As a reminder, I have a few standards I try to stick to:
- Eat real foods as often as possible
- Focus on unprocessed or less processed foods
- Not falling for low fat, low calories, healthy food claims, etc
- No strict restriction
- Doing what I can, as often as I can
- Enjoying life while trying to make better choices!
You will NEVER be perfect and if you are even close to it, you probably don’t get to enjoy a social life or time with family and friends. Let yourself indulge occasionally and not feel guilty or you will fail. That brings me to today’s entry. I do eat sweets. I would live a sad life if I didn’t.
I do try to make sweets at my house if I want something and always try to buy the best ingredients, so I feel better about it. There are some things however I can’t make. Being pregnant I was finding I wanted ice cream or frozen yogurt a lot. Well, I don’t have an ice cream maker (although would love one!), so I tried to make the best choices with a store bought variety and I found some with only 6 ingredients. I can now keep some in the freezer so I can have a couple of spoonfuls after dinner instead of sending my husband out to buy me something huge and full of junk. I am doing what I can right now....
Today, I hope to teach you some changes you can make in your home so you can do what you can too. Again, remember this is a journey so I don’t expect you to have changed everything in your house based on what we started talking about at the beginning of the year. Figure out what is the most important topic to you to focus on and make a plan for continuing to make small changes.
Sweeteners and chocolate are more recent changes I have made in our kitchen. I hadn’t spent as much time learning about these topics as I had others, because frankly I found it overwhelming. We can all feel overwhelmed at some point right?!
What I do know is the bottom line is sugar is sugar, no matter what form! That means we need to keep in mind not abusing it and it is a substance we should consider moderating. There are serious health concerns associated with excessive sugar consumption.
The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugars a day and 9 teaspoons for men. Sadly, most consume significantly more than that.
Sugar is found naturally in many foods, for example dairy, fruit, veggies and even some grains. Being in healthcare and having some understanding of science there are some things to consider regarding all the different ‘ose’ ingredients (glucose, fructose, etc) as far as glycemic index, insulin and such. I won’t get that deep today. My goal is always to give you the 101! You can’t and shouldn’t avoid naturally occurring sugars. You should however focus on the added sugars. Added sugars are found in many drinks and processed foods.
It is important to note the sugar content on the nutritional label contains both natural and added sugars. To know if the sugar in the product is natural or added, you must read the ingredient label (are you seeing the trend in these posts?). The added sugars are listed on the ingredient list and are disguised as many things. Its kind of crazy actually!
- agave nectar
- barley malt
- beet sugar
- brown rice syrup
- brown sugar
- cane crystals
- cane sugar (pure cane sugar)
- carmel
- coconut sugar
- corn sweetener
- corn syrup
- crystalline fructose
- date sugar
- dextrose
- evaporated cane juice
- fructose
- fruit juice concentrates
- galactose
- glucose
- granulated sugar
- high fructose corn syrup
- honey
- invert sugar
- lactose
- maltose
- malt syrup
- maple syrup
- molasses
- muscovado
- palm sugar
- raw sugar
- rice bran syrup
- sucanat
- sucrose
- sugar
- syrup
- table sugar
- turbinado
**I am pretty sure this is still not conclusive**
Keep in mind ingredients are listed by quantity, so if any of the above are listed towards the beginning that means there is a lot of sugar in that food. Companies even get tricky and use multiple different types of sugar in a product, so they can separate them on the ingredient list and list them further down making it look like there is less. When tracking your added sugar intake, keep in mind 4 grams of sugar equals 1 tsp.
So what about sugar substitutes? I know some people can’t avoid sugar substitutes for medical reasons (ie Diabetes). I use to be an avid user of splenda. Since I have learned and changed my philosophy to focusing on REAL foods, those made in labs, including sugar substitutes are no longer something I want to partake in. I also find it concerning that some substitutes are released to the market and then years later end up with some pretty scary health claims. For example, aspartame and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are two that come to mind. What is next?
Some sweeteners such as agave and stevia have claims of being natural. From what I have learned that is true to an extent, but most of what is sold in typical stores is processed. Some even compare agave to HFCS, which is a bit scary. While they may be more natural, as compared to some artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame and sucralose), they are still highly processed. A lot of sweeteners are also processed with maltodextrin, which if you remember from a few weeks ago is a corn derivative and likely a GMO.
So what do I use? I prefer to just stick to those things natural and that have been around for many, many years! I use raw honey and maple syrup the most. It is important to note, some honey is processed and stripped of nutrients, so make sure to look for the raw kind. Depending on the manufacture, it can look different (a lighter color) than other honeys. I promise it tastes the same! For the maple syrup, make sure to look for 100% maple syrup, not those pancake syrup jugs! These will both be a bit more expensive, but should last a while if you aren’t using sugar all the time. I do occasionally use organic white cane sugar when baking and even less often, but occasionally organic brown sugar when I have a recipe that I want a great crumbly toppings. I am also beginning to learn about turbinado, muscovado and sucanat as a more unprocessed sugar crystal. So far what I have read is it is a bit misleading when they say it is ‘raw’, but can be a less processed than other varieties. Also, it is not a super fine crystal so might work better if substituting for brown sugar - not so much white sugar. Verdict is still out for me.
Additional Better Bonus Tips:
- I have to say it, but drink less / no pop!
- If you want juice, mix some water with it. This is important for kids also. Or better yet, get a juicer and make your own. (This is also on my to do list for the future)
- If you like tea, get unsweetened and add your own sweetener (ie honey).
- Make your own baked goods.
- Read packaged food labels, include condiments, cereals, etc.
- Try weaning yourself by cutting your added sugar down by half (for example to your coffee in the morning - check out my homemade creamer below). You might be surprised you are okay with less sugar!
- Play around with different extracts instead of sugars.
So now, onto chocolate. Just a few things to say here. I have had some questions about cacao which I have recently posted as an ingredient I use instead of conventional chocolate. Cacao is basically a unprocessed / raw variety of chocolate. Cacao comes in a powder and nibs, which are basically just little pieces, and tends to mimic dark chocolate - meaning it is a bit more bitter. You can get chips, similar to traditional chocolate chips, which I have only found in a mixture, a percentage of cacao and the rest conventional chocolate. When a percentage of cacao is used with conventional chocolate they are basically trying to obtain a sweeter chocolate flavor, more similar to milk chocolate. Whole Foods has some in their bulk bins which also cuts down on cost. Keep in mind if you are wanting true cacao, you need to read the label and that should be the only thing listed - 100% cacao. Also, don’t be confused by another chocolate you might see at the health food store, carob. While cacao and cocoa come from the same bean, carob is a different bean. I don’t know much about it and have not used it myself, but from what I have learned it is not necessarily known for its unprocessed characteristics, instead is simply just a different variety often with a roasted flavor.
A plug for a better processed chocolate: UNREAL. I posted on this on the Cooking For A Better Tomorrow Facebook Page last fall around Halloween. This is a company that was started up by a young boy who was convinced he could enjoy chocolate bars and candies without a bunch of junk in them. Their products contain no corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, GMOs, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The sugar content is reduced by over 40% per serving on average. Key ingredients are responsibly sourced, supporting farming communities and preventing destruction of the rain forests and when dairy is used it comes from pasture raised cows with no antibiotics or added hormones. They compare their products to Snickers, Reese's, M&Ms, Peanut M&Ms and Milky Way. Additionally, the price is not outrageous (about $1 or less). I can find them at CVS and Target and can buy them in a bag of mini bars or the regular size.
Okay, so one more idea to share with you. Yes, I know it is summer but some yummy hot chocolate around the campfire on a chilly evening sounds pretty good still. The weather hasn’t gotten too hot around here yet. If you think I am crazy, save this for winter! Here is my easy ‘recipe’. You might have seen me post it on the Cooking For A Better Tomorrow Facebook Page last winter on a snow day. Glad those days are behind us!
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
Milk, 1 - 1 1/4 c milk
Chocolate powder (I use cacao powder), 1 T
Maple syrup, 1 tsp
Warm milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Add chocolate powder and maple syrup. Warm another 45 seconds.
Much better than what you find listed on the back of prepackaged hot chocolate packets!
)
Here are some additional recipes I have shared in the past using sweeteners and / or chocolate:
I’ll be back next week with a simple sweet chocolate treat!
Also, if you are looking for additional resources, let me know, I have many websites saved.
Don’t forget, "the bottom line is that while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something."
-Robyn O’Brien
~Ashley
Great post Ashley! Very informative.
ReplyDelete