My husband is slowly coming round to this diet, but giving up biscuits would be a big problem for him. He does realise they’re not exactly healthy, so is willing to try an alternative if I can come up with something.
Can you think of anything reasonably healthy which would be nice to nibble with a cup of tea? It needs to be either easily bought, or which I can make in batches and freeze or store. He’s not diabetic and doesn’t have any allergies.
It is going to be a change for him not to have the sweet treat. Does he like apples, pears, nuts or cheese?
I find that a tiny bit of preparation, such as slicing an apple into small attractive pieces, makes it seem more of a treat. That with a few nuts in a little dish, or a few slices of a tangy cheese that will go nicely with the apple, might satisfy the desire for sweetness and also be filling.
Once he gets more used to the change, it will be more natural for him to just grab an apple or some nuts as they will be more “normal” and more attractive if that makes sense, but while the change is settling in dressing things up a little can really help. It did for me.
Thanks, Hawks. I did suggest apples, but he says they don’t go with a cup of tea! Think he’ll say the same about cheese.
I had thought of making flapjack with chunky oats. If I inluded lots of nuts, that would ‘dilute’ the sugar a bit and make them very filling. Perhaps I could include seeds too?
Nairn’s oatcakes (the plain or cheese ones) are actually pretty tasty if you’re hungry. The ones with berries or stem ginger have a fair bit of sugar in, but if your hubby doesn’t have to watch his blood sugars they would be a little more healthy than ordinary biscuits due to the oat content.
It’s virtually impossible to wolf them down too, they’re very dense and satisfying!
My mum is borderline diabetic diet-controlled, and she can eat plain Nairn’s without spiking, she likes them with a glass of milk if she can’t sleep.
Thanks, jpscloud. They sound worth a try.
You’re welcome, if he wants to ditch sugary biscuits it’s worth working on to get used to the taste – they’re not sweet but biscuity enough to be nice with a hot drink.
How about just cutting back on the nice biscuits he enjoys having? How many would he normally have? If he has three, try just having one but really savouring it instead of it just disappearing in one mouthful (or is that just my husband?). There aren’t really too many alternatives that do the same job as the biscuit. But maybe if he can see the positive weight loss benefits from cutting back, he can be persuaded to go the whole hog. What really works for me is the volume of food I am allowed to eat. When I look at the one biscuit I could have and then look at the large bowl of yoghurt, fruit and nuts I could have for way less carbs, that is enough for me to choose the yoghurt over the biscuit every time. Or maybe you could ditch the cuppa; no cuppa means no need for biscuits.
Hmm, perhaps make a few “crackers” that are purely parmesan. (Have you seen those?You make them by grating parmesan onto a greased or paper lined tray, and baking just till it melts together, then cutting into little crackers while warm. The cheese sets into quite neat little crackers with no carb.) Then decorate the cracker with a couple of slices of apple on top. It’s a biscuit, it’s flavourful, and the apple isn’t apple as he pictures it, but a topping. Pear would work too.
As for it not going with the tea, I can’t comment, as I have never liked tea (or coffee), but tea has a bit of bitterness, which I guess the sweetness of the biscuit offsets, so maybe omitting the cuppa as suggested by Janet is a good idea! 😉
He might get more used to the idea of apple with the tea after having a little dressed up with a cracker or a bit of cheese rather than thinking of it as a whole apple.
Thanks, Janet.
He doesn’t need to lose weight, he’s just trying to eat more healthily and support me by not having bad stuff around to tempt me. The thinking of what else I could have instead is a technique I’ll try myself though, if I’m tempted when offered things like biscuits.
Hawks, not sure he’d like the parmesan crackers with tea, but they do sound nice and would be a good alternative to crisps and that kind of thing. We don’t eat those often, but sometimes get the urge. Will give these a go when I do.
Not a chance on giving up the tea! We both drink loads of it (no sugar) and would struggle to have enough fluid without it, unless we drank juice or squash which would be worse.
Hi Patsy
Take a look at the coconut mama website
They have loads of recipes for biscuits and cookies made from coconut flour.
Hawks. Thanks for reminding me about Parmesan crackers. I’d completely forgotten them!
Can anyone remind me of the recipe for gram flour flatbreads. I am sure I saw it on one of the forum threads but I can’t find it again.
It is in the recipe section but really all you have to do is mix the flour and a pinch of salt with enough water to make a pancake like batter.
Pour this into a frying pan on medium heat using olive or coconut oil for cooking.
Cook 3 or 4 minutes until golden brown, flip and repeat.
You can also add flavourings as you make the batter.
I added a tiny bit of butter when frying mine and they were really tasty.
Those are not even remotely low carb. If you’re not a spammer, you should know that it’s poor form to bump a three-year-old thread just to post a link to a commercial product.
Hey mumofcrazynamedkids, we haven’t seen you posting for awhile! How are you doing? What’s with posting a biscuit link?
How is your BSD journey going?
Hi unfortunately Nairn’s are my downfall, especially the ginger. Unfortunately these don’t appear to be any better ….. oh dear!