Show Notes
Why GLP-1 Made Me Love Food More—Not Less From beetroot pasta to backyard salsa, this wasn’t about eating less. It was about finally tasting more.
I want to tell you about two people on a GLP-1. First, there’s me. I’ve been on a maintenance dose—7.5 mg of Zepbound—for a while now. And recently, I went to an incredible Michelin-star restaurant. Now, at one point during that meal, I said something that surprised even me. The beetroot pasta was one of the best dishes I had ever tasted. Now, let’s pause there—because this matters. I don’t like beets. In fact, I’ve always said I hate beets. And yet, there I was, enjoying beetroot pasta. So what changed? Well, not my opinion of beets. But absolutely my appreciation of flavor.
Then, Something Unexpected Happened During that same trip to Italy, I had one remarkable meal after another. For example, I ate at Ristorante Aroma, right next to the Colosseum. Then, I found a small, unforgettable place tucked away in Venice. Now, let me be clear—this is not a humble brag. Yes, the restaurants were fantastic. Yes, the trip was memorable. However, I’ve been to Europe before. And yet, this time was different. Because this time, I didn’t just eat the food. Instead, I tasted it. Moreover, I slowed down. In addition, I noticed the precision. And perhaps most importantly, I appreciated the flavors. Before, I think I liked good food. Now, I actually understand it.
But Then There’s My Friend On the other hand, there’s my friend. He’s also on a GLP-1. In fact, he weighs a bit less than I do. However, he told me something that stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t enjoy food anymore.” Now, that’s not discipline. And it’s certainly not success. Instead, that’s anhedonia. In his case, the dose was too high. As a result, appetite didn’t just quiet down—it disappeared. Furthermore, dehydration crept in. And on top of that, nutrition slipped just a bit. Consequently, food wasn’t enjoyable anymore. It was just… there. So, we made a small adjustment. We lowered the dose. Now yes, that can feel frightening. Naturally, people worry: “If I lower it, I’ll gain the weight back.” However, that didn’t happen. Instead, what came back was enjoyment.
And Then There’s the Protein Bar Problem Now, let’s shift gears—because this is where things get interesting. Every now and then, you need a snack. That’s normal. That’s life. However, when it comes to protein bars, I have to be honest. Most of them don’t taste like food. Instead, they taste like wet sawdust. Or, perhaps more accurately, dry particle board with a chocolate label slapped on it. Yes, they try. They add peanut butter flavor. They add cocoa. But still, the texture is off. The taste is off. And ultimately, your brain knows it. Now, to be fair, I do like some Aloha bars. They’re better than most. But even then… Recently, I skipped the bar. Instead, I had something entirely different: Tocino. A few bites. That’s all. And yet, those few bites delivered something protein bars rarely do: Flavor. Real flavor. Not engineered. Not simulated. Not “chocolate-adjacent.” Actual spices. Actual cooking. Actual food. And, frankly, it was fantastic.
Meanwhile… the $32 Steak Snack Of course, I also tried one of those dried carnivore steak snacks. Thirty-two dollars. And honestly? Awful. Dry. Chewy. Completely joyless. At that point, you’re not eating—you’re making a statement to someone online. Instead, you’d be far better off flying to Spain and enjoying some Jamón Ibérico. Because then, at least, you get flavor. And culture. And an experience.
Now, Let’s Talk About Breakfast Most mornings, I have a smoothie. And it works. Specifically, I use oat milk, protein powder—this week I’m trying Ora pea protein—along with cocoa, coffee, blueberries, and a bit of banana. It’s quick. It’s consistent. And importantly, it fits into life. Especially when you’re stuck in California traffic. In fact, traffic moves so slowly here that I didn’t even have to get out of the car to move a snail
More from Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson
With all the spices we have access to, it is amazing how bland recipes have become. I have many cookbooks, some from great chefs, television personalities, and friends. What I am always surprised by is how bland the food has become. People seem to think a bit of salt, pepper, maybe onions, and garlic provide the spices one needs. Perhaps it is because some associate spice with heat. Mostly because many have never experimented with some of those great warm spices available. A pinch of coriander, some freshly ground cumin, a little cardamom, or a touch of cinnamon can turn an ordinary dish into something remarkable. And the most astonishing part is that these spices financed voyages around the world, built cities, created fortunes, and caused people to kill one another. Without the spice trade, it is safe to say that the United States, as we know it, would be vastly different from what it is now. The money loaned to the United States, when we were a fledgling country, came from the wealthy spice merchants from what was considered one of the great hyperempires of the world, based in Amsterdam. But before we go to the birth of the United States, let me take you to the meatball.
Tea: The Drink That Built an Empire—and Helped Break One China had the tea. Britain had the appetite. John Hancock had a business to protect.
MesoAmerica and Chocolate In our series looking at foods that built civilizations, today we are going to stay in the Americas with chocolate. Chocolate has been used as currency, consumed by kings, incorporated into religious ceremonies, and prescribed as medicine. Today, it is a multibillion-dollar industry that wants you to believe that eating chocolate is an act of preventive cardiology. I mean, why not? They convinced us to give chocolate to people we love, eat it when we are happy, when we are sad, when only the dog understands us. Don’t feed chocolate to your dog. And we have done all this with a bitter seed that most of us would probably spit out if we tasted it straight from the tree.
I’ve been doing a series about foods that built civilizations. In this episode, we are talking about the potato. It is difficult to imagine that thousands of years ago, people constructed large buildings, managed rivers, built monuments, and created art. We have glimpses of these civilizations through stories, archaeology, and the structures they left behind, but much of their history has been lost. Imagine, we don’t even know where Cleopatra or Alexander the Great are buried, yet we know their stories. As European powers conquered Indigenous peoples, their languages, cultures, and oral traditions were suppressed. When a language disappears, so are the stories preserved within it. Our clues come from archaeology when we uncover a monument, a building, or an ancient settlement. In the Andes, the potatoes they cultivated were not the Russets, Yukon Golds, or fingerlings you find in the store today. Different colors, shapes, and textures. Adapted to survive the elevations, temperatures, and growing conditions. Biodiversity protected their food supply against frost, disease, and changing environmental conditions. If one variety failed, another might survive. The ancient wisdom of diversity that Andean farmers developed over thousands of years was lost when the potato eventually reached Ireland.
In our series about foods that built civilization, we talked a lot about grains, from wheat to corn to rice. Today, we are taking you to the ocean, with the civilizations that salmon built. From California to the interior of Alaska, salmon, a staple, allowed people to settle into villages, develop complex social networks, art, and trade routes. Those trade routes are as large as the ones in the Mediterranean. Some tribes built communal homes and developed complex art and language. Some were Seafaring tribes with canoes up to 60 feet long that traveled across oceans. All because there was a fish that would return in large numbers to streams and rivers, reliably, predictably. So predictable, the people could build their lives around salmon runs. So much so that some built a calendar not only with lunar cycles, but also with the return of the salmon. Civilizations have always gathered around food and water. The Mediterranean connected people who grew wheat and olives, giving people time to make wine, mine copper, build ships, trade with their neighbors, and occasionally go to war with them. Asia had rice and grain near the great river systems. The reliable calories from rice and grains allowed villages to become cities and to travel by water to trade. Today we are going to my home, from the Ventura River in California to my home state of Alaska.