Thank you Carl Rossini Jr., Patti Wohlin, Jen Watts, MG, Janie McManus, and many others for tuning into my live video with Chef Martin Oswald!
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Culinary Healing is an ongoing learning community focused on making nutritious food taste genuinely good.
Chef Martin Oswald teaches his Healing Kitchen course, sharing techniques for building flavor, simplifying meals, and cooking that support metabolic health without stress. Learn how to cook food you actually want to eat, consistently.
Every Tuesday, Dr. Laurie Marbas meets live with the group to guide discussion and introduce weekly micro challenges. Members choose the challenges that resonate with them and fit their current season of life.
The challenges rotate through five core pillars of health:
* Blood sugar balance
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* Restorative sleep
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* Community connection
There is no fixed timeline or reset period. Members join at any time, move through the cooking course at their own pace, and participate in the live sessions as often as they wish.
This is culinary healing in practice. Real food, real skills, and small changes that add up over time.
Learn more here. We would love to have you.
Using food to support your own GLP-1
This session grew out of a question that keeps coming up. GLP-1 medications are now part of everyday medical conversations, and people want to understand how they fit into long-term health. There is a place for medication. That part is clear. What is often missing from the discussion is that GLP-1 is not an external substance. It is a hormone the body already produces, provided the right signals are present.
The purpose of this live was to look closely at those signals and to show what they look like in actual food. Not theory, not supplementation, and not abstractions. Just meals that reliably prompt the same pathways the medications act on.
Chef Martin Oswald built the entire cooking session around that premise.
The physiological signals behind GLP-1
We started by grounding the conversation in how GLP-1 is stimulated in the body.
Soluble fiber slows digestion by forming a gel in the gut. That delay allows fullness signals to register before additional food is consumed. Fermentable fibers work differently. Foods such as lentils and beans are broken down by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids, which directly stimulate GLP-1 release. That signal travels from the gut to the brain and influences appetite, insulin release, and gastric emptying.
Dietary fat also plays a role. Monounsaturated fats and omega-3s stimulate L-cells in the lower small intestine and colon, which are responsible for GLP-1 secretion. This is why foods such as avocado and walnuts were emphasized.
Polyphenols contribute another mechanism. Green tea, cocoa, turmeric, and certain spices act as compounds that support GLP-1 signaling. Leafy greens add volume and structural satiety, which reduces hunger through both mechanical and biochemical pathways.
The effect does not come from any single food. It comes from repeated exposure to these signals over time.
A warm Brussels sprout salad prepared in one pan
The first dish focused on simplicity.
Brussels sprouts were sliced thin and cooked directly in a hot pan, allowing them to soften and brown without added oil. Butternut squash was added for substance. Crushed walnuts were toasted alongside the vegetables, followed by garlic.
Instead of preparing a separate dressing, the pan itself became the mixing vessel. A small amount of vegetable stock or water deglazed the surface and created steam. Apple puree or applesauce added soluble fiber and mild sweetness. Dijon mustard and vinegar completed the base.
Almond butter replaced oil, binding the ingredients while contributing fats that support GLP-1 signaling. Fresh turmeric was grated over the finished dish, providing both heated and raw exposure.
This was presented as a warm salad, but it can easily serve as a complete meal with the addition of beans or lentils.
Recipe link coming soon:Warm Brussels sprout and walnut salad with apple and turmeric[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Black bean sliders, resistant starch, and a thick sauce
The next dish centered on fermentable fiber and resistant starch.
Cooked black beans were mashed by hand and combined with oat flour to create a simple patty mixture. Spices were lightly toasted before being incorporated. The patties were shaped and either pan-seared or baked.
If freezing was planned, a small amount of arrowroot or cornstarch helped the patties maintain structure after cooking.
The accompanying sauce was built to be intentionally thick. Walnuts and dates replaced the raisins commonly used in traditional mole-style sauces. Cocoa powder provided polyphenols. Cinnamon, allspice, clove, and chili added depth and heat. The mixture was simmered and blended until it reached a consistency that would adhere to the patties.
Avocado was added at the end for fat content and balance.
Recipe links coming soon:Black bean and oat sliders[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Walnut and date mole-style sauce[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Green bananas as a source of resistant starch
Green bananas were introduced as a practical example of resistant starch.
They were steamed whole with the skin on and peeled after cooking, similar to the way potatoes are prepared. This method preserves resistant starch, which feeds gut bacteria and supports GLP-1 signaling.
The flavor is neutral when seasoned appropriately, and the preparation is common in several Caribbean cuisines. In this session, the bananas were paired with the bean sliders and sauce.
Recipe link coming soon:Steamed green bananas with herbs[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Green tea used directly in food
Green tea appeared in multiple forms throughout the session.
Chia seeds were hydrated in green tea. Matcha was incorporated both raw and baked. The goal was functional inclusion rather than large volumes.
Matcha muffins were prepared using oat flour, chia seeds, and green tea, then finished with raspberries. A separate dish combined avocado, date syrup, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and Aleppo pepper to create a spiced cocoa preparation.
Although presented as dessert, these dishes still delivered polyphenols and fats that support appetite regulation.
Recipe links coming soon:Matcha oat muffins with raspberries[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Spiced cocoa avocado cream[Recipe will be added here and the post updated]
Why this approach matters
The focus of the session was signaling rather than restriction.
GLP-1 operates within a feedback loop between the gut, pancreas, and brain. Meals that consistently deliver the inputs that support this loop tend to produce more stable appetite signals over time. No single dish is responsible for that effect.
Chef Martin will be publishing the full written recipes within the next couple of days. This post will be updated with direct links once they are available. The video will remain unchanged, and the written post will evolve as the recipes are added.
