How to cut back on sugar – and still enjoy a sweet life

Looking to reduce sugar in your diet? Here are three places to start.

Before we get to that, just like any major change in your life, this will work best if it’s a transition. Start slowly, and in a few months, those sugar-induced cravings should be pretty much gone.

1. A good first step is to take a look at your breakfast menu.

If you’re a cereal-type of person (like my husband) – stop buying packaged cereal. Granola is loaded with sugar! And it’s really easy and quick to make your own. My favourite recipe is a nut-based granola that takes no time to prepare for weeks of breakfasts. Enjoy with a splash of kefir or vegan milk and some fresh fruit. Chia pudding or good old warm oats are also great options.

2. Next, your afternoon sweet craving.

Substitute your dairy-milk chocolate or BS energy bar with a few squares of high-quality dark chocolate (75%+ cocoa). The great thing about eating dark chocolate as a snack is that it has a rich flavour, is loaded with antioxidants and is very low in sugar, so it doesn’t leave you wanting to eat the whole block.

3. Store-bought kids' snacks are easy to replace.

It’s all about making healthy foods fun and tasty at home! One of our family’s favourite sweet snacks is homemade “nicecream”. All you need is fresh (or frozen) fruit, a tin of coconut cream and some ice-cream moulds. Ice-cream for breakfast – yes, please! Other healthy ‘natural sweet snacks’ that my kids love are fruit salad and protein balls. I also like baking sugar-free muffins or banana bread and homemade pancakes.

In your transition to a sugar-free lifestyle, you will learn how to use natural ingredients to sweeten your food. For example, I learnt how to bake with sweet potato and bananas.

When reducing your sugar intake, replacing sweet snacks with savoury ones also worked for us. Our family loves snacking on olives, pickles, nuts and homemade popcorn with nutritional yeast.

I’ve also found that involving my kids in preparing meals is a great experience. Spending time in the kitchen together is an opportunity to teach them about food, ingredients, flavours, how food grows and its effect on our bodies. That’s why I love creating short LiveliFood animations that teach the effect of food on our bodies. Get inspired to start your transition today!

Head to the Livelifood website to read more about how to transition away from sugar, watch educational animations and for healthy recipes that work for the whole family.

For more recipes, visit Livelifood Instagram and Facebook

Read the Flame's Q&A with Florencia Martinez here