The Vegetarian's Guide To Food Pairing For Glucose Control

Have you heard of food pairing?

Vegetarian or not …

Diabetic or not …

Eating a diet that keeps our blood sugars stable is more important than you think! There are not many things in life that have a simple formula for success. This one does …

When you eat … eat protein + fats + carbs.

Tara’s Tuesday Tips:

The Vegetarian’s Guide to Food Pairing for Glucose Control

I got to thinking about blood sugars recently as I see more and more people wearing monitors stuck to their arms that constantly monitor their blood sugar. Most of these people are not diabetics but they are simply curious. My fellow athletes are wearing them to see how their blood sugars respond to their workouts and their endurance nutrition. As a science nerd, I see my fellow number/science nerd people wearing them to see the trend of their blood sugar based on foods and activities. They will use the data to tweak their meals and timing of meals to get the numbers in better range. Unfortunately, I also see my friends in the eating disorder space using it as yet another data point to obsess over like a calorie tracker or weight or BMI.

Now I’ve got you interested! You might be asking if you need one of these gadgets? My short answer is no. If you are anything like me (and not diabetic), you know when your blood sugar is super low and you have that need-to-eat-now feeling. Alternatively, you know if you ate something that makes you sleepy and maybe not the best choice for your body. I don’t need a fancy monitor to tell me these things and for most of you reading this, you don’t need one either.

With or without a fancy monitor, keeping your blood sugars controlled is vital to your health, mood, appetite, and weight control! SO important! That is where food pairing comes in. What is food pairing? Let’s figure this out together!

What is Food Pairing?

I’m not talking about what wine to choose to go with dinner. I’m also not talking about the crazy protein pairing phase that diet culture roped us into a few years back. What I am talking about is more important than that! If you thought you couldn’t eat carbohydrates, think again. You can if you pair them with fats and/or protein!

Eating carbohydrates alone (simple or complex) can lead to significant changes in your blood sugar levels. This leads to a roller coaster of your mood, appetite, and energy levels. Most importantly this is what dictates how your body uses + stores the extra glucose.

Pairing carbohydrates with protein + fats + fiber prevents the roller coaster of your blood sugar levels. As a result, your mood + energy + appetite remain stable for longer periods of time. This allows your body to use the calories you give it for energy instead of storing what it can’t use immediately as fat.

Remember … we all have a different response to what we eat. The way my body processes glucose is different from yours. Why? Baseline activity level, sleep/lack of sleep, amount of stress, genetics, and age can all play a role in this. However, food pairing works no matter what these other factors are! We want to make our glucose/insulin spike smaller so that we use the excess glucose instead of storing it.

Still curious about blood sugar and insulin? Start here: How To Eat To Prevent Diabetes.

How Does Food Pairing Work?

When we eat, our body releases insulin to help process the glucose. First, the glucose is used for energy (everything we do uses energy – even just sitting at a computer!). Next, insulin stashes any leftover glucose in the liver and muscles (as glycogen to use later). When our glycogen stores are topped off in the liver and muscles, the leftovers are stored as fat. So, a slower release of glucose allows the body to process more of the glucose because it comes in slower. What slows down that release? Food pairing … combining carbohydrates (that naturally spike the blood sugar really quickly) with fat and/or protein (that slow down the absorption).

What Else Can You Do To Keep Blood Sugar Stable

Food pairing is a great tool to have in your toolbox of overall health! Want another way to use up all of that glucose floating around? Movement! You use up a little of the glucose floating around in your blood sugar just existing (brain function, intestines, heart, lungs, blood pumping). You use up a lot of that glucose floating around by moving your body (walking, taking the stairs, carrying things, vacuuming, sweeping, yard work, or formal sessions of exercise).

Tara’s Tips for Increasing Your Non-Exercise Movement:

Choose a parking space far away
Take the stairs
Yard work: water plants, pick weeds, sweep, rake
Home chores: dust, vacuum, clean out a closet, iron, chop veggies
Stand instead of sitting while working on the computer
Listen to an audiobook or podcast + walk, instead of sitting to read
This might help get you started: Eat, Move, Live, Repeat

My Favorite Vegetarian Food Pairing Ideas for Stable Blood Sugar

Snacks:
- Hummus with carrots + cucumbers
- Apple + peanut butter
- Pistachios + grapes
- Almond butter + banana
- Walnut butter + sprouted grain toast
Breakfast:
- Oatmeal + almonds + berries
- Chia pudding made with coconut milk + strawberries
- Sourdough toast + avocado + egg or Just Egg
- Plant-based protein powder + almond milk + banana
Lunch + Dinner:
- Tortilla + avocado + refried pinto beans
- Lentil soup + veggies
- Tofu + broccoli + brown rice
- Quinoa + black beans + salsa
- Veggie burger + silken tofu ranch + broccoli
- Baked falafel + hummus + cucumber salad