A well-stocked kitchen makes cooking simple, fast, and fun. I suggest you try to have most of these in your kitchen:

For more ideas and to see my favorite supplies, go to bloodsugarsolution.com/healthy-living-resources/.

Some people hate being in the kitchen. They don’t like to cook. They find chopping vegetables boring. They feel that standing over a stove sautéing fish is as interesting as watching a pot of water boil. They just don’t enjoy the time they spend in the kitchen. But cooking is an essential life survival skill that we should all cultivate and pass on to our children. Personally, I love being in the kitchen. I enjoy spending my time looking for and preparing wholesome, delicious foods that allow me and my family to thrive.

The kitchen can become a happy, social, fun place to be. Perhaps one of the differences between people who love the kitchen and people who hate it is the kind of environment they create. Here are some simple, wonderful tips to make cooking easier and more enjoyable.