Top Tips to go Low GI

In these unsettling times it’s more important than ever to boost our health and happiness as best we can. Eating a low GI diet is guaranteed to keep your energy levels up and can have positive effects on your mood too. Here’s how to stay healthy at home.

Want to check in on your eating habits at home and make them healthier? Here are some simple things you can do, and an easy introduction to eating a low GI diet.

1. Go grainy:Instead of buying bakery foods made primarily with white flour (e.g. white bread, crumpets), choose grainy breads (where you can actually see the grains), authentic sourdoughs or stoneground wholemeal options.
2. Get a good start: Replace highly processed breakfast cereals with natural muesli, traditional porridge oats or cereals (look out for the GI Symbol)
3. Love legumes!Dried and canned beans, lentils & chickpeas are all low GI and nutrient rich along with providing good levels of protein and fibre. Include legumes in your meals two or three times a week, or more often if you are a vegetarian. You can add them to salads, casseroles or bolognaise. Make a quick and easy dip using canned beans and eat with crunchy vegetables.
4. Swap those spuds: If you’re a big potato eater and can’t bear the thought of giving them up, you don’t have to – just switch to a lower GI potato such as Carismapotato or sweet potatoes. Another option when making potato mash is to replace half the potato with cannellini beans, or swap to other lower GI options like sweet potato.
5. It’s all about combinations: You don’t need to completely cut out high GI options – the trick is to combine them with low GI options to achieve a moderate GI and GL. Additionally, certain acids help to lower the GI of certain foods. Try vinegars on salads, yoghurt with cereal and lemon juice on vegetables.
6. Smart Snacking: When it comes to snacking, go for fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts and yoghurt. Avoid refined flour products like cookies, crackers and biscuits.
7. Quantity control: Watch the amount and type of rice you eat at home. Jasmine and Calrose varieties are high in GI. Better choices are Sunrice® Low GI Rice, Golden Health™Rice and Basmati; they have a lower GI and higher portion of the starch amylose that takes longer to break down helping to manage your blood glucose levels.
8. Dairy good: Most dairy products including milk and yoghurt are low GI and an important source of protein and calcium. For alternative dairy products select calcium enriched soy milks rather than higher GI Rice milks.
9. Wonderful Water: Make water your first choice. Avoid sugary drinks and drink no more than one to two glasses of alcohol a day.