Share your non-UPF, low sugar snack ideas?

[OctoRay]

Hello,

I've decided that this year I will make some big changes to my diet and give up sugar and UPF foods.

I've lost the baby weight (15kg 😲) and 3 meals and 2 snacks a day seems about right for maintaining my current weight. I'm a little stuck on snacks though and could do with some ideas. At the moment I have:

Nuts
Peanut butter or cheese on oatcakes or ryvita
Veg sticks and hummus
Boiled eggs
Greek yoghurt with a sprinkling of seeds

What else could I have? I think my snacks are a bit too nut-oriented some days, especially as I'm having porridge with chia seeds, mixed seeds and peanut butter for breakfast.

Actually while you're here, quick breakfast ideas would be good too!

I'm avoiding fruit at the moment.

Basically my aim is to keep my blood sugar as level as I can, while eating plenty of veg ☺️

Celery sticks with peanut butter on the inside- celery boats

Thanks so much everyone!

@Wibblywobblybobbly oh I love this! Edemame beans are great, but I've actually never thought to buy them. I've only had them in say fancy m&s salads.

@igivein I'll definitely try this next week too ☺️ thanks for sharing.

@spicemaiden do you have your cottage cheese with something else? I was eyeing up the cottage cheese in the shop the other day. I haven't had it since I was a child (and I recall being unimpressed), but maybe it's time to give it a go.

We get 100% nuts peanut butter. I'm thinking I might go on a bit of a mission to aldi to get a big tub (it's probably a 45min walk but DD loves a long pram nap).

Blitzed fruit is a no for me at the moment. Atually I'm avoiding fruit completely for now. I'm trying to keep my blood sugar more balanced and avoid crashes, which I tend to fix with more quick carbs/sugar. I also developed a horrible sugar addiction/sugar binge eating issue postpartum with DS. I got it under control for a while, but completely lost it again while I was pregnant with DD. I've done some reading about what too much sugar does to your body, which has really motivated me to change my habits. It'll be better for my self esteem, too.

Thanks @Meadowfinch we made bread in a bread machine during the week. DP likes to make sourdough loaves too ☺️ before I had kids I had an allotment, my favourite jam is rhubarb and ginger! Agree it's much nicer than shop bought, probably because of the quality of the fruit. That was when I could still eat sugar responsibly. Now if I have a little I want more and more...

@OctoRay

@DisplayPurposesOnly @TheCrowPeople that's interesting about olives. OK, olives are on the list. Would you get the kind in jars?

I will investigate kefir yoghurt too.

Chia pudding... perhaps it was because I made a really plain unsweetened version but I did find it a struggle. Much happier soaking my chia and then adding to porridge or overnight oats. Maybe if ought to revisit chia pudding but made with coconut milk and some spices. Or almond milk?

I suddenly remembered when DS was weaning I used to make him bean dips. Just some roasted root veg, usually carrots or butternut squash blitzed up with a tin of white beans (butter or borlotti), with some added olive oil to loosen it up. It freezes very well. Would be a change from hummus.

@Rockfordpeach DS as I made these cheese biscuits this afternoon, they were a big hit https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cheese-rosemary-biscuits we used dried rosemary.

Kale - let's investigate that too.

@lopyrs I am. Well, mainly just eating my greens/a big salad before any protein and carbs, and having protein/fat with any carby snacks. Still need to crack breakfast...what do you have? The first couple of days I was munching celery before my porridge but I gave that up quickly! The best breakfast we've had so far in terms of keeping me full was leftover dhal, wilted spinach and peas, avocado and an egg.

Apologies to anyone I've missed replying to, all the replies are appreciated thanks 👍

@OctoRay I don't eat breakfast. For years I said it was because if I ate breakfast I would be hungry mid morning and eat more, now I realise it's likely because I'd have something sweet like granola or a banana. So I should probably look at some savoury breakfasts, but tbh I'm just not hungry in the mornings so I suppose I see it as a good way of restricting calories (which probably makes me sound a bit obsessive about my food intake, I'm really not, it's just an easy win!)

Hi op

The only cottage cheese I'll eat over here is longley farm - all the others are horrid.

I love it plain, curried with a smidge of mango chutney, with blueberries or raspberries (pretty low in sugar and a staple fruit, 1 portion max/day) for wightlifters who are busy in a cutting phase)

Love it on dark German rye bread

It's also useful for boosting protein in all sorts of ways as it's easily bleneded and takes on the flavours of other things

I forgot to add - grilled halloumi as a snack - delicious

A banana

A satsuma

An apple

Some grapes

An avocado

A pear

Some plums

A peach

A nectarine

Half a small melon

Thars

@GuessingGownaGoGo nearly all of those have a lot of sugar

Sorry - just saw the avoiding fruit bit. Doh

@GuessingGownaGoGo I love fruit 😩 if I'm having fruit I eat it with some nuts to balance the spike.

Sorry 😟

Just the avocado off my list then

@lopyrs ahh I see. When I'm not breastfeeding I think I'll go back to fasting at least a few days a week. I'm not gaining weight at the moment, but I have an extra 500ish kcals to play with because of bf. My BMI is 20.5 which feels about right for me, so I think breakfast and healthy snacks are important for the time being. The problem with breakfast is it's always a bit chaotic in the morning, with bf a baby, getting us all dressed and out the door on time for DS nursery, porridge is ideal as it's 1 pan and doesn't need constant attention. And DS loves his. (He calls my porridge with the chia seeds stirred in "frog porn")

@GuessingGownaGoGo 😂 thank you though! I do love avocado.

@spicemaiden so I'm following an 8wk plan for giving up sugar. The plan does introduce fruit a few weeks in (I'm basically there) and suggests berries first. The idea is that when we were "wild humans", we'd only encounter a small amount of fructose, and that's what our bodies and brains are set up to deal with. I lke the rye bread suggestion 👍you're not German are you? I've come across curry cream cheese and iirc mango cream cheese in Germany - your suggestions reminded me. Curry cream cheese is lush.

@OctoRay oh absolutely, don't skip breakfast! Oh I miss those days of BF, I would have always had toast in those days. Maybe porridge too.

No, I'm British, but I lived abroad in various places over the years.

How so if it's pure peanut butter?

Peanuts and salt?

Peanuts salt and oil?

Peanuts, salt, oil and sugar?

Not a UPF at all in any of those combinations

I forgot about avocado feta salsa - truly lush

www.allrecipes.com/recipe/87678/avocado-feta-salsa/

And tuna mayo with half 5% Greek yogurt and half Home made mayo, finely chopped gherkins, pickled jalapeños and black pepper - have with wedges of cucumber or rough oatcakes.

Home made Staffordshire oatcakes (REALLG simple and freeze really well) with melted cheese and sliced tomatoes folded into a pancake and toasted on a non stick skillet

Some cheese twist are ufp free. Crosta and Mollica also do some ufp free savory snacks. I love their chilli crostini and my kids love the olive bread sticks.

Second the earlier suggestion of Longley cottage cheese with German Rye Bread, I get the LIDL one and toast it. You can also try Polish cottage cheese (twarog), you crumble it and mix with couple tablespoons greek yoghurt, chives, chopped radishes, salt, pepper, can add cucumber too - high protein and healthy.

Can I be cheeky and ask how you lost the baby weight? I'm BF my toddler and also have horrible sugar cravings/binges so interested to hear how you managed it!

Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce.

Roasted chickpeas.

Salted popcorn.

havent read all the posts, so I might be repeating suggestions;

Medjool dates filled with an almond/walnut
Tahini as a dip
Avocado with olive oil & balsamic vinegar with seeds on top

@Unpaidviewer tinned mackerel! That's ingenious. Another thing I haven't had for years. Another vote for roasted chickpeas too ☺️

Thanks for the recipes and ideas@spicemaiden I was just showing DP oatcakes. I think DS would approve too.

@Stardogchampion how often does your toddler feed? With DS I found that even when he was getting on for 2 and only feeding 1-2 times a day, I still had the same level of craving for sugar as when he was ebf. Not sure if it was just bad habits by then? I think the sugar habit is a hard one to break. Especially if you add in sleep deprivation and boredom.

To be honest, I've lost the weight quickly this time through being disciplined while also bf a chunky hungry newborn (well, ok... she's coming up for 5m now). I had porridge for breakfast, soup and toast for lunch, whatever the family dinner was, and no snacks. I did that for about 3 months and the weight came off buuuut I am lucky that I am slow to gain and fast to loose and always have been. I've had a few lapses, Christmas was hard. I ate DS's selection packs about 5 times, and had to keep buying new ones. I can't have any added sugar for now, as I can't stop if I do and I'll end up with diabetes. It's crazy!

@OctoRay oh that's interesting - I lost weight more easily while BF DS1, but with DS2 it's been much harder. He's almost 2 but still feeds a lot tbh and my appetite is humongous sometimes 🙈 and it's always sugary stuff I crave 😬

I know you’re avoiding fruit but most berries are low in carbs/ sugar - raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are all naturally low in sugar so shouldn’t make it spike. I tend to have them with Greek yoghurt and some pecans with a sprinkle of cinnamon if I’m craving something sweet.

" so I'm following an 8wk plan for giving up sugar. The plan does introduce fruit a few weeks in (I'm basically there) and suggests berries first. The idea is that when we were "wild humans", we'd only encounter a small amount of fructose, and that's what our bodies and brains are set up to deal with."

@OctoRay What's the 8 week plan that you are following?

It's from a book called I Quit Sugar For Life by an Australian writer called Sarah Wilson @ACuppaAlwaysHelps

I'm roughly following the plan... mainly it was an interesting read and has some recipes in it too. I'm also trying some "hacks" from the glucose goddess book too.

I found it easier to go cold turkey then I was expecting. My only 2 lapses have been in social situations where I don't know the people that well and didn't want to seem rude/weird.

Incidentally is there anyone on the thread who has cut UPF out of their kid's diets? How do you deal with social situations like softplay birthday parties? Or do you allow it as a treat/special occasion? How about playdates?

We went to DS's friend's for lunch the other day and there were orange juice cartons, freddo frogs, frubes...a lot of sugar for preschoolers. But it's hard to say no to DS when his buddies are having those things, and I don't want to seem rude when someone else is going to the effort of a playdate at their house.