When working with one of our members recently, I recommended that she lower her carbohydrate intake to help balance her blood sugar. This was an individual recommendation based on her food logs and her description of her issues. So, Heidi jumped in and put together a free grain-free meal plan to give her something to follow for a week. I’m sharing that meal plan with you all here on the blog.
You see, the need to balance blood sugar is probably the most common thing I see when working with members, and the recommendation is almost always to lower carb intake (not to an extreme), change carb sources, and remove grains at least for a while. Our food supply is oversaturated with carbohydrates in general, but it’s especially oversaturated with processed carbs and grain-based foods. Many people can handle some whole grains just fine, but when people start to have oatmeal or a bagel for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner, the glycemic load begins to take a toll. Add fruits or lara bars for snacks to all those grains (even if they are whole grains) and it gets even worse.
What happens is you have spikes in blood sugar around each of those carb-based meals and your body responds by dumping insulin to transport the glucose to your cells for energy production. This is a normal process and a good thing if the glucose level is moderate and within your energy needs, but if it’s too much, the insulin response can often be followed by a period of low blood glucose if too much insulin was released. You may have experienced that mid morning or mid afternoon “low” where you feel like you need another coffee or you crave sugar. This is due to that low blood sugar that results from too much insulin being released during your previous meal.
Often, your response to that “low” is to have a snack or a coffee or both. If the snack is fruit or some other high glycemic choice, the same thing happens: high blood sugar>>>insulin over-compensation>>>low blood sugar>>>sluggish feeling.
The key is to keep your blood sugar on an even keel instead of creating this rollercoaster of high and low blood sugar. The way you do this is essentially like this:
- Lower your carb intake overall. It should be somewhere in the range of 25-40% of total calorie intake but on the lower side of that if you are having those highs and lows. This is a bioindividual thing. Some people do fine on the higher end and some feel much better if they stay on the lower end. Notice though that this isn’t like a keto diet of 50g or less.
- Make sure your carbs are from quality sources and limit things that are often gut irritants such as grains. If grains don’t bother you, whole grains can be a source, but I recommend you cut them out for a while to see.
- Don’t eat carbs all by themselves. Make sure there is good quality fat and protein included every time you eat carbs.
7 Day Grain-Free Meal Plan
The following is a summary of the meal plan with links included. You can follow this meal plan straight from this page or you can download the pdf version.
NOTE: Either way (pdf or here on the blog), you’ll need to click links to some of the recipes and print those as the longer recipes are not fully reprinted here or on the pdf.
DAY 1
BREAKFAST
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
- 1 c. ice, or more or less to taste
- 8-10 oz unsweetened original almond milk
- 4 T. natural peanut butter
- 1/2 banana
- 1 cup spinach or kale (fresh or frozen)
- 2 Tbsp egg white powder
Place all ingredients in a blender; blend and enjoy.
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 1/4 cup hummus
LUNCH
- BLT Lettuce Wraps (CLICK FOR RECIPE)
- 1 oz. cheese cubes (such as cheddar)
- 1 oz. nuts (such as almonds)
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup full fat yogurt (greek or plain)
- blueberries (a dozen or so)
- 1 tsp honey
DINNER
- Simple Orange Salmon (CLICK FOR RECIPE). NOTE: This recipe includes brown rice
which does not go with this plan. Use only the salmon and green beans for this
meal plan. You may add cauliflower rice in place of the brown rice if you desire. - Here is a recipe for cauliflower rice (CLICK HERE).
DAY 2
BREAKFAST
This is breakfast tomorrow as well, so save your leftovers.
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 apple
- 2 T. natural peanut butter
LUNCH
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup carrots
- 2 T. hummus
DINNER
DAY 3
BREAKFAST
- Leftover Sausage Breakfast Peppers
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- Celery Stalks
- 2 T. natural peanut butter
LUNCH
- Romaine lettuce
- tomatoes
- avocado
- carrots (shredded)
- cucumbers
- toasted pepitas
- Creamy Garlic Dressing (CLICK FOR RECIPE)
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1/2 cup blueberries
DINNER
DAY 4
BREAKFAST
This is breakfast on day 6 as well, so save your leftovers.
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 apple
- 2 T. natural peanut butter
LUNCH
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 5-6 fresh tomato slices or wedges
DINNER
HINT: Grill an extra steak for Cobb Salad on day 6.
DAY 5
BREAKFAST
- 3 eggs, cooked to order
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 5-6 fresh tomato slices or wedges
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 1/4 cup hummus
LUNCH
- Romaine lettuce
- tomatoes
- avocado
- carrots (shredded)
- cucumbers
- toasted pepitas
- Creamy Garlic Dressing (CLICK FOR RECIPE)
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup full fat yogurt (greek or plain)
- blueberries (a dozen or so)
- 1 tsp honey
DINNER
DAY 6
BREAKFAST
- Leftover Taco Quiche
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 apple
- 1 cheese stick
LUNCH
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1/2 cup blueberries
DINNER
This will be lunch for tomorrow, so save your leftovers.
DAY 7
BREAKFAST
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
- 1 c. ice, or more or less to taste
- 8-10 oz unsweetened original almond milk
- 4 T. natural peanut butter
- 1/2 banana
- 1 cup spinach or kale (fresh or frozen)
- 2 Tbsp egg white powder
Place all ingredients in a blender; blend and enjoy.
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 1/4 cup hummus
LUNCH
- Leftover Acorn Squash and Sausage Soup
SNACK (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup full fat yogurt (greek or plain)
- 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1 tsp honey
DINNER
Comments (2)
Good to know. Thanks!
Interesting, would like to try this with some substitutions