Obese Britain 2015.pdf

After school swaps
We all know the kids are hungry
after a long day at school. But try
swapping sugary biscuits, sweets,
pastries and chocolate for snacks
with less sugar such as fruit, plain
unsalted nuts, plain rice cakes,
teacakes or toast. These will keep
them going until dinner (plus, you
won’t get nagged for more food
every five minutes!).
• Once you’ve written your
shopping list, why not get your
child/kids to help you find snacks
in the supermarket that are
lower in sugar? Tell them to look
for colour-coded front of pack
nutrition labels that have more
green on them than red. You
could even make a game of it!
• Before you pick up your kids
from school, take a few moments
and put together some healthier
snacks (such as chopped up fruit,
veggie sticks, plain rice cakes,
plain unsalted nuts and carrot
sticks) to take with you. Then if
sweets and cakes tempt them,
you’ve got a handy alternative to
offer!
• Try not to use sugary snacks,
sweets and chocolate as
rewards. Try other rewards such
as stickers, trips to the park or a
visit to a friends.
• Of course, cutting out sugary
snacks is great, but it doesn’t
have to be a total ban. Once
you are on your way to giving
healthier snacks, you could let
your kids pick a favourite sweet
snack once a week.
Drink swaps
When kids get thirsty, very often,
we give them fizzy drinks or
sugary squash and juices. But
around a quarter of the added
sugar in kids’ diets comes from
sugary drinks!
• You could start your swaps
by buying smaller sizes and
swapping some of usually sugary
drinks to sugar free or no added
sugar drinks.
• Instead of sugary, fizzy drinks,
why not try lower-fat milks for a
change? Fresh and ice-cold from
the fridge, not only does it taste
great, it’s a source of calcium,
which helps keep our bones and
teeth strong too.
• When kids want a fizzy drink,
try sparkling water poured over
lots of ice and served with a
wedge of lime or lemon. Add a
couple of straws and it should go
down refreshingly well!
• For a super weekend treat, why
not blend a banana with some
ice cubes and cold semi-skimmed
milk, then sprinkle the top with
cinnamon – scrummy!
how to Cut calories
when cooking:
• A great way to cut down on
your oil intake is to use olive oil
sprays when cooking. Frylight
oil sprays are available in
all major supermarkets. RRP
£2.20.
• Blend low-fat cottage cheese
with skim milk to replace one
cup of whipping cream. Cook
it this way and save: 632
calories.
Healthier pud swaps
A simple pudding swap can be
really tasty and filling, as well as
healthier. Switch from things like
sugary puddings to more refreshing
ones like fruit, which also count
toward your 5 a day.
• Cutting down on sugar doesn’t
mean no more puds! Apple and
blackberry crumble is easy to
make without much sugar. Serve
with a dollop of low-fat, lower
sugar yoghurt sprinkled with
cinnamon and enjoy!
• If you fancy ice cream, choose
low-fat, lower sugar yoghurt
instead. There are some
very tasty fruit options in the
supermarket.
• Manuka honey is a great sugar
substitute with great health
benefits. Add it to your tea or
coffee, spread it on your toast,
add it to your yoghurt! Manuka
honey from Comvita £21.99
(250ml) available at Boots and
Holland and Barratt.
• The difference in calories
between whole eggs and egg
whites is asotunding. You can
make most dishes using only the
whites. You’ll need to use twice
as many, but you’ll save calories!
Photograph: iStock
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