Balanced Side Dishes to Support Your Metabolism

The official nutrition recommendations are constantly changing. Did you notice this, too? And our recommendation on what to put on the plate next to the protein portion of our meal has done a complete flip. Just some 10-15 years ago, we advised people to eat 6-11 servings of grains per day. Then we came up with a plate that had about a third of it filled with starches. Now, many doctors and nutritionists are moving toward reducing carbs to a minimum. And I support this approach as well for the following reasons:

• Starches like grains and potatoes are the least nutrient-dense foods, especially after processing.
• They spike insulin secretion and, over the years, promote insulin resistance.
• Carb-heavy dishes can make us gain weight by affecting insulin levels.
• Grains are hard to digest due to their prolamin content, like gliadin in wheat and avenin in oats.

For these reasons, my side dish recipes feature mostly vegetables and beans.