How to Go Low-Carb in One (Delicious) Day

From the sweet stuff in your low-calorie yogurt to the countless secret spoons in your “healthy” cereal, the modern diet is packed with sugar bombs.

These useless carbohydrates put you on a blood sugar roller coaster, only to leave you hungry again and craving more junk a few short hours later.

Amazingly, the odd spoon of granulated sugar in a coffee or sprinkled on a homemade cake is the least of our worries.

The real problem lurks inside the processed foods most commonly found on the family dining table. In fact, the average Irish person consumes 30 teaspoons of sugar every day. If you find that hard to believe, consider this: many leading brand pasta sauces contain four teaspoons of sugar in just half a cup of sauce; that’s at least eight spoons of sugar on your plate before you even consider the pasta.

Low-fat salad dressings are another offender: they’re frequently loaded with sugar in order to maintain the flavour when manufacturers cut the fat (make your own and store in jars). Even that “healthy” multi-grain cereal you’ve been scoffing can contain up to two teaspoons per cup.

So what can we do about it?

The recommended sugar limit for women is six teaspoons per day, totaling 100 calories. To achieve this, you need to make some serious adjustments to your diet and wean yourself off it. The good news is that doing this is easy when you get the hang of it and the benefits can be felt almost immediately. There are only two steps:

Step one: The review

Keep a food diary for three days, writing down every piece of food that passes your lips. After three days, review the list and highlight empty carbohydrates such as white bread, potato products, biscuits and sweets, rice and cereal. These are the areas that need work.

Step two: The swap

Because many white carbs cause a spike in your blood sugar, replacing them with proteins and good fats will keep your blood sugar stable for longer, meaning that cravings gradually disappear.

Here are some easy swaps to make:

BREAKFAST

Before: Muesli (up to eight spoons of sugar per serving) and coffee with one spoon of sugar

After: Two eggs, one slice of grilled bacon or smoked salmon, some avocado and a coffee with one Canderel, stevia or other sugar substitute.

LUNCH
Before: Two slices of whole wheat bread (up to two spoons of sugar) with cheese and ham, one diet yoghurt (up to five spoons of sugar per pot)

After: Salad with chopped salmon, chicken, ham or beef, tomatoes, diced red onion, quinoa, feta cheese and black olives, sprinkled with lemon juice. Serve with a tablespoon of your favourite dressing.

DINNER

Before: Spaghetti Bolognaise with sauce from a jar (up to six spoons of sugar per serving)

After: Lean minced beef fried with chopped onion, garlic, broccoli florets, sliced red pepper, add one diced courgette and 500g of passata and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

SNACKS

Green or black olives

Sliced cucumber with Ranch dip and Cloud Bread

Eggs and asparagus spears

Almonds

Half an avocado with a squeeze of lemon

String cheese

Cottage cheese and raspberrie

Celery stuffed with peanut butter

REQUIRED READING

This simple Cauliflower Mash by Sarah Wilson (I Quit Sugar) is the perfect no starch alternative to potatoes. Make two batches and keep one in the fridge.

Ingredients