TOP TEN WAYS TO QUIT SUGAR
Too much sugar in your diet can lead to a plethora of health problems. With so many wonderful, natural alternatives we have found some marvellous ways to reduce the our sugar intake without sacrificing flavour or quality! Whatever your reason for reducing sugar from your diet, there is the right sweetener out there for you! Here are our top ten tips on how to cut back on sugar.
1) Try eating savoury breakfasts!
Conventional cereals can contain so much added sugar, even if they are labelled as healthy. Starting your day with a savoury breakfast such as crisp breads topped with hummus and vegetables or vegetable and fruit smoothie, or our carrot and pumpkin porridge can give you a great energy boost without the dreaded sugar crash.
2) Skip that sugar in your tea or coffee.
A teaspoon of sugar in your morning cuppa doesn’t sound too bad, but if you add up all the hot beverages you have in a day the amount of sugar you consume quickly adds up! Skip the sugar or use on of our great natural sweeteners! Stevia drops work really well and they also come in a variety of different flavours!
3) Use fruit to sweeten cakes and bakes.
Fruit puree is a great way to sweeten cakes and bakes naturally. They also make cakes lovely and moist. We recommend choosing a fruit puree that best matches the recipe you are making. Fig, date and prune purees go great with brownies, cakes and cookies. Whilst apple, banana and pumpkin work well in fruit loafs and cupcakes! Check our purees here!
4) Don't let your bedtime snack disrupt your sleep! (via mindbodygreen.com)
Eating sugary food, or a snack that causes our blood sugar to jump before bedtime, can cause lack of sleep and have a direct impact on brain regions that control decision making. When we sleep poorly, our bodies produce more ghrelin, which makes us crave sugary foods, leading to a vicious cycle. We also produce less leptin, which influences our satiety or feeling of fullness. So the combination of more ghrelin and less leptin makes us hungrier and less likely to feel full! Eating a handful of almonds is perfect if you’re afflicted by sleepytime munchies!
Cut out the fizzy drinks and fruit juices by infusing water with whole fruits and vegetables! Cucumber and mint or strawberries and orange are popular combinations in the HS office! Our freeze dried fruits work really well in infusions, and when sealed correctly they last a really long time so you can always have a variety of fruit to hand. Check out the full range here!
6) Explore our sugar-free alternatives.
Cutting sugar out can feel really daunting, especially if you like the taste of sweet tea or coffee, or you crave jam on toast or a cupcake. We have worked hard to have one of the best ranges of natural sweeteners around. This means you can still enjoy that peanut butter & jam sandwich, or your sweet morning tea – just without the sugar! We also have a wide selection of sugar-free alternative products – perfect for those who are diabetic or those on a sugar-free diet.
Many ready-made sauces and meals contain lots of hidden sugar. We recommend cooking from scratch so you know exactly what goes into your meal. Even if you do this one or two times a week, you will be reducing your overall sugar consumption! This rule doesn’t just apply to dinners. Conventional breakfast cereals contain lots of hidden sugars. We have a great range of cereals that have zero added sugar, including our Sussex Wholefoods cornflakes and bran sticks! Don’t forget to check out our wide range of recipes too for meal and drink inspiration.
8) Meal Prep to avoid buying sugary snacks when you get hungry.
Meal prep can be a great way to prevent the temptation of reaching for a chocolate bar or muffin when your energy levels dip. We love batch cooking on a Sunday. It means we have healthy snacks and meals on hand when we are hungry. If cooking for the week seems a bit too much, set some time aside in the evenings to prep your lunch and breakfast for the next day. Overnight oats are a tasty and speedy breakfast, and keep you full until lunch!
Cutting out sugar is a lifestyle change, not a fad diet so it is important to ensure you transition into this lifestyle change sensibly. Start by making small changes. Swap sugar in your tea for a natural sweetener. Swap conventional cornflakes for our sugar-free cornflakes. Swap your sugar laden strawberry jam for one of our sugar-free spreads!
10) Read nutritional labels. (via nhs.uk)
Use nutritional labels and ingredients to help you know what you are eating. By understanding what goes into your food, you can learn how what to substitute, reduce and find alternatives for. A lot of diet food that can be found in supermarkets may be labelled as low fat, but might be high in sugar!