15 Top Sugar Swap Tips

We know you are strong and you have learned to arm yourself with some powerful sugar

swaps to use at home, out at an event or dinner and while traveling. Let’s review 15 of my simplest sugar swap tips to remember during your hotel stays, family visits, office parties and at home:

1. Resist the Obvious – Sodas, candy, chips and baked goods unless you know the baker or can read the ingredients
2. Taste the Coffee / Tea – Let’s be real, do you really taste the coffee / tea? Between the dairy creamers and the sugar, you know it is just a easy choice to go for the non-sweetened nut, and coconut milks and follow the low glucose options listed below in #5.
3. Breakfast Cereal – One of the worst offenders is breaking down at the start of your day with sugared granola's, oatmeal and breakfast cereals. Make the effort to use pure rolled oats or unsweetened instant oatmeal mix and ask if this is a option where ever you go.
4. Hydrate with Water – Enjoy drinking your 8 glasses of water a day by sweetening it with lemons, cucumbers, watermelon, mint or grapefruit. When you keep water simple and delicious you will drink more.
5. Sweeten Naturally – If you must, bring your own natural popular low-calorie sweeteners with you, like: Stevia; Xylitol, Erythritol, Yacon syrup. At home, since it might be awkward to carry these in your backpack or purse, stock up on the “less bad” sugars like, real maple syrup, molasses, and honey but use sparingly.
6. Fresh Fruit – Most hotels, restaurants offer the ability to dive into some fresh fruit. Take advantage of it and serve it to your guests as well.
7. Naked Proteins – Choose a naked burger and leave the bun behind.
8. Celebrate Raw – Nuts and seeds are great to carry with you on the road and are great to add to any meal or salad.
9. Create the Perfect Parfait – Don’t be temped to conveniently grab those prepackaged granola-filled yogurts. They are the worst sugar offenders and you might as well drink a Coke. If you are home, make your own parfait. The perfect one would include, Oikos Triple Zero (Greek brand yogurt), plain coconut or almond yogurts.
10. Cut the Cheese – Learn to treat any meal with cheese like desert choice, so manage your intake. Cheese will break down in your blood into sugar. So why overload your body when you are not at the least getting the sweet rush. So, if you have cheese on your eggs in the morning, skip the cheese on your salad for lunch. At dinner, substitute the cheese with some extra rich avocado (guacamole) with some green chile on your taco or burrito. Still hooked on Pizza, request a veggie slice without the cheese!
11. Give Up the Snickers – Although it is more and more difficult to find a healthier protein or granola bar, take responsibility for your own health and get use to reading the ingredients on the package. If you need a snack between meals, buy a box for the road that is a better snack for energy. Do not get fooled into an energy bar that will convert into sugar knowing it will only contribute to false energy and adds the bad fat to your system and will throw off your balance.
12. Stop Screaming for Ice Cream – Find and enjoy the many natural, low-sugar frozen treats by making your own fruit blended Popsicle and enjoy the better choices like the Greek yogurt pops available at most food stores.
13. Get your Veggies – Okay, fruit smoothies’ still seem to pacify your desire to make a good choice, but in reality have high sugar content to diminish what appeared to be a healthy choice into a sugar drink. If you reach for a smoothie on the road or make one at home, use one-part low sugar fruit (i.e. berries, melon, kiwi as opposed to Mango, Cherries, pineapple and papaya) with two parts vegetable.
14. Trail Mix – STOP BUYING the trail mix at the convenient stores. Make your own before you leave town with a healthy mixture of unsalted and raw nuts (i.e. almonds, walnuts, pecans) and add some coconut flakes with some Goji berries.
15. Skip the Alcohol – If you find you enjoy an alcoholic drink on special occasions or after a hard day of work, keep it to 1 glass, and choose a dry Wine instead of those sugary mixed drinks.