With Halloween just around the corner the supermarket shelves are dominated by our fat orange friends who’s popularity soars this month -yes you guessed it…… it’s the trusty old pumpkin.

But beware as these brightly coloured vegetables are loaded with a high GI count, quickly boosting blood sugar levels that will not be maintained.

So save the pumpkin for your jack o’ lantern and munch on pumkin seeds mixed with other dried nuts and fruit instead.

Often when you feel hungry you may actually be confusing hunger with thirst.

If you feel like this be sure to regularly rehydrate and you may be surprised that your phantom hunger pangs disappear.

Of course, it may simply be that you are hungry so be sure to have low gi snacks (nuts, oatcakes, oat and nut based cereal bars, fruit) to hand.

The latest item to move it’s way to the top of my shopping list is this tasty treat from Sainsbury’s. Moroccan style houmous mmmm mmmm!! It really rich, full of delectable flavours and get be enjoyed as a snack with celery, peppers or carrots or it makes a great pitta or tortilla filling for something more substantial.

I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to whisk something like this up yourself so I’m going to dig around for recipes – watch this space……

If you have a recipe you’d like to share please leave in comments below or email contactlowgi@gmail.com

Everyone, even those of us following a low GI diet experiences the munchies at some point or another. My top snack attacking food is oatcakes as they’re convenient to carry and can be eaten with savoury or sweet toppings to help satisfy any snack time craving.

More low GI snack attack foods.

Let me know what your favourite snack is in the comments below:

Most people talk about how important it is to remain active to maintain a healthly lifestyle, however the importance of rest and sleep is often overlooked.

Sleep helps muscle recovery and growth, rejuvenates the immune, skeletal and nervous systems so it’s critical you get enough!

To ensure you get your quota of zzzzz’s follow these top tips:

1. Consider sleep as part of your ‘well being’ routine.
2. Maintain a low “sleep debt” by obtaining a sufficient amount of nightly sleep (seven to eight hours for adults, nine or more hours for teens and young adults)
3.Try to go to bed and wake up at similar times each day. Avoid extensive weekend fluctuations.
4. If you’re feeling drowsy (and have the luxury!) try to take a brief nap during the day.
5. Try not to ‘oversleep’ as this will make you feel lethargic.

I find my ‘natural’ sleep pattern is lights out 10.30pm and I usually wake up baturally about 6.30am- 7.00am.

Do you have a ‘natural’ sleep pattern? Let me know in the comments below.

I mentioned in my last blog posting that the ‘share-pack’ sized bag of Maltesers had led to the complete destruction of my will power on Friday night. So to recreate the balance I went for a really good run on Saturday morning, though I could really tell that my diet hadn’t been the best as I struggled on what is usually one of the easier routes I take.

Food is fuel for the body. With this is mind I re-fuelled after my run with a decent bowl of oat based museli with almonds, fresh blueberries and a splash of soya milk……. mmmm!!

Great start to the day, which diet wise ended terribly but fun wise ended fanstastically!

A dinner party at a close friends consisted of olives and crisps to nibble on whilst we sipped on champagne before the starter of toasted garlic ciabatta with parma ham and tomatoes was served. This tasty tantaliser was then followed by a main of home-made lasagne, bucket loads of wine and then to really top of the sugar rush I guzzled (not just oitone but two) pieces of treacle pecan pie. Thank goodness for the pecans I thought (as if that would really help reduce the gi of count of the rest of this delightful Italian feast. Hey ho I thought as my wine glass was topped (again!)

More drinking games meant more wine which meant that Sunday morning’s brekkie of porridge and fresh berries was quickly demoted by the prospect of a crispy bacon sandwich to ease the aching head and churning stomach!

So do you know what I did, after I’d savoured every last mouthful of that salty bacon bun. I pulled my packed lunch box out and made a bean sald feast ready for Monday’s lunch at work just to ensure that I didn’t let my fuel go haywire for a third day.

The point of this blog post is that if you don’t have control over what your meal consists off (i.e when at a dinner party) you can still have fun and enjoy yourself as long as you have a little trick to get you back on the straight and narrow soon after.

As with everything in life the GI diet is all about a healthy balance and sometimes it’s healthy to be naughty!

What are your top tips to put you back on the straight and narrow? Share them in the comments sections below.

………..well it certainly does when it comes to following a healthy diet. Oh how I wish I’d remembered this old adage on Friday night.

All day long I’d had a craving for some Maltesers and after a hectic work at week and with a quiet night ahead I thought I would treat myself to a packet. I am a true believer in listening to what your body says (within reason) when it comes to food and my body was saying ‘Maltesers. Now.’ Loud and clear!

After a thorough check of the sweet shelves there were no Maltesers to be seen. The helpful assistant pointed me to the end of the aisle where the big ‘share-packs’ were displayed. That was the smallest bag they had. For a moment my will power spoke sense to me, telling me to just leave them as once I’d eaten my dinner the craving would subside. However my naughty self took over and I purchased the share-pack thinking that I’d only have a few and my boyfriend would be sure to eat more than me anyway, so it would be ok. Homeward bound.

The Mexican chicken dish with kidney beans and natural yogurt certainly didn’t leave my palette unsatisfied, yet for some reason I was compelled to open the Maltesers as we sat down to watch the film. Even the fact that I couldn’t hear the start of the film for my relentless crunching on the chocolaty honeycomb treats didn’t stop me. The share-pack was empty and I’d failed to share any!

Now had I just gone to another shop and bought the standard size packet my craving would’ve been satisfied and I wouldn’t have greedily guzzled 4 times the portion that I did. Empty calorie central.

I was so disappointed in myself, so my tip to you all is that if you know your will power level is at a low be sure to only buy / serve a portion size that you need – not a portion size for greed.

Do you have any top tips to help with portion control? Share them in the comments box below.

Working lunches and / or lunch at work can often be a rushed affair. You dash out of the office to grab a quick sandwich whilst gobbling it down at your desk as you reply to emails and add the finishing touches to the report that was due to go out an hour ago.

So the last thing you need to think about when adjusting to a new healthier lifestyle is the GI count of your lunch choice.

In the early days of following the low GI diet I’d recommend taking a packed lunch with you to work, this way you can use ingredients you know are low gi and you know you enjoy. It will also help with keep your bank balance healthy too!! By making packed lunches you will become even more familiar with what constitutes as a good GI meal and in time your choices will be second nature.

However, for many busy working people a packed lunch is not always a viable option and lunch from the local Deli is what is on the menu so here are some basic tips to help you make a decision when time isn’t on your side:
1. Sandwiches – choose a seeded or mixed cereal roll. Alternatively opt for a pita or wrap…..just steer clear of the white stodgy!

2. If opting for a meat filling, choose the freshest and leanest option

3. Avoid sloppy mayonnaise based fillings

4. Opt for a chunky hummus if on offer

5. Salads – cram pack your lunch box with mixed beans

6. Jacket Pots – keep it simple with baked beans, or for something a bit livelier choose chilli (providing it has kidney beans in)

7. Sweet treats – if you really need one choose a cereal bar packed full of nuts and seeds or a chunky fruit yoghurt should help curb the craving

Today, I was in a lunchtime rush as I had five things to tick of my to-do list all of which were spread across town so I popped into the local Prêt to get a pot of their scrumptious Bean Cassoulet – only to find it had been replaced by Carrot and Coriander.

Panic struck of all the soups in the world it had to be GI unfriendly……anyway as I scoured the shelves for an equally tasty and equally healthy alternative I cast my beady eye over a ‘Chunky Hummus Tortilla Wrap’ – result!! I glanced at the nutritional info and it also seemed to be one of the options which is low in saturated fat and calories which was a bonus.

It was delicious and filling. So 10/10 to Prêt – I’ll certainly revisit for a low gi lunch next time my own lunch box doesn’t tickle my fancy.

superfood rhubarb

Unlike the gi rule where mushing food is not as good, cooking this fruit helps increase the concentration of these helpful chemicals. So you have the perfect excuse to indulge in a crumble – remember to use oats for the topping to help reduce the gi count of this hearty pud!!

Whey protein is a dietary supplement designed most often used after exercise to help with muscle recovery and muscle tone.

It’s often used by bodybuilders to help them build muscle mass.

I’m not 100% sure whether whey itself is classed as a low gi food in itself but as there are added sugar and sweetners it’s unlikely. However, if it is mixed with skimmed milk this would help reduce the gi count. You could also add peanut butter to it for extra substance. Although this is probably not a good option if you’re trying to lose weight!

There are arguments for and against mixing whey protein shakes with milk or with water. If you mix it with water it’s absorbed into your blood stream much quicker.