5 science-backed solutions to the most common blood sugar struggles
practical fixes and the recipes that prove it: a post in collaboration with Grace Barker, recipe developer at Grace & Greens.
When someone starts working on blood sugar balance, the first few weeks tend to bring up the same handful of fears and frustrations. Most of what we've been told about 'eating healthy' doesn't leave a lot of room for real life. That's why I've teamed up with Grace Barker , holistic health coach and recipe developer of Grace & Greens, to walk through the five struggles I hear most from clients, with a recipe from Grace built for each one.
Struggle #1: Eggs for breakfast every day gets old fast
Karina
Protein at breakfast is one of the most impactful things you can do for blood sugar stability throughout the day. It slows digestion, blunts the glucose response, and keeps hunger hormones in check until lunch. The general target I work with is around 30g at that first meal.
The problem is that most people default to eggs, and either eat 1 or 2 eggs and think it’s enough or get tired of them within two weeks, and slowly go back to their usual carb-rich breakfast or skip it altogether.
The solution is to have more options, and with a bit of creativity you’ll see a protein-forward breakfast is anything but boring.
Grace
I do love a good breakfast with eggs, but let’s be honest, some mornings you just want to open up your fridge and enjoy a ready-made breakfast. This chocolate cherry chia pudding is a refreshing breakfast, perfect for summer time. It’s rich in protein and the chia seeds offer an extra boost of fiber and healthy fats to support digestion and hormone health too.
Recipe:
Struggle #2: Wanting something sweet without the crash
Karina
This is one of the first things clients bring up, usually with some guilt attached, as if wanting something sweet and eating a blood sugar balancing diet don’t match.
The goal with blood sugar balance is never to eliminate sweets permanently. It’s to understand what makes them spike you and what doesn’t.
A few things change the entire physiological response:
what the sweet is made of
what you eat alongside it
when you eat it.
Getting those three things right means you can still have something sweet and feel fine afterward.
Replacing all-purpose flours with almond and coconut flours, eating sweets as dessert rather than as a snack or on an empty stomach, can have a bigger impact than you imagine. And you don’t need to give up a nice treat.
Grace
As a chocolate lover, my go-to sweet treat always has something to do with dark chocolate. This dark chocolate sea salt brownie bark is a no-bake option that’s both gluten-free and dairy-free. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and made with cacao powder, not only is it delicious, but it adds in an extra boost of antioxidants too.
Recipe:
Struggle #3: The fear of never eating pizza, pasta, or favorite foods again
Karina
This is probably the biggest mental barrier I see. People come in already grieving food they haven’t even given up yet. The truth is that blood sugar balance is not about eliminating entire categories of food. It’s about understanding what happens in your body when you eat them, and making smarter choices around them rather than swearing them off entirely.
Most of my clients still eat pasta, pizza, or other favorite meals. They just eat them a little differently. Not every day, with a veggie starter first, stacking a walk post-meal, and doing some ingredient tweaks with blood sugar in mind.
Grace
We all know pasta comes in a variety of shapes, but have you discovered how delicious pasta-alternative ingredients can be?! Lentil pasta is one of my favorites – it’s a fun & bright color, it tastes great, and it adds in extra protein to any meal you make. My favorite way to enjoy it is with pan-seared chicken thighs, fresh zucchini, and a zesty chimichurri sauce that all comes together in less than 45 minutes!
Recipe:
Struggle #4: Eating “clean” but losing all variety
Karina
This one doesn’t get talked about enough. A lot of people start eating for their health and end up cycling through the same five meals on repeat. Chicken, broccoli, sweet potato. Repeat. This matters beyond just boredom. Diversity in the diet directly supports the gut microbiome, and the gut microbiome plays a significant role in how well the body regulates blood sugar, among other things. Eating the same things day after day is quietly working against the very goal you’re trying to reach.
Grace
I’m a huge fan of variety, especially when it comes to food! Cabbage is one of those veggies that can be eaten a dozen different ways, depending on how you dress it up. I love blistering cabbage wedges with a cast iron and decorating them up with a creamy lemon tahini sauce. Cabbage is super high in antioxidants, making it an easy choice if you’re eating to support your health.
Recipe:
Struggle #5: Thinking that eating for blood sugar means eating less
Karina
This might be the most common misconception I work through with women in particular. Blood sugar balance is not a restriction protocol. It’s not about small portions or going hungry between meals. In fact, most of my clients need to eat more, specifically more protein, more fiber, and more fat, because under-eating is itself a blood sugar stressor. When you don’t eat enough, cortisol rises, and cortisol raises blood sugar. The goal is enough food, built the right way.
Grace
If you’re a fan of Mediterranean (and the fast-food chain CAVA located across the US), you’ll love this homemade version with roasted chicken, lots of veggies, and pairs great with a hummus or lemon tahini sauce. It’s loaded with flavor and offers such a satisfying way to get in all of your nutrients.
Recipe:
Eating for blood sugar balance is not about doing everything perfectly or giving up the foods you love. It’s about having enough tools in your kitchen and enough knowledge in your back pocket that the right choice also happens to be the satisfying one. We hope this post gives you both. Thank you to Grace Barker for bringing these recipes to life and making this such a fun collaboration.
If this post resonated with you, you can find more root-cause nutrition over at Karina Baloleanu, CFNC and more blood-sugar-friendly recipes over at Grace Barker .
We’ll be back with more.
In case you missed my previous Wholesome Wednesday article:
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I’ve been moving through a period of intense acute stress lately. And one of the first things I noticed was that all my usual nutrition principles had quietly gone out the window. I was nauseous most of the time, my usual fiber, fat, protein meals felt impossible to eat and even cook, and I was reaching for carb-rich foods almost on autopilot. The initi…
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If something resonated, sharing or restacking is the kindest thing you can do for this work. And if you or someone you know is ready to make sense of what’s going on in their body — hormones, blood sugar, energy — a free discovery call is the place to start.
Stay wholesome,
Karina, CFNC
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