After my son’s accident with a piece of birthday candy, and a few cavities I had to evaluate our situation. Yes we eat healthy, and I always aim to pump them full of greens, sneak in sea moss and use alternative grains–but what about the refined sugar I just put in the oatmeal? After some deep reflection, I realize that we were indulging quite a bit. I used to justify it in my mind with “well, you ate all of your lunch”, and the oh-so-popular “it’s a birthday/pool party/ barbecue/ holiday…etc”. Well, these last few months I’ve put the smack down on this sweet demon lurking in my cabinets with these replacements/strategies:
Maple Syrup:
This goes on top of our waffles, pancakes and walnut butter toasts and into all of our hot cereals. Maple contains iron, calcium and magnesium. I finally let my Auntie Jemima retire, she’s worked too hard, too long for too little.
Agave Syrup:
A teaspoon or two goes in my coffee, tea, cocktails and some recipes. The beauty of this one to me is that the taste is similar to regular sugar, but with a much better glycemic index, so no worries about spikes in blood sugar and rapid rises in insulin. Frequent ups and downs in blood sugar can lead to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, weight gain, raised blood lipids, and even mess with blood pressure.
Dates & Brown Bananas:
Brown bananas mash up and transform into a nutritional sweetener so perfect, only mother nature herself could make. I use them in baking, and my tropical smoothies. Dates are super-duper sweet, and also full of vitamins, minerals and fiber which helps with constipation. Basically, better than plain old sugar which is bringing nothing to the table. They even have potassium (more than bananas) which is perfect for growing pains in children. When I make smoothies, sometimes I still make one with a juice to get the flavor of that fruit, especially if the other fruits aren’t very ripe, but those smoothies are few and far between now (the last one was for a birthday). If it’s not sweet enough for them, offer them water and they’ll change they’re mind real quick.
STOP BUYING JUICE BOXES:
It’s in the house, therefore parent approved, and they don’t understand the over-indulging concept yet. I’m telling you, to cut off a toddler with the “you’ve had enough” line, only works in public service announcements. Juice boxes and sugary snacks are in abundance at child gatherings and birthday parties, so there really isn’t a need to keep a stock at home, just wait till next Saturday (I’m sure that it’s someone’s birthday). This also helps your wallet plump up.
DIY or Nothing:
This one is really eye opening. When you bake something yourself and see how much sugar is in that recipe, you: 1-realize how much sugar is in a recipe; 2-can control and change how much you put in. We still have cookies and quick breads and jams, but in moderation, and with a change in the recipe.
These changes have been a challenge, but a welcomed one (like planking for longer than 15 seconds) because of the results. At first, my oldest demanded his juice boxes, or chocolate milk. Now, he understands that if he wants juice, he better grab some fruit and request a squeeze session, and has learned how to make his own hot cocoa. He appreciates dates in his smoothie and has a problem when they don’t turn out green (where are the leaves? he asks), or doo-doo brown (yes I just said that). Another plus is that they have a new appreciation for water and love cleaning their kidneys. Another new attempt is my recently purchased dehydrator I am trying out to make our own fruit snacks. That hasn’t been too successful ( I should have done a DIY disaster on that one), but I refuse to give up and will simply go back to the drawing board.
Sugar is not evil, it’s delicious and in moderation not deadly, at least according to me. Refined sugar however, has been so processed it’s nutritional value is null and void, so what is the point of putting nothingness in my body on a regular basis? Since it’s everywhere, I feel the responsibility to cut it where and when I can. I don’t want to raise a new generation of addicts. Sugar is just as addicting as any other illegal drug or controlled substance and just as harmful in excess, but it’s legal, tastes good and available to children. It’s in ketchup, bread, cheeses, everything processed and packaged, and of course in candy.
We can not escape it, but we can control it, one treat at a time.
Now if you catch me out at a café, yes you will see me put a packet of azúcar in my cup (I haven’t seen agave in the cafeterías here and will not use the white chemical substitute), but just remember that I am a recovering addict, trying to live with this in moderation. Plus I’m happy to be out, dressed, in public, and using a cup that I don’t have to clean 🙂
This is such a great post. I use [turbinado] sugar in my tea almost daily but I might switch it up with honey or agave every now and then. And dates sound like a great alternative for cake and bread recipes. Thank you!
Thank u for reading Kelley! I’ve done some baking experiments with the dates, once one comes up really good, I’ll be sure to post the recipe 🙂
Cool! Thank you
Aww, I love this post!
Now your little man knows the real deal from the concentrate and at an early age too! Well done babe!
thank u Dana! i’m reading this while I’m fussin and cussin in my kitchen making almond butter (ugh) thanks for making me smile. Today, my son actually requested to make a grocery run for apples so we could make green apple juice! So that and this comment really made my day, thanks Miss Dana 😉