Designing your meals intelligently

Ok, let’s get a few things straight: 1. My meals have to be tasty, and 2. It cannot be from a box.

These are really the only 2 rules I have when it comes to my diet. (K.I.S.S - keep it simple, ammirite?!)

Now that we have established these ground rules, I invite you to listen in on my conversation with a cardiologist to learn his recommendations to plan and prepare meals.

Rather than the very reductionist way of considering carbs, fats, proteins etc. it’s more intuitive to think about the energy profiles of the foods you choose and how it makes you feel. A small amount of fruit, which provides a short burst of energy via fructose to wake you up; on a base of unprocessed carbs like rolled oats, which will give you a second peak of more sustained energy a little later (I love that Dr. Tran bakes them to get it nice and toasty for that lovely crunch!); add in some nuts and chia seeds and dried fruits for protein and fiber; next is a little bit of healthy fat and finally a spice like ground cinnamon to make it extra delicious and minimize the glucose spike in your blood sugar levels!

Achieving balance in the energy profile of your meal is way more fun to think about nutrition than counting calories or macros.

In this video, I talk to Dr. Tran, cardiologist for his food prescription.

Part 1 is an introduction

At around 1.30 we explore the idea of “let food be thy medicine”, and Dr. Tran shares some of his cultural insight

At 2.34 Dr. Tran makes his food recommendation, sharing his recipe and method

Around 4:00 is where the real gold is - even if you don’t eat breakfast or dislike muesli, you won’t want to miss this part. He explains why this meal works, and the concepts he shares can be used on any meal.

At 5:06 Dr. Tran highlights the importance of considering glycemic load - how much energy is available in the entire meal, along with glycemic index - how fast the sugar in the food enters your bloodstream.

He ends by talking about portion size and the power of this little meal to carry you to lunch without too many calories :)