Diet

Introduction

I am now largely sugar (carb), gluten and dairy free. OMG, and fun free, I hear you cry! Well, its not much fun getting to this state but the benefits are enormous. And once there, you can start to tailor your diet. I rarely eat sweets but am a complete fruit junkie now. But you can’t keep me off the ice cream!

The interesting fact is that being sugar free means, in the main, I don’t have hot flushes. But occasionally I will get them. And the cause can be because:

• I’m hungry but the hunger pang hasn’t hit yet – insulin is out of whack
• I’ve eaten something with sugar in (but generally, I know what that is and I’m expecting it)

In February 2020, my sister-in-law said she was on a keto diet. As much meat as she liked but very little carb. My partner is a a meat junkie, so he felt he could tackle this.

They had a “Biggest Loser” weight competition at his work and he beat them hands down by about 5 stone. Me, not so much, but then I have lipodma to contend with too. But I feel healthier and more energy, so I know it works.

There is good and bad fat. Go for the good fat in yoghurt, eggs, avocados. And avoid processed food which has the bad fat and high sugar/salt content.

When changing your diet, take one substitute at a time.

I would stress we aren’t the biggest lover of cooking, and we earn a good wage between us. I am very aware that some of our suggestions may be out of people’s price brackets, especially with the current cost of living issues.

But hopefully what follows will sporn ideas that you can substitute.

Our substitutions

• Rice: cauliflower rice. If you have the time and patience, grate it or blitz it. But its messy. We buy the pre-frozen stuff.
• Pasta: Napoleon gluten free pasta. We don’t eat much as it was carb heavy, but this brand appears to be fairly carb light, with 0% sugar carbs. Best of all, it doesn’t go gloopy like the cheap stuff. Lots of Italians are struggling with gluten intolerances now, so you may find other, cheaper gluten-free alternatives.
• Potatoes: We moved to sweet potato first and then to butternut which is 0% sugar carb. In big chunks it makes great roast potatoes. Cut it in half and lay on a baking tray and bake, you can string it out with a fork for “spaghetti”, or scoop it out as mash.
• Milk: We use Oatly milk (for smoothies) (and on the odd occasion we have cereal). Coconut milk is lovely in coffee. There is also almond, soya (yuck!), pea, cashew milks. You’ll have to do the taste test like us.
• Tea: I don’t drink much tea, so I moved to liquorice and mint herbal tea. The food advisor suggested it as a replacement for pudding. Nice thought. But…
• Yoghurt: Greek yoghurt has no sugar, but is high in dairy and carbs. Eventually we settled on Coconut collective. Dairy free and tastes fab.
• Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apricots. If it tastes sweet and yummy (grapes, peaches) then avoid it.
• Bread – Genius gluten free is fine toasted. As is rye bread. Not we have yet to found a bread that we can eat that isn’t toasted. Though corn bread is less gluten rich than most. But of course all these are high in carb, so you need to reduce your bread intake generally.
• Nuts: Pecans and walnuts are good nuts. Pecans especially are great as a small snack before bed. They are slow release so keep the hot flushes at bay during the night, so help you sleep