Sugar Swaps

We believe that reducing your intake of refined sugar can make a big improvement on your health. The Telegraph asked us for our top five sugar swaps and here’s what we suggested.

1. Instead of processed ready made peanut butter, which always contains hidden sugars and preservatives, give making your own nut butter a go. A light creamy nut is good for this, cashews or almonds work well. Soak overnight in water then drain and add 2 x tbsp rapeseed oil per 200g nuts and blitz either in a nutribullet or powerful food processor until smooth or crunchy, however you fancy. You can add a little Malden salt too. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

2. There are lots of hidden salts and sugars in processed cereals so go for a plain muesli or porridge and add fruit or honey to sweeten. Get creative with your toppings, we like banana with a spoonful of nut butter and a sprinkling of seeds for added crunch.

3. Spices can enhance the natural sweetness in food. Add cinnamon to apples or pears and roast, mix with yogurt and add to cereals for a naturally sweet flavour.

4. I always stew down leftover fruit to make compotes and add a dash of honey to sweeten. The compote should last 5 days in the fridge and adds a good sweet kick to breakfast or pudding. Give this Apple & Raspberry Compote a go, delicious on top of banana bread with Coyo.

5. Go with cacao. Mixing cacao powder with coconut oil creates a refined sugar-free chocolate sauce. I always need a chocolate hit and this is the perfect healthy option. I like to mix the melted cacao and coconut with oats and roast for 10 minutes to make a chocolatey cereal. Or add to warmed rice milk for a sugar refined sugar-free alternative to hot chocolate. Our friend Henriette Inman shared her recipe for her delicious dairy and refined sugar-free Velvet Chocolate Pots here.