It’s that time of year when you’re either finished or fed-up with Christmas snacks, and the prospect of another mince pie or brandy snap sends you running for the fruit bowl. Yes, it’s January, the month when we promise we’re going to swap the sweeties for sugar-free snacks! Why not make 2016 the year you stick to your good intentions, by simply reducing your intake of naughty foods, and replacing them with oaty snacks and healthy oat recipes instead?
We’ve put together 3 realistic New Year’s Resolutions that you can follow along with us at Nairn’s, and take up healthy living with oatcakes. Even if you only manage one resolution, it’ll really make a difference to your lifestyle!
Swap the Chocolate Bar for the Chocolate (Oat) Biscuit
If you’re used to reaching for a chocolate bar to have with your afternoon cuppa, why not consider swapping it out for some of our Dark Chocolate Chip Oat Biscuits? You’ll still get the deliciousness of a chocolaty snack, but at 40% less sugar than most sweet biscuits, it’ll definitely not be as guilty a treat!
Changing just one snack a day really has the potential to get you started on a healthier lifestyle, with very little effort required!
Leave Behind the Sugary Breakfast
There’s a reason everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day: it’s the first intake of energy you’ll have during the day, and it’s got a lot to do to get your brain concentrating on work, school, or even simply the rigors of daily life. Indulging yourself with a sugary breakfast cereal or simple carbohydrates like white toast not only encourage a mid-morning slump, they’ll leave you feeling hungrier earlier as your body burns through the small supply of energy provided by these foods.
Having a breakfast primarily made up of slow-release energy foods – including oats – provides you with enough energy to last until lunchtime, plus, you’ll get started on your daily requirement of vitamins and minerals, leading to a healthier lifestyle overall. Why not try topping oatcakes with banana and honey for a tasty, energising breakfast that’s sure to keep you going.
Eat Less Simple, and More Complex Carbohydrates
It’s time to embrace the oaty revolution and reduce your intake of simple carbohydrates. As we mentioned above, these foods – especially those enriched with sugar, like white bread – simply don’t give you enough energy to get through the day without resorting to (often unhealthy) snacking regularly.
Without getting too in-depth, oats are a low GI food. This means that they’re digested very slowly, so it takes our bodies a long time to break down their carbohydrates into the glucose we use for energy, keeping our energy levels even throughout the day and avoiding the dips offered by quickly-digested, sugary foods.
Whether this means you reach for the oatcakes as an accompaniment to your soup, or have porridge for breakfast, you should look at cutting down on the foods that make you feel hungry half an hour after you’ve eaten. You’ll definitely feel the difference!
To find out all the ways in which you can enjoy oatcakes throughout the day, take a look at our oat recipes section – there’s plenty recipes there that’ll mean you never miss a piece of toast!
