The best thing to eat before your larger meal begins is a handful of mixed nuts and seeds. Eat these 10 minutes before you begin the main course. They will be high in both fat and protein, and fat and protein will slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates in the main course so that you don’t experience sharp insulin spikes, which is what you want. They will also increase satiety so that you end up eating less.
The worst thing to eat first is bread. That will do the opposite — cause a tremendous insulin spike and make you eat even more than you need to.
So get into the habit of first eating a handful of mixed nuts and seeds when you sit down to eat — before anything else.
Henry's Views 
Henry, from a health standpoint, the nuts out to be raw as well as your added comment of unsalted.
Roasted nuts are made unhealthy by the types of inflammatory oils that are used in roasting them. I’m sorry to say I think your explanation of your point is too brief and misleading. Food order is very important, but vegetables ought to be the started before the nuts. Additionally, some nuts like cashews can the potential to spike blood sugar, so don’t over do. This subject is very deep and often unique to an individual’s metabolism and health status.
Wishing you good health!
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I only use raw nuts. I also eat an artichoke heart first with the mixed nuts because artichoke hearts are so very high in fiber.
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I notice I didn’t really address your idea of eating vegetables first. Vegetables are high in fiber and that slows their digestion and digestion in general, but vegetables are in fact carbohydrates, and carbohydrates convert to glucose. It is glucose that causes the beta cells in the pancreas to secrete insulin. No glucose, no insulin. Mixed nuts, on the other hand, are composed of the macronutrients fat and protein. Fat has no impact on insulin and doesn’t generate any glucose, so there is no response from insulin at all. Similarly, protein is broken down by digestion into amino acids, not glucose, so again there is negligible response from insulin since amino acids are not glucose. Secondly, the fat and protein in mixed nuts are very satiating, and because they are so satiating, they tend to suppress appetite, which in this case is a good thing because it means you will be satiated sooner when eating and therefore probably eat fewer calories in your meal. Vegetables, that is carbohydrates, on the other hand, tend to stimulate appetite, which means that you will tend to eat more in your meal, not less. Vegetables, therefore, if eaten first, will give you an immediate spike in insulin because they convert to glucose, which causes the insulin spike, and because they stimulate appetite, you will tend to overeat.
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