Wk15 Spring Nourish and Thrive Meal Plan

Let’s talk about your Nourish & Thrive Meal Plan’s optional snacks — do you make them, or skip them?

Be honest — do any of these sound familiar?
🍫 You buy “a few” store-bought treats — chocolate, gummies, or something that just looks too good to leave behind.
🥨 You come home ravenous and reach for crackers or chips.
🥴 You open the fridge or stare into the pantry, wondering “Am I hungry? What do I feel like?”

If you nodded yes to any of these, then I definitely recommend making your optional snacks.

Here’s why 👉these snacks are healthy, balanced, and made with whole ingredients. Yes, some include a little sugar — but that’s not the enemy. It’s hidden sugars and emulsifiers in packaged foods that quietly work against your gut health.

It may surprise you to know that most people consume a high-sugar diet without even realising it — not from sweets, but from “seemingly healthy” packaged foods. These often contain hidden sugars and additives shown to negatively affect the intestinal barrier and contribute to inflammation and metabolic issues.

Let’s look at a simple day of ‘healthy eating’…
🥣 Breakfast – a bowl of granola* with milk
🥗 Lunch – salad with store-bought dressing*
🍛 Dinner – stir-fry using curry paste*
(*store-bought versions)

That innocent day adds up to around 12 teaspoons of sugar — roughly 60g! That’s over 10% of your daily calorie intake just from added sugars. In industrialised countries, the average person’s sugar intake sits closer to 40% of total calories.

So, here’s the real question… if sugar was a currency, how would you want to spend it?

Personally, I’d rather see, taste, and enjoy my sugar — in a homemade bliss ball, a fruity slice, or a beautiful treat made with whole, nourishing ingredients. Not hidden away in sauces, dressings, and “health” snacks that offer nothing back to my body.

And you can feel good knowing that of the recipes in your Sweets ‘n’ Treats Recipe Book, 57% contain no added sugar, and the rest average less than 5% of your daily sugar intake.

You could go out and buy a “low sugar” or “no sugar” snack, sure — but here’s the catch. To get that sweetness, colour, and texture, they often add…
🧪 Non-nutritive sweeteners
🌻 Vegetable oils
🥄 Flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, stabilisers, and preservatives

All those “non-food” ingredients that do nothing good for your gut microbiome or your health. In fact, research shows that…

“Dietary emulsifiers contribute to intestinal inflammation and may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and inflammatory bowel diseases.”

So this week, make the snack. You’ll know exactly what’s in it, and your gut will thank you… and if you don’t eat it, that’s fine — just pop it in the freezer and you’ll have a ‘back-up’ snack for friends and family (and ‘YOU’ too if the desire hits)

With (gut) love, Nat 💚

P.S. What’s your favourite go-to treat or snack from your plan so far? Post a photo or share in the Gut Health Circle — I’d love to see what you’re enjoying! 🌿

Download your Meal Plan HERE