High-Protein, Vegetarian Eating For Metabolic And Brain Health
Vasudha Viswanath shares her tips for protein-packed meals
Hello, everyone. I write to you from Costa Rica where I am doing research for an upcoming Brain Health Retreat. I know that sounds dreamy and it really is. The retreat center is on the Pacific side of the country where a spectacular rain forest meets the ocean. I had a busy week trying to get everything done before I left, but now I can already feel my heart rate variability (HRV) drift up (a good thing) as I listen to the waves from my casita. This retreat is already mostly full, but we still have spots. Learn more here and join me in January 2025!
Today, as part of our mini-series on metabolic health (and how it nurtures your brain health), I’d like to share a guest post by my friend and fellow cookbook author Vasudha Viswanath. Vasudha wrote one of my favorite cookbooks—The Vegetarian Reset—and founded the We Ate Well Substack community around joyful eating that is also metabolically healthy. With her recipes and her writing, Vasudha is a beautiful example of how a brush with a medical problem (in her case, prediabetes) can set off a cascade of positive life changes. I especially love how she preserves her food roots as an Indian-born Southeast Asian woman who loves to cook while taking care of her metabolic health.
I am obsessed with cooking all of Vasudha’s recipes and immediately signed up for her protein-packed Weeknight Simple meal plan when she launched it. She has previously written about what it’s like to monitor blood sugar with a CGM. Today she is sharing:
how she navigates a vegetarian diet that provides enough protein for her busy life and is metabolically healthy, too
her recipe for Chickpea ‘Biryani’ with Greek Yogurt ‘raita’
a special offer for BHK subscribers: a free 90 trial of her Weeknight Simple meal plan with recipes!
Thank you for being here Vasudha!
Annie
High-protein eating for metabolic health as a lifelong vegetarian by Vasudha Viswanath
My journey into the science of metabolic health started with a routine physical about a year after my baby was born. I skimmed past the test results on my phone as I did every year, expecting to see nothing of mention. Then my doctor’s note caught my eye.
“Elevated blood sugar over time (HbA1c), in pre-diabetic range. Minimize pasta/rice/bread/sweets.”
While I did feel a little judged in that moment (the 25 pounds of baby weight I needed to lose was never far from mind), the bigger question was “What do I eat, instead?” As a lifelong vegetarian, I grew up in India, my meals had revolved around refined grains as far as I can remember: Idli, dosa (both South Indian dishes), and later cereal or oats for breakfast after I moved to America, rice (again a South Indian staple) or a sandwich for lunch, and rotis or pasta for dinner. This was a regular day. I have always loved vegetables, but they were never the center of my plate. And protein? What was that again?
In hindsight, I had fallen into the classic trap that a lot of plant-based eaters face: we are mostly eating rice, corn and wheat.