SCIENCE EPISODE
Glucose spikes can leave you feeling tired, hungry, and craving sugar. But what if there was a simple way to reduce them, without cutting out your favorite foods? Science has found a way.
Read on to learn how the veggie starter hack works, why it’s so powerful, and my top tips to easily add it to your daily routine.
What is the veggie starter hack?
The veggie starter hack is simple: eat a small plate of vegetables before your meal. You don’t have to change what you eat, just add veggies first.
Research shows that starting your meal with vegetables can:
- Flatten glucose spikes
- Reduce insulin release
- Help you feel fuller for longer
- Support healthy aging and better energy
FREE RESOURCE
My 10 Glucose Hacks
Instantly download my hacks as a beautiful 1-page printable PDF.
Why eating Veggies First works (the science)
Vegetables are rich in fiber, which plays a key role in balancing blood sugar:
1. Fiber creates a protective “mesh” in your digestive tract, slowing down the absorption of glucose from carbs.
2. It slows gastric emptying, so food leaves your stomach more gradually.
3. It boosts GLP‑1, the satiety hormone, which helps you feel full and stabilizes glucose levels.
Studies have shown time and time again that eating vegetables first can lower post‑meal glucose and insulin levels in both healthy people and those with type 2 diabetes. (see all the studies at the bottom of this page)
Real‑life examples of glucose spikes
Glucose graphs show the difference. You can still enjoy the same foods, just in a smarter order.
These graph show how eating a veggie starter before a high-carb meal can flatten your blood sugar spike. The vertical axis is my blood glucose level, and the horizontal axis is the time after I ate. The black line shows how glucose rises and falls. Eating the carbs alone causes a big spike, but having a veggie starter first makes the spike smaller and flatter.
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Free veggie starter recipes
Instantly download two of my favorite veggie starter recipes from my Recipe Club.
How to add veggie starters to your meals
The objective is to add additional vegetables as a starter to a meal:
- To make up about 30% of the meal (or about ½ the size of your main dish)
- The veggies can be raw, cooked, baked, and be dressed with any protein or fat that you like. We eat more and steady our glucose levels at the same time,
- The veggie starter can be eaten up to 90 minutes before the main meal, and the effects of the protective fiber will remain. It can also be eaten just before the rest of the meal.
To help you get going, here's a list of some simple veggie starter ideas:
- Sliced cucumber with homemade guacamole or hummus
- Cherry tomatoes with mozzarella and fresh basil
- Raw carrots and celery sticks with your favorite dip
- Mixed green salad with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing
- Pickled veggies (carrots, cucumbers, radishes)
- Roasted broccoli or cauliflower florets (prep ahead and keep in the fridge)
- Fresh bell pepper strips with cream cheese or cottage cheese
- Arugula salad with lemon juice and olive oil
- Canned or jarred artichoke hearts
- Raw radishes sprinkled with salt and pepper
And if you’d like more of my favorite veggie starter recipes each month, you can check out my Recipe Club where I share the exclusive recipes I make for myself at home.
The Recipe Club
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Sustainable, no-restriction habit
Unlike diets that tell you to entirely avoid certain food groups, the veggie starter hack doesn’t require you to give up foods you love. Just add MORE food at the start of your meal, in the form of veggies. No calorie counting, no starving yourself, no deprivation.
This simple habit can improve your energy, reduce your cravings, balance your hormones, and support your long‑term health.
My Glucose Goddess tips & tricks
Some more tips and tricks I love, to make this hack as easy as possible:
- Buy raw veggies that you like. Such as raw baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, or veggies from a jar like asparagus or artichokes, and just munch on these before a meal if you're hungry. This is more like assembling than cooking. I like to add some hummus or guacamole too. If you're cooking, why not eat the raw veggies as you're preparing the meal.
- Do some batch cooking. I like roasting a large batch of veggies over the weekend and keeping them in the fridge to reheat and serve as a veggie starter before any meal.
- A little bit is better than nothing. If you can’t make the veggie starter make up 30% of your overall meal, that’s fine – we're here to do things when they're easy. Even a couple of mouthfuls of veggies are better than nothing at all.
- When a veggie starter isn't possible, you can take my Anti-Spike supplement with you wherever you go (that's why I made a cute pillbox to go with it!). It can reduce the glucose spike of your meal by up to 40%.
Anti-Spike Formula
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The scientific studies mentioned in this episode
Barber T M et al., “The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre.” Nutrients 12, no. 10 (2020): 3209. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33096647/
Imai S et al., “Eating Vegetables First Regardless of Eating Speed Has a Significant Reducing Effect on Postprandial Blood Glucose and Insulin in Young Healthy Women: Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Study.” Nutrients 15, no. 5 (2023): 1174. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36904173/
Nishino K et al., “Consuming Carbohydrates after Meat or Vegetables Lowers Postprandial Excursions of Glucose and Insulin in Nondiabetic Subjects.” Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology 64, no. 5 (2018): 316-320. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30381620/
Quagliani D and Felt-Gunderson P. “Closing America's Fiber Intake Gap: Communication Strategies From a Food and Fiber Summit.” American journal of lifestyle medicine 11, no. 1 80-85. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6124841/
Shukla A P et al., “Food Order Has a Significant Impact on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels.” Diabetes care 38, no. 7 (2015): e98-9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4876745/
Shukla, Alpana P et al. “Effect of Food Order on Ghrelin Suppression.” Diabetes care 41, no. 5 (2018): e76-e77. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29487079/
Tricò D et al., “Manipulating the sequence of food ingestion improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients under free-living conditions.” Nutrition & diabetes 6, no. 8 (2016):e226. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5022147/
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 2011. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3090168/
Weickert M O and Pfeiffer A F H . “Metabolic effects of dietary fiber consumption and prevention of diabetes.” The Journal of nutrition 138, no. 3 (2008): 439-442. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18287346/
FAQ'S
How many vegetables should I eat?
Ideally, your veggie starter should take up about one third of the size of your meal (or be about half the size of your main dish). Even a small amount is beneficial, so do whatever you can.
What veggies can I eat as a veggie starter?
Any vegetables you like: raw, cooked, roasted, or pickled. Some examples: Avoid starchy root vegetables like potatoes or sweet potatoes. Check out my food classification master list for a list of fiber-packed vegetables.
Does vegetable soup work as a veggie starter?
Soup is better than nothing, but blending veggies reduces fiber effectiveness. If you want a soup, aim for a super chunky soup (where the vegetables are barely blended).
Can I do the veggie starter hack at restaurants?
Yes, I do it all the time. You can either order an actual starter made from veggies, or just ask for a side salad or vegetable side dish and eat it before your main meal.
Can I use fiber supplements instead of a veggie starter?
Whole vegetables are best. Fiber pills require large amounts to replicate the effect, so they're not as practical.
If you can’t have a veggie starter, try my Anti‑Spike supplement, which naturally reduces glucose spikes by up to 40% thanks to two key ingredients (mulberry leaf extract and citrus polyphenols). More science info on the Anti-Spike page.
How long should I wait between veggies and my meal?
No waiting necessary: eat your veggie starter immediately before your meal.
Can kids do the veggie starter hack?
Absolutely, the veggie starter hack works well for kids, too.
Can I combine this with other hacks?
Yes! All my hacks work really well together. In fact, combining a veggie starter with the vinegar hack works so well for your glucose (and a vinegar dressing is so perfect on veggies!).
