Welcome to Insight into Health, my new radio show on listener-supported KSVY 91.3, Voices of the Valley! I am your host, Allison McKeany, and these are the show notes for the live radio show that aired on November 3rd, 2025.
Listen to the episode:
Beyond the What:
We’ve all had those meals where we eat something that seems healthy — maybe a salad or a smoothie — but an hour later, we’re rummaging through the pantry for something else.
So what’s happening? Often, it’s not about willpower or calories — it’s that our meal was missing one or more of the nutrients that actually keep us full.
Building satisfying and healthy meals is so much more than calories. It comes down to leveraging the power of protein, healthy fat, and fiber.
Protein + Fat + Fiber = delicious & satisfying
Protein helps regulate hunger hormones. That’s why when your meal includes protein — whether that’s eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, or Greek yogurt — you tend to stay satisfied longer.
Fat gives meals staying power. It slows digestion, helps absorb vitamins, and provides a creamy, rich texture that makes food enjoyable. Think of avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds, or hummus.
Fiber helps balance blood sugar, supports digestion, and keeps you feeling full, without feeling heavy. It comes from plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, and whole grains.
When these three are combined, your body gets the signal that it’s been truly nourished, and that’s when you feel satisfied, not just “fed.”
One way to start experimenting with this on your own is to use a Mix & Match Meal Planner. Here’s one to get you started:
Experiment with different combinations of proteins, healthy fats, and fibers at each meal. You’ll notice that some foods do double duty; they check the box for more than one nutrient (e.g., nuts & seeds).
For example, at breakfast, you could choose Greek yogurt from the protein column, nuts or seeds from the fat column, and berries from the fiber column (the nuts and seeds provide a little bonus fiber as well). Quick, easy, and delicious.
Or maybe you prefer something savory. You can choose eggs for protein, served with black beans & salsa for fiber, and topped with avocado for fat. Huevos rancheros, anyone? Simple, satisfying, and sustaining.
If you’re ready to give this a try, here’s how to start:
Choose one meal that you already enjoy to experiment with.
Ask yourself, “What’s my protein? What’s my fat? What’s my fiber?”
Add any missing components or adjust the amounts.
Try it for a few days and notice how you feel. Are you steady? Energized? Or are you hungry again?
Once you find the right meal combination for you, it is now one of your go-tos. You don’t have to figure it out again.
This approach works in real life. You can do it at a restaurant, in your own kitchen, or even with takeout.
Just think, “What’s my protein? What’s my fat? What’s my fiber?”
Start small. Experiment. Pay attention to how you feel.
That’s all there is to it.
Let’s Talk: Skye Miller
I was joined by my fellow Sonoma Splash enthusiast, Skye Miller. Skye and I have been running into each other for nearly a decade now as her aqua aerobics finishes up and my Master’s swim group jumps into the pool. Skye discusses how, over the last year and a half, her new deep-water aqua aerobics class has built community and has provided a low-impact way to comfort the body and the spirit.
Here’s What I’m… Worrying About
Top of mind this week has been the turmoil around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which affects so many of the patients that I work with throughout the state, as well as members of our own community. While many of you reading this have the means to eat what you want, when you want, and in whatever quantity you want, it may be difficult to imagine simply worrying about if there will be food on the table. I encourage you to do what you can: donate your time, extra food, or money1. Keeping our community fed is going to be a group effort.
Thanks for being here,
~Allison