Watch This Video Before You Do Anything Else...

The Secret Superpower In These Replacements

As well as giving your hand something to reach for when you crave sweetness, quite a few of these foods have a secret superpower.

It is healthy fat.

The greatest lie the diet and fitness industry has been peddling for decades is the one about fat being evil.

The truth is that not all fats were created equal.

In the video below, I explain the difference between the two.

PS The best food in the world IMHO is anything that contains both protein AND healthy fat. (Protein is filling and has a calming effect on the mind.) In these recipes, that is the ground almonds - or indeed most nuts.

Getting the nutrients and hormone messages to your cells is a powerful way to reduce sugar cravings, because often sugar gets used as the nearest substitute for decent nutrition, genuine cognitive focus, emotional regulation and natural energy.

This affects some people's feeling of wellbeing more than others. Why? I am not sure. All I know is that for many people who suffer sugar induced mood crashes, healthy fat (as well as protein) - especially when eaten in the first half of the day - can make a difference within days.

Sources of Healthy Fat

In these recipes: Nuts (ground almonds), coconut oil and coconut milk, olive oil.

Ask Mr Google to tell you other sources of healthy fat.

The Recipes

Chocolate Ice Cream Bites

AKA Bliss Balls

This was given to me as a recipe for Bliss Balls, to be chilled. As you can see from the video below, I freeze these because that taste reminds me of ice cream and is more chocolatey melting in my mouth. So try both versions.

Below the 2 recipe videos is a video of me describing what happened when I tested this out on my kids, and there is a useful discussion about The Replacement Kick. Enjoy!

Smoothie (Chocolate Or Not)

Ingredients

1 litre of milk (part replace with plain yoghurt if you like)

3-4 bananas

4 pears (if you don't use pears then double the bananas)

Optional - a punnet of strawberries

Half a cup of ground almonds

Half a cup of protein powder (If you are just using almonds, double the quantity)

Optional: half a cup of cocoa if you want a chocolate smoothie

Optional: Half to a whole can of coconut milk and/or yoghurt

Optional food flavouring eg orange or strawberry

Method

Stew the pears in the milk, heating them but do not boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until soft.

Place in a blender with all the other ingredients and blend til smooth.

IMPORTANT: You need to experiment with quantities and proportions to find the right taste for YOU. Treat this recipe as a starting point for your own perfect smoothie.

Freezes brilliantly. I usually make 2 litres on the weekend and freeze in the beakers then every night take one out to defrost for my breakfast next day.

Ever since caveman times, we have been wired to love the mixture of fat and sugar. For sugar addicts, this is usually a disaster, but sugar replacement #4 allows you to satisfy the fat/sugar need without paying the price in mood crashes and health problems.

Place a small amount of fruit in a bowl, and sprinkle almonds on top. I prefer toasted almonds as it really creates a beautiful contrast with the softness of fruit. (You can toast almonds by placing them under a grill, or dry frying them - but do not try to multitask at the same time, or you’ll have some charred blackened remains on your hands! Keep the heat lower than usual).

Pour on yoghurt, or if you prefer, coconut milk. Coconut milk is one of those things you either love or hate. I personally love it, because since I've given up dairy, is the nearest thing I can get to cream (and if you put it in the fridge, after a couple of days it tends to thicken up to the consistency of double cream - yum yum!). My coaching clients are split on this one.

The other reason I love coconut milk is that it is a good fat. Good fats are vital nutrients and actually help you lose weight. Because your body is getting good quality fuel, it doesn’t cry out for extra in the form of hunger. Google good fats to learn more on this.

NB Not everyone is a fan of coconut milk, nutritionally speaking. Concerns have been raised about it, especially about the cans that some brands are packaged in. I cannot comment on this (I am not an expert), but if you google ‘coconut milk’ you can make your own mind up.