EATING VEGGIES FIRST REALLY DOES KEEP YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS CORRECT!
Good morning all, before you kick off your week, try and think about the order in which you eat certain foods.
You can prevent sugar highs and lows, by eating food in a particular order.
Eating veggies or a small salad before your protein and then starches, helps slow doen the release of the glucose through your intestines and into blood circulation.
Eat like this as often as possible. Not always easy with “mixed” plates such as paella, but you can always eat veggie sticks before your meal or a small green salad.
Sugar is not the only sweet food for our body. Carbohydrates which are the main constituents of bread, pasta, rice and many of the things we eat are actually strings of sugar molecules linked together. The key factor in determining what are the best carbohydrate foods to eat is how long it takes for the body to break the carbohydrates down to sugars. Eating white bread, for instance, is not much different from your gut´s point of view to eating the same quantity of sugar. Whole grain bread on the other hand has more complex sugar chains that take more work to break down so the sugar rush us spread out allowing the body to adjust more gradually.
What does this mean? Watch your carbohydrate sources on the programme. One piece of whole-meal or sourdough bread with sardines, avocado, eggs etc is going to support you and prevent sugar problems much better than white bread and jam.
This YouTube clip is great at simply explaining the difference in carbohydrates and their impact on the body. Do spare a few minutes to watch 🙂
Below are suggestions of SWAPS. Feel free to share your favourite swaps here 😊
Breakfast swaps if usually eating sweet:
SWAP Fruit or flavoured yoghurt (particularly low-fat products) FOR Plain yoghurt (dairy, coconut, or other alternative) with fresh fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, nuts and seeds stirred through.
SWAP Cereal or muesli FOR Homemade granola or cereal mix of coconut chips, nuts and seeds, with whole oats, buckwheat, and some cinnamon. Serve with fresh fruit.
SWAP Jam FOR Smashed berries or chia seed jam
SWAP Juice or liquid breakfasts, such as store-bought smoothies FOR Whole fruit or homemade smoothie of banana, leafy greens, plain yoghurt and nuts
SWAP Packaged, ready made pastries, muffins, pancakes FOR Egg muffin, banana and blueberry pancakes
Don’t be afraid to go savoury at breakfast. If poached eggs and wilted greens, or last night’s chicken and veggies are what you want, then go for it!
Dinner Lunch/Swaps
SWAP Store-bought sushi (which has sugar added to the rice) FOR Fresh salmon or tuna sashimi with salad or homemade sushi, omitting added sugar
SWAP Pasta sauce FOR Homemade spaghetti bolognese or pesto
SWAP Instant pasta, soup or noodles FOR Make homemade soup, stir fry, curry, or casserole meals in bulk and freeze in batches. Defrost and use portions as required.
SWAP Salad dressing (particularly low-fat products) FOR Make your own for your salad simply with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. Play around with ingredients like tahini, plain yoghurt, apple cider vinegar, and chopped fresh herbs for variations in texture and flavours.
SWAP Tomato sauce FOR Homemade tomato sauce. A simple recipe is roasting a punnet’s worth of cherry tomatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and once caramelised, blending into a sauce.
Snack attack Swaps:
SWAP Flavoured crisps or crackers FOR Kale chips, roasted chickpeas, or veggie sticks and seed crackers with dip such as hummus, guacamole or pesto
SWAP Biscuit or cookie FOR Sliced pear or apple with 100% nut butter or cottage cheese,
SWAP Pudding or custard FOR Chia seed pudding, avocado and raw cacao mousse.
SWAP Ice cream FOR Plain dairy or coconut yoghurt with berries, a smoothie bowl, or nice-cream using frozen banana as the base
SWAP Cake, slice or chocolate bar FOR Fruit, hard boiled egg, nuts or cheese sticks, or a homemade protein balls
SWAP Snack bar, muesli bar or fruit snacks such as Roll Ups (fruit leathers) FOR Pick ‘n’ mix of your favourite nuts, seeds and other yummy bits like coconut chi
