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Health Concepts Siobhan Swart / Nutritional Therapist
Helping you improve blood sugar, weight & metabolic health through practical low-carb nutrition and lifestyle changes.

16/10/2026

Busy day ahead and it’s cold out? Put a chicken in the slow cooker and get on with your day.

Protein ✔️ Veg ✔️ Healthy fat ✔️. A proper, nourishing dinner with hardly any effort or time.

And it’s easy to adapt: rice for the kids, a bed of cabbage for me to keep it lower carb. Same pot, two different options..

It doesn’t have to be gourmet every night. Real basic food is enough.

What’s your go-to dinner on a busy day? 👇

15/10/2026

Cravings. Energy crashes. Weight that won’t budge. And blaming yourself for all of it? ❤️

It was never a lack of willpower. Very often, it comes down to blood sugar and metabolic health, and that’s something you can learn to work with.

I’m Siobhan, a nutritional therapist, and I’ve been teaching people about nutrition for over 20 years. When we work together, here’s what you’ll get:

- A plan built around you, your body and your life, not a copy-and-paste one
- An understanding of how food affects your blood sugar, energy and metabolism, so cravings quieten, energy steadies and the changes stick
- Your own rules, not mine (mine? Warm water before my coffee)
- Support that suits you, whether that’s one consult or regular check-ins

My goal is for you to be in control and not need me forever.

If that’s what you’ve been looking for, I’m just a message away on 087 709 1869

14/10/2026

Struggling to lose fat around your middle, despite trying to eat well?

There can be several reasons for this, including hormonal changes, sleep, stress and changes in body composition.

One worth understanding is insulin resistance. Insulin helps your body move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells. When those cells become less responsive, your body may compensate by producing more insulin.

And what many people don’t realise is your blood sugar on testing can still be normal while your body is working really hard to keep it that way.

The good news is that insulin sensitivity can often be improved by building muscle, regular movement, especially after meals, getting good quality sleep and of course, building meals around protein, fibre-rich vegetables and whole foods.

You don’t need to wait for a diabetes diagnosis to start supporting your metabolic health.

It’s not just about what you weigh. It’s about what’s happening inside your body. ❤️

11/10/2026

Healthy eating shouldn’t feel like a punishment!

One of the biggest problems with restrictive diets is that we can only keep them up for so long before we start craving everything we’ve told ourselves we can’t have. And then comes the guilt, the frustration and the feeling that we’ve failed.

But what if we approached food differently?

Building most of our meals around protein, fibre and whole foods that support our blood sugar, energy and appetite. And yes, that includes snacks too! It’s about finding ways to enjoy the foods we love without constantly riding that blood sugar rollercoaster.

Because food freedom isn’t about eating whatever you want all the time. It’s about finding a balance that supports your health without constantly feeling restricted.

I’ve always loved the saying, “The best exercise is the one you’ll actually do.”

Well, I believe the same applies to food.

The best way of eating is one you can enjoy, sustain and actually live with for life.

And these peanut butter cookies are a perfect example!

Made without refined flour or added sugar, they’re a lovely way to enjoy something sweet while keeping things lower-carb.

Want the recipe? Comment COOKIE below and I’ll send it to you! ❤️

08/10/2026

Hungry again by 10am, even though you’ve had breakfast? 🤔

Maybe it’s worth looking at what you’re actually eating in terms of nutrients.

This was my breakfast this morning and it literally took me 4 minutes to make!

3 eggs
100g spinach
1 heaped tablespoon of hummus

And eating that gave my body - 24g protein – supporting muscle and helping me stay satisfied. 4g fibre – supporting gut health. Healthy fats – helping with satiety and nutrient absorption. Vitamins and minerals including vitamin K, folate, B12, choline, magnesium and iron.

All of those benefits for around 290 calories!

The point isn’t to eat as few calories as possible. It is to make those calories count.

And this is why I always encourage my clients to keep simple, healthy ingredients in the fridge. You don’t need hours to prepare a nourishing meal.

Next time you’re making breakfast, ask yourself: Where’s my protein? Where’s my fibre? And is this actually going to keep me satisfied?

Small changes like this can make a real difference to your appetite, energy and metabolic health.

Don’t just eat to fill your stomach. Think about the quality of the fuel you are giving your body. ❤️

06/10/2026

You don’t need to have diabetes to have a blood sugar problem.

Long before diabetes develops, your body may start giving you clues — energy crashes, strong cravings, getting hungry again soon after eating, or finding it harder to lose fat around the middle.

And sometimes those cravings aren’t about a lack of willpower at all.

They may simply be telling you that your last meal didn’t give your body what it needed to keep you satisfied and your blood sugar steady. That’s why I think it’s so important to understand blood sugar and insulin early. You don’t have to wait until something is “wrong” or until you have a diagnosis before you start supporting your metabolic health.

The aim isn’t to fear food or carbohydrates. It’s to understand how your body responds, improve insulin sensitivity and make choices that help you feel better now — while also supporting your long-term health.

Small changes made early can change everything. ❤️

02/10/2026

If you’re trying to do the right things but still feel like your body isn’t responding, you’re in the right place.

Through Health Concepts, I share simple, practical ways to help you better understand your body, improve your health, support your weight and feel better overall.

No extremes and no perfection. Just better understanding and realistic changes that actually work in real life.

Understand your body before trying to control it. ❤️

23/09/2026

What does around 40g of protein actually look like?

If you’re trying to increase your protein, it helps to actually see what that looks like on a plate.
Because sometimes the foods we think of as “protein foods” don’t give us nearly as much protein as we imagine.

I’ve recently increased my own target from around 30g per meal to closer to 40g because I’m actively strength training and want to build more muscle.

So this morning I plated a few examples.
Plate 1: 100g smoked salmon + around 160g cottage cheese = roughly 40g protein
Plate 2: Around 100g cooked chicken + 80g cottage cheese = roughly 40g protein.

Then there’s the breakfast I hear quite often:
“I have protein for breakfast — I have yoghurt and berries.”
And yes, yoghurt does contain protein.
But this particular yoghurt contains 3.2g protein per 100g.
So 200g gives me just 6.4g of protein.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with yoghurt and berries.

But if your goal is to get somewhere around 30–40g of protein at a meal, that breakfast on its own probably isn’t going to get you there. Adding 2-3 eggs on the side is a good idea.

And this is why I think learning to read labels and understand your food is so useful.
You don’t need to weigh and measure forever. Just do it long enough to learn what an adequate portion looks like, and then it becomes much easier to judge.

Especially in midlife, when maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important, don’t just ask:
“Does this meal contain protein?”
Ask:
“Am I actually getting enough?”

Then build the rest of your plate around it. ❤️

18/09/2026

Friday Thoughts with Apollo

For weeks, Apollo had one absolutely disgusting habit on our walks… if there was dog poo anywhere nearby, he would find it before I spotted it and eat it!!! 🤢 So disgusting, it was hard to keep my own food down.

We even changed his food to make sure he wasn’t missing something nutritionally, but… he still kept doing it. With the result of his own poo being soft and messy and stinky!!!

Then this past week, he just stopped. Just like that he simply stopped eating the crap. 🙏🏼

And now everything is so much better. Just like that...

Now, how often we do exactly the same thing.

We eat foods that leave us bloated, sluggish, uncomfortable, craving more or feeling aweful afterwards… and then we go back and eat them again.

If you are tired of feeling bloated, uncomfortable or unhappy in your body, maybe it is time to stop feeding it the things that keep creating the problem and start giving it more of what helps you feel strong, energised and comfortable again.

Your body is always giving you feedback. The question is whether you are listening.

Are you like Apollo, and ready to stop eating the crap? 🤔

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