I have been trying to eat less sugar recently. The reasons behind this are as follows:
- I feel I am addicted to sugar – especially the chocolate kind.
- Eating too much sugar (especially processed sugars) is not good for us and I want to be as healthy as I can be.
- Eating sugar filled foods, although tastes great at the time, is an instant gratification thing, so I need to eat copious (and unhealthy) amounts of it to sustain the hit, which isn’t health sustainable or for my bank balance either. Its has not been uncommon to be known to eat a whole bar of chocolate in an evening and repeat this every day of the week (how embarrassing). I have also been known to go out at 10.30pm at night to the local shop to specifically buy chocolate as I had a sudden late night crave that I couldn’t seem to ignore.
- I have noticed the more sugar I eat, the more sugar I crave – this is also backed by studies. Essentially eating sugar releases dopamine, a feel good hormone, which leads to the eater eating to eat even more sugar to get that feel good feeling back. Apparently it could be the most ‘significant health challenge in modern society’ according to PMC, and its hard not to agree.
- I have also seen reading uvahealth that eating sugar can cause low levels of inflammation in the body, which can contribute to other health conditions like arthritis, diabetes and heart disease. It also may be linked to low mood, irritability, anxiety or even depression. It could even contribute to Alzheimers or dementia, or make it worse by causing more inflammation in the body.
- I have also found that after eating sugary foods, my energy slumps and I break out in spots a few hours to days later. I know this as when I avoid sugar for over a week my skin has cleared up more and my energy levels have been more sustained rather than up and down.
This is my new go to recipe for avoiding sugar after dinner. I prepare it whilst my dinner is cooking so that I have mentally prepared myself to eat it, and to give the frozen berries a chance to defrost.
This particular recipe is for a ‘homemade’ yoghurt designed to exclude sugar (except the natural kind) as well as other nasties that seem to be included in sugar or flavoured yoghurts. Whilst I won’t be making the yoghurt (maybe one day I will try it for even less ingredients being used), I do add in the fruit and oats to avoid the nasties that are added to flavoured or sugar added yoghurts. I choose dairy free as dairy yoghurt doesn’t sit well with my system. If you do go with a dairy version, I would encourage you to opt for organic dairy for animal welfare, environmental and health reasons.
KEY FACTS:
- Serves 1
- Total Time: 3 min
- Difficulty: Easy
- Suitability: Dairy Free, Processed Sugar Free, Pescetarian, Vegan, Vegetarian, Low Histamine
EQUIPMENT:
- Bowl or glass cup
- Spoon
INGREDIENTS (COST £1.63 PER SERVING):
- 250g (Half tub) Alpro Plain No Sugars Yoghurt – £1.25 (£2.50 for 500g, Sainsburys) – Ingredients: Water Hulled soya beans (10.7%), Calcium (Tri-calcium citrate), Stabilisers (Pectins), Acidity regulators (Sodium citrates, Citric acid), Natural flavouring, Sea salt, Antioxidants (Tocopherol-rich extract, Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid), Vitamins B6 B12 D2 Live cultures (S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus).
- 25g Flahavan’s Organic Porridge Oats – 8p (£3 for 1kg from Sainsburys)
- 10g (about 5) PACK’D Organic Blueberries Blueberries – 16p (£4.80 for 300g from Sainsburys)
- 14g (about 7) SO Organic Raspberries – 14p (£3.50 for 350g from Sainsburys)
Tip: For longer lasting berries, I freeze them separately in ziplock bags so they never go off. They take less than 10 minutes to defrost. This also helps to reduce food waste. It also reduces pressure to eat all the berries in one go so they don’t go off.
METHOD:
- Pour half of the yoghurt into a bowl or clear glass.
- Add the oats and washed blueberries and raspberries. Mix well and leave for 30 minutes to an hour for the oats to swell up and go soft.
- Mix before serving as the natural pinks and purples of the berries will be released by defrosting to make it a lovely light pink colour. This also helps to even out the flavours as well.
- Delish!
Have you ever tried this dessert? What do you like to add to your yoghurt? Comments below your thoughts.
‘Hey yoghurt, if you’re so cultured, how come I haven’t seen you on opera’
