Snack attacks and herbal tea advice please

mae

There are two things I would like to change and that is my sweet tooth and my coffee intake.

I have a sweet tooth and I would like to know what healthy treats I could have instead. My main down fall is when I am watching TV I spend every advert getting up for another snack. I don't need to diet (although I would like rid of my tyre round my middle) but for health reasons I would like to tone down the sugar intake.I do like fruit but I was thinking something more appealing as a treat??

Also coffee, I don't actually drink that much but it is not counted towards your daily water intake and my water intake is poor! So I would like to switch to tea but I don not like it so thought maybe herbal tea? But which one, I have tried some years ago and they weren't very pleasant IMO.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks

sexymouse

You could try rooibos (redbush tea) - it's naturally caffeine free, and if you get the vanilla or caramel ones from lidl, you don't need to add sugar either as they are sweet. (79p for 25 bags)

soappie

Trail mix is good and not sugary - but beware of the salt.
Dried fruit like apricots or strips of mango are tasty and naturally sweet.
Green tea without milk or sugar is quite palatable and supposed to be good for you.

But, have you thought that getting up for a snack at every ad break is now a 'behaviour' you've conditioned yourself to do because you don't like the ads?

What I do in the ad breaks is see how much housework I can get through. e.g. after dinner, I'll leave the washing up/cleaning up until the ad breaks then see how much I can do during them.

I've found I can load the crockery and cutlery into the dishwasher and fill the bowl to put the saucepans (which I won't put in the magic cupboard) in to soak. Next ad break, I'll wash the saucepans and sometimes have time to wipe down one top. Next ad break, it's dry the saucepans, wipe down the hob etc. etc.

It makes the dinner clearing up seem much less tedious because you're doing it in bits rather than all in one go and it's diverting your brain from thinking snack!

Oh well, it works for me!

Mrs_A_4

I'm doing WW and I have realised how snacks can make your Points add up like crazy. A good trick I'm using lots at the mo is to buy grapes, pick them off the twig thing (!dunno the technical term!) give them a rinse then bag them in small portions and put in the freezer. The small runty looking grapes are actually best for this. After perhaps three hours, they are mostly frozen and taste amazing, like frozen sweets. Plus you have to eat them slowly. Try it if you think it sounds weird or too much like normal fruit!

heavenleigh

Hi Mae,

Im not a great tea drinker, but i do really enjoy 'normal' tea without milk and a slice of fresh lemon in it.

It is really refreshing and cheaper than buying herbal teas but i suppose without the benefits!

Leigh xx

potsofmoney_(I_wish)

Hi there,
I have always had a sweet tooth and I recently have just cut out sugary stuff and substituted it for savoury tasting things. It's taken a while and a lot of discipline but I've "retrained" my taste buds to like savoury tastes more than sweet stuff. Snack wise I eat olives as they are not too bad, bread sticks, raw veg and unsalted nuts. I do drink lots of herbal teas as they do curb your appetite particular peppermint tea. Camomile is quite bitter but as someone else mentioned realredbush tea is lovely.

I also drink 2 glasses of water every morning before I have a cup of tea as I do go through days where all I drink is cups of tea. Good luck and I hope this helps a bit.