The Healthy Cooking Lifestyle: Meet Beth Bollinger of Nest Wellness

Looking to change up your eating habits, boost your energy, and get more fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and good fats into your daily diet? Beth Bollinger, the founder of Nest Wellness, is a health and wellness coach, integrative health practitioner, and certified holistic nutritionist who focuses on creating delicious, nutrient-dense dishes without dairy, refined sugars, or gluten. She’ll be demonstrating two of her favorite recipes at Gold Ridge Organic Farms on Saturday, June 21. (Sign up on our events page.) We recently connected with Beth to find out about her own wellness journey and get some insight into how she optimizes her approach to food.

GROF (Gold Ridge Organic Farms): How did you get interested in whole foods as an integral part of your own health? A lot of your work focuses on low-glycemic foods and managing blood sugar through diet—how did that become a particular interest of yours?

Beth: In my twenties, I started experiencing mysterious chronic chest pain. It took several years to get a diagnosis, which turned out to be mitral valve prolapse syndrome, a benign heart murmur that causes chest pain in some people. When I dove into the limited research available, I found one suggestion: cut sugar from your diet.

By age 35, I was willing to try anything, so I gave up refined sugar—a choice I've maintained for 23 years because it keeps me completely free of chest pain. What started as medical necessity became a creative challenge: how could I recreate family favorites that actually taste amazing, using ingredients that are good for us?

The real turning point came in 2021, when I got curious about wearing a continuous glucose monitor. I was shocked to discover that my "healthy” oatmeal breakfast was spiking my blood sugar higher than a donut! That data completely changed how I approached food—from following generic healthy eating rules to understanding how foods actually affected MY unique body.

GROF: Food is so much more than just fuel. How we eat can be deeply connected to our histories, our families, and our emotional well-being—and so making sudden big changes in the way we eat and think about food can be very challenging. What are three simple steps towards a healthier diet that anyone can start with?

Beth: One, add protein to every meal. Aim for 25-30 grams at each meal. This single change stabilizes blood sugar, keeps you satisfied longer, and prevents the energy roller coaster most people experience.

Two, eat your vegetables first. Before touching any starches or sugars, eat your salad or vegetables. This creates a fiber buffer that slows sugar absorption and dramatically improves your glucose response to the entire meal. Even better if that salad includes extra virgin olive oil and a dash of vinegar!

Finally, take a 10- to 15-minute walk after your largest meal. This activates your muscles to use glucose immediately, preventing blood sugar spikes. It's the easiest exercise with the biggest metabolic impact.

GROF: Okay, let’s peek into your kitchen. What are three things we’ll always find in your fridge?

Beth: Eggs, fermented foods (for gut health and blood sugar benefits), and leafy greens. I go through spinach, micro-greens and arugula like crazy.

GROF: As you can imagine, at Gold Ridge Organic Farms, we’re big salad eaters here, too. Are you a breakfast person? What’s on your plate in the morning?

Beth: I'm definitely a breakfast person! I have 2 go-to breakfasts: either soft boiled eggs with avocado, sautéed spinach, some of my super seed sprinkle, and a dollop of sauerkraut, or my chia, flax, and hemp seed Overnight No Oats and yogurt, topped with nuts and berries. Both of these breakfasts give me steady energy for hours and support my gut health—plus it keeps my glucose response under 30 points, which is my target when testing recipes.

GROF: Now, you knew this was coming . . . what are your favorite ways to use a really good olive oil?

Beth: I love finishing dishes with a drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil! Whether it's over roasted vegetables, a simple salad, dipping my grain-free focaccia, or drizzled on soup, that final touch adds incredible flavor along with healthy fat that helps with nutrient absorption. I'm particularly excited to incorporate Gold Ridge Organic Farms' beautiful olive oils in our cooking demonstration.