Slaying the sugar dragon

Over the past 30 years sugar has increased in our diets dramatically.  The scary thing about this is that our bodies don’t actually need ‘free sugar’ to survive. Free sugar is not the same as glucose. Glucose is produced through the digestion of carbohydrates and is the fuel of life for all the cells in our body.

The World Health Organisations (WHO) defines ‘free sugar’ as "all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices".

It is used to distinguish between the sugars that are naturally present in fully unrefined carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, fruit, etc. and those sugars (or carbohydrates) that have been, to some extent, refined (normally by humans but sometimes by animals, such as the free sugars present in honey).

Confusion occurs when we use different names for sugar inter-changeably. Below are just some of the terms used for sugar or sweeteners in food:

Brown sugar, white sugar, Demerara, molasses, honey, fructose, sucrose, treacle, golden syrupy, maple syrup, corn syrup, cane syrup malt, fruit juice concentrate, agave syrup, stevia, brown rice syrup, manitol, maltose, maltodextrin, dextrose etc.

So it’s very important to become adept at reading food labels. Limit the amount of foods you buy with these listed as part of the ingredients and follow the tips below to limit ‘free sugars’ in your diet and your children’s:

• Avoid fizzy drinks, sweetened drinks, sports drinks and concentrated fruit juice (unless diluted 50% with water. Fruit juice has had all the fibre removed from the fruit and so is concentrated fructose. Drink plain water or water flavoured with mint, lime, lemon and fruit.
• Keep sweet treats like cakes, biscuits and sweets for special occasions only. Replace with whole fruit which contains fibre to slow down the release of sugar into the blood stream.
• Watch out for fruit smoothies, often they are just thicker fruit juices with limited fibre left in them. Make your own using whole fruit and vegetables as an alternative.
• Swap ‘white foods’ i.e. white pasta, white rice, white bread, cakes and pastries for wholegrains i.e. brown rice, brown pasta, wholegrain bread. Your children’s taste buds will adapt over time but to start with use half white half brown for a few weeks before moving over completely. This way they will hardly notice!
• Limit honey, syrups and dried fruit – use them for flavourings for food as a treat.
• Choose tinned fruit in water rather than syrup. Better still choose fresh fruit.
• Choose lower sugar fresh fruits such as apples, pears, plums and berries. As these grown in the UK they are naturally lower in sugar as they don’t get much sun exposure as tropical fruits like bananas, grapes and pineapple – keep these sweeter fruits for special occasions.

By following this advice you will be naturally lowering your children’s sugar intake and over time will hopefully see more balanced energy levels and moods. By slaying the sugar dragon their taste buds will change over time and will no longer crave sugar as they did before.

No Sugar Recipes

Butternut Squash Casserole

(Adapted from Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People who love to it by Melissa Joulwan)

Serves 4

1 x Large Butternut Squash

2 tsp water

1 head of garlic

1 tsp coconut oil

2-3  tbsps tin of coconut milk (organic if possible)

½ tsp Ras-el-hanout spice

Pinch of salt

1 large egg

Handful of pecan halves

Method

1.       Pre-heat oven to 350F, 180C

2.       Cut the Butternut Squash in half lengthways, remove seeds and place on roasting tray skin side up. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of water. Wrap garlic in tin foil and place on tray along side squash. Bake in oven for 40-50 mins. Set aside to cool.

3.       Increase temperature to 400F, 200C

4.        When the squash is cool, use a spoon to scoop the flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted pulp into the bowl with the squash. Process the mixture to a smooth puree, then add the coconut oil, coconut milk, salt, and Ras el Hanout. Taste and adjust seasonings.

5.       Beat the egg in a small bowl. Scrape the purée into a large mixing bowl and stir in the beaten egg with a wooden spoon until combined.

6.       Grease the inside of a 3-cup casserole dish or individual ramekins with a little coconut oil, then add the squash purée. Top with chopped pecans and bake in the 400 F oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are a little bubbly and the top is golden brown.

Courgette wraps

Serves 2

1 Courgette

1 tsp Lemon

½ Avocado

Handful coriander

¼ Red onion

1 tbsp Pumpkin seeks

2 tbsp cooked quinoa

Method

1.       Peel courgette lengthways to create long strips. Create two separate ‘beds’ of layers of strips overlapping each other – one for each person

2.       Slice avocado, chop coriander and red onion and mix with the cooked quinoa, lemon and pumpkin seeds.

3.       Place half the mixture on one end of one of the courgette ‘beds’ and roll the courgette strips up. Repeat with the other bed of courgette strips.

4.       Serve and Enjoy.