I have two beautiful boys, with lots of energy and boundless joy. My one son was having some difficulties with behaviors, I suspected some food allergies, so we had him tested and now we are a gluten free household.
Obviously, with me being a Sugar Mama and conducting 7 day sugar cleanses with my clients, we are now a family that is gluten and sugar free. This journey of finding alternative foods for the usual social event, birthday party, holiday gathering, school outing, can be a challenging endeavor.
I assure you with a little bit of food planning and healthy conversations with your children, this all can be accomplished.
Below are some tips to help support you to De-Sugar your Kid’s Diet:
1. Eat in Balance:
Every time you eat make sure you have a protein, fat and complex carbohydrate. Carbs in my book are veggies and no more then 2-3 servings of fruit a day. An example of a balanced snack might be;
Almond butter, 1/2 apple
Organic goat cheese, blueberries and 1 slice of nitrate free turkey.
Hummus and veggies sticks and a chicken drum stick
When you eat in balance you will control your blood sugar levels and insulin. This will control cravings, mood swings, improve behaviors and brain productivity for better learning.
2. Eat Breakfast in Balance and Ditch the Sugary Cereal:
When it comes to sugar, breakfast cereals are a key offender, with two thirds of the top 100 classed as “high sugar”. Understand that 4 grams of carbohydrates equals 1 teaspoon sugar.
Alternatively swap your cereal for protein in the morning. Fantastic Breakfast ideas are:
A. Eggs, sweet potato sauteed in coconut oil, spinach sauteed in coconut oil.
B. Green smoothie – kale, blueberries, banana, organic yogurt and hemp seeds.
C. Gluten free oatmeal, sliced almonds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, berries or sliced apples with coconut milk with vanilla and stevia to taste.
3. Become a Label Detective:
Adding the white sugar to our foods isn’t the only way to have sugar in our diet. Most of the sugar we consume is in pre-packaged foods (including deli meats, condiments, yogurts, bread, crackers), which means the only way to know is to read the labels.
Be aware of the many names of sugar. Some are: maltodextrin, corn sweetener, corn syrup, cane juice, dextrin, any words ending in “ose”, any words ending in “tol” which is a sugar alcohol. Stevia would be an acceptable sweetener without raising your blood sugar levels.
4. Hydrate the Natural Way:
From vitamin water to fizzy drinks, fancy syrup sweetened lattes and sugar-laced cocktails, beverages are as guilty as they come for sneaking in sugar, with numerous studies linking sugar-sweetened beverages to obesity.
Beware of beverages that say they are sugar free. They may have substituted artificial sweeteners that will disrupt our hormones and cause damage to our cells. Many of these drinks with artificial sweeteners will trigger cravings even though they don’t have calories.
Healthy drink options are: Pure filtered water, coconut water, herbal teas, sparkling water, cultured whey water, kombucha.
I will put a gallon of water in a glass container with a spout and fill it with cucumbers, berries, sliced apples and fresh herbs such as mint, ginger etc. This is a refreshing way to enjoy beverages.
5. Commit to Loving Upgrades for your favorite foods.
Incorporate the above items for a week and notice the changes in your body, mood and energy. You will be amazed at how your children will respond better. It’s not about eliminating or avoiding but by crowding out the foods that don’t serve you and adding in the foods that do serve and love you. You will find that your children will want the higher nutrient dense foods.
Conduct a pantry purge by donating the items in your cupboard that don’t serve you. If you need more help in this area, hire a Health Coach to do the purging for you and support you in choosing healthy replacements.