Boost GLP-1 Naturally by Cooking
losing weight is not impossible • strawberry cashew smoothie • shrimp escabeche
Boost GLP-1 Naturally by Cooking
I hate to make a deal about this, but because it’s everywhere at the moment, I’m going to chime in. GLP-1 agonists may seem like miracle weight loss drugs, and they are necessary for some people, I suppose, but if you want to improve your blood stats and live into your natural healthy weight, why not try something as simple as cooking?
A woman I met years ago at the Stanford Food Summit, Anna Rakocsy, founded the Homemade Method and has been getting truly miraculous results with her clients by teaching them how to cook and eat healthy food. Over the past ten years, the results of her work have given me the courage to keep doing what I know to be right for me: stop tormenting myself with diets and rules and trust that real food and joyful eating will result in a happier me and me at my natural healthy weight.
So, how does cooking help boost GLP-1?
Cooking begins with raw ingredients including colorful plants, meat and seafood, tofu/nuts/seeds/cheese and dairy, grains, and fat. When you choose nutritious raw ingredients and healthy cooking oils like olive and avocado, your body is able to fuel itself and make GLP-1, a natural hormone that’s released in response to eating good food. GLP-1 slows digestion and prevents rapid spikes in blood sugar, which contribute to feelings of fullness and satisfaction which ideally means you take a break from eating for a little while.
Eat the rainbow
The beautiful colors, flavors, and aromas of plants are made possible by phytonutrients which, when we eat them, have the added benefit of protecting our bodies from oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals (hence the general term “antioxidants”), modulating our hormones like those that regulate our hunger (biological drive to eat) and appetite (desire to eat), and, along with fiber, feeding our gut microbiome. A happy gut is a good thing for GLP-1 production because that’s where it comes from (primarily…also the brain, and currently being studied, the pancreas).
Cooking at home doesn’t need to be complicated—sheet pan dinners, a grass-fed steak with asparagus on the grill, oatmeal or a smoothie with protein powder for breakfast, sourdough bread with scrambled eggs—these are all great ways to boost your GLP-1 production.
Losing Weight is Not Impossible (it can even be enjoyable!)
I got to the point last June when I wanted to feel better in my body and that meant I wanted a data point…the scale. I knew it was a risky move so before I stepped on for the first time in years, I promised myself that no matter what the number, I would be kind and loving to myself, not mean. (It was high, but not peak.)
Merging Weight Loss with Intuitive Eating, which I wrote back in May, tells the story and shares my thinking about the Health at Every Size ideology. My blood labs are improving although they aren’t yet ideal and I’m certain it has something to do with carrying around an extra ten or twenty pounds on my frame. My doctor supports me in continuing with “my method” (joyful, mindful eating, cooking, and movement) and we’ll check where I’m at early next year. Since last June I’ve lost about a pound per month. It feels great and I have no desire to eat any other way.
Strawberry Cashew Smoothie
Instead of buying processed nut milks, I like to use raw cashews and water to create just enough alt. milk for my occasional smoothie. Sometimes I make a big batch of almond milk, but because it needs to be strained (cashew does not), I’m doing it less these days because I prefer half and half in my coffee leaving smoothies and chia pudding as the main ways I enjoy eating it, but I digress!
How to: Fill high powered blender (like Vitamix) with ¾ cup water and add ¼ cup raw cashews (soak a few minutes to soften the cashews if you’ve got the time). Add a heaping cup frozen strawberries (or fresh with a handful of ice cubes), a few chunks of frozen pineapple or peach if available, a scoop of your favorite protein powder (I like Tera’s whey, plain), and a pitted date. Enjoy!
Shrimp Escabeche
I first encountered escabeche years ago as I cooked through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table with an online group. Escabeche is both a technique and a marinated seafood dish, a simple and celebratory summer meal. Serve with rustic sourdough, a dry rosé, and perky salad greens—no need to make another dressing, the marinade does that too!
Recipe: Shrimp Escabeche on Ripe Food & Wine.
So, how do you pronounce it? Lucky for us there’s Julien Miquel, French winemaker and word pronunciation phenom on YouTube.
Smooth Sailing, Fix Your Food Relationship in 2025!
So this is week 24 of Smooth Sailing. We’ve covered the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, and I post every Monday to share my perspective on how to set yourself free from diet-thinking and live a more connected life. Please subscribe and share. Thank you so much for being here.
Please see my About Love & Cookies site on Substack for access to my writing.
Have a great week!
