Nest Wellness by Beth Bollinger

strawberry shortcake made using 3 6” round cake pans This healthier strawberry shortcake came straight from our subscriber chat- members requested a blood sugar-friendly version that wouldn't sacrifice any of the classic flavors we all love about this summer dessert.

Two years ago, when I first started my Nest Wellness Substack, a tomato galette with herbs was one of the first recipes that I shared. With so many of you inundated with zucchini this time of year, I thought it only appropriate and timely to create a zucchini galette. You will recognize this flaky, buttery crust from our Mediterranean sheet-pan quiche from last month. The crust is too good not to use again and again.

For years, I have seen the wellness world conflate two very different ideas: eating more plants, and eating only plants. “Plant based” started as a description of a pattern of eating more vegetables, more fiber, more color on your plate (much like my 30 plants a week goal), but somewhere along the way, it got rebranded as a synonym for vegan. I hear the confusion constantly from readers and clients: “Should I be going more plant based?

This week’s recipe is free for everyone, thanks to Pique’s sponsorship. Just so you know, I only ever partner with companies whose products I already use and love🧡 I truly love our paid subscriber chat. I know a lot of writers don’t offer this chat feature, but I really think they should! It is the place where we share ingredient swaps, celebrate health wins, struggles, recipe requests, and so much more.

Welcome to Nest Wellness! Browse hundreds of recipes in my recipe index, explore my ebooks over on my website, enjoy my new perks, or dive deeper with my Blood Sugar Method course. July has been a quiet month for our family, at least on the surface, with no big trips, no adventurous travel, but plenty going on behind the scenes. I’ve saved the details for the grateful section below, because this month deserves its own moment right there.

I realized recently that although I make chicken salad throughout the summer from the weekly roast chicken and bone broth I make, I have never actually shared a chicken salad recipe with you! This chicken salad is so good and combines so many herbs that grow abundantly this time of year that I thought it was too good not to share.

My daughter Maddie and I first started working on this recipe together last week in her Whidbey Island kitchen. By the time I left, she had several dozen cookies individually wrapped in her freezer for mornings when breastfeeding seems to rule her morning (and sometimes her day!). If you missed the Mediterranean sheet pan quiche recipe that we developed together based on her coffee shop favorite, grab that one here.

This week’s recipe is free for everyone, thanks to Pique’s sponsorship. Just so you know, I only ever partner with companies whose products I already use and love🧡 This bright and zesty lemon pound cake is pure sunshine in every slice. Made with fresh lemon zest folded into a moist, tender crumb and topped with a puckery lemon glaze. The secret is using both juice and zest in the batter. Once cooled, drizzle the tangy lemon icing over the top, creating the perfect sweet-tart balance.

I have spent the last two and a half weeks in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island with my daughter Maddie and granddaughter Ellie. We have taken many walks down to the water, around town, to the market, and out for lunch. This time together has been sweet and memorable. One of those lunches was a delicious quiche from a local coffee shop that Maddie and I were determined to replicate with a grain-free crust.

There are practitioners who build their work around a single ingredient because it is convenient, and others who build it around an ingredient because it reveals something true about the health of the entire planet. Carly Kremer is the latter. Bee health has always felt like an underappreciated barometer for human health, and the more I learn about it, the more I understand why.