Category Archives: Sugar

How Much Sugar Is Okay?

I’ve given up most sugar over the years. Not all, mind you, but most. I just don’t have a sweet tooth anymore. I get the occasional craving for a doughnut or dessert or a soft-serve ice cream cone, but not very often.

I saw that the American Heart Association recommends that women get no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day. That’s around 6 teaspoons. Note, it’s ‘added’ sugar … not the natural sugar you get when you eat an apple or carrot.

Unfortunately, the average American woman eats about 18 teaspoons per day. Three times more than the recommendation. (I don’t know about men. I suspect it’s just as bad.)

There are easy ways to cut your sugar consumption — mix flavored yogurt with plain; mix sugared cereal with unsugared; dilute juice with sparkling water; when cooking, replace some of the sugar with spices like vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

It made me curious, though … how much sugar do I eat? It’s hidden everywhere … in spaghetti sauce, crackers, unsweetened cereal, yogurt. But I know that so I try to buy the low-or-non-sugar options. But still, I’ve never paid much attention.

Here’s what I found on a tour of my kitchen.

In the pantry —

oatmeal serving 1g

Grape Nuts serving 5g

Cheerios serving 1g

2T peanut butter 2g

1/2C Panko crumbs 2g

1T stir fry sauce 3g

2T enchilada sauce 2g

1T picante sauce 2g

1/2C no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce 6g

2T tomato paste 3g

1C vegetable broth 1g

1/2C baked beans 11g

2T wheat germ 1g

1/2C refried beans 1g

1/2C canned corn 7g

1/2C black beans 1g

8oz tomato juice 8g

In the refrigerator —

1/4C ricotta 3g

whole wheat pita 2g

6oz plain Greek yogurt 6g

5oz berry Greek yogurt 9g

2T Stubb’s BBQ sauce 4g

In the freezer —

1/2C fake crab 3g

soy burger 2g

9 frozen ravioli 1g

1C frozen cauliflower 2g

2/3C frozen green beans 2g

But I was happy to see there was no added sugar in my beloved sesame Ezekiel bread, unsweetened almond milk, black bean chips, Wasa crackers, and Nut Thins.

It’s astounding how fast it can add up. The sauces, especially. I don’t know about you, but I use waaaay more stir fry sauce, enchilada, and BBQ sauce than the labels say is one serving!

My challenge to you is to go tour your kitchen. How much hidden sugar do you find in the products you eat regularly? Then take a couple of days and jot down how much sugar you eat. Is there a way you could eat less sugar? Are there better products you could buy? Different ways of preparing your food? Let me know … I’m curious as to your results.

Do you read labels? What’s the most important thing to you on a food label?

Keep Eating Dark Chocolate

Six Painless Ways To Coexist With Halloween Candy

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I was never a big fan of Halloween as a kid. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the candy part. But creating a costume? And trudging around a frigid Colorado night? So. Much. Work! And I’m so very lazy.

I come from a big family so I always had a box of costume bits to use. Mom never bought costumes for us, but over the years we accumulated a box of stuff like a witches hat, or bunny ears, or a funny tie, or a scary mask. But my favorite costume was the ‘hobo.’ It consisted of my dad’s stinky fishing jacket with the gazillion pockets, his misshapen felt fishing hat, and, if I was really lucky, a bubble gum cigar.

This costume was perfection for it’s ease of use. All I had to do was be the first to dibs it, pull it off the hanger two minutes before trick-or-treating, swipe at my face with a bit of charcoal from the barbeque and I was good to go. Plus it was toasty warm. And if I got some spectacular confection like a full-size candy bar, I could hide it in one of the many pockets so my, ahem, mother (yes, I knew it was you!) wouldn’t steal it.

We didn’t have many rules about Halloween candy. In fact, I can only remember one: ‘don’t eat anything until you get home.’ I’m fairly certain that was because my, ahem, mother wanted to scope everything out. We’d dump it all in well-defined piles on the living room floor and then the negotiating began. Picture the floor of the NY Stock Exchange on Black Tuesday, with all the traders eight years old, crazed by their stockpile of forbidden delights.

I read about a mom who has this rule about holiday candy — “Your Halloween candy must last until Easter and your Easter candy must last until Halloween.” Blech. I’m sure the idea is that the kids don’t gorge themselves on candy, but I think what it would really do is just create the every day sugar habit for them. After a couple of months of eating a piece of candy every day — even the crappy ones like candy corn — I bet it becomes strictly mindless. Besides, gorging on candy is kind of a rite of passage, isn’t it? It’s certainly a life lesson parents don’t get to teach very often. If kids don’t learn it at Halloween, maybe they won’t learn it until the cops bring them home from their binge drinking escapade. Just sayin.

Binge drinking aside, there are some painless things you and your kids can do to stay healthy and happy when October 31st rolls around every year.

1. Feed them a real dinner before trick-or-treating so they’re not tempted to snack from their loot.

2. While you’re sorting through their haul, taking out anything that’s unwrapped or that they’re allergic to, take out the stuff that’s bad for their teeth, like sticky caramels or suckers that soak their teeth in a long, sugary bath. (I’d never wish food allergies on anyone, but I did appreciate my son’s peanut allergy around Halloween. Without even asking I’d get all the Snickers and Reeces, plus whatever else I could convince him had nuts. It was a sad day when he learned Skittles didn’t have peanuts.)

3. Make them share with the non-trick-or-treaters in the house. Then throw that away.

4. Let them choose 10 of their very favorite candies. They can choose to eat them all at once, or a piece every day, or however they want.

5. Have a ‘buy-back program.’ Give them a small piece of healthy dark chocolate for every piece of sugar-and-chemical bombs they throw away.

6. Only buy individually wrapped dark chocolate to give away. Keep it in the freezer until Halloween and if there are any leftovers, you can have them!

Halloween only comes once a year, but it does mark the beginning of the dreaded Eating Season. Start out right and teach your kids to coexist with candy and with Halloween.

Boo.

Do you (or did you) have rules about Halloween candy? What was your favorite candy as a kid? What is your favorite now?

Canned Corn Cunundrum

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So here’s yet another interesting thing I don’t understand about food ….

Regular canned corn has 340 mg of sodium and 6g of sugar.

No-salt-added canned corn (from the same company) has 15 mg of sodium (yay) but only 4g of sugar.

Why would lowering the salt also lower the sugar?

I’m flummoxed.

Any answers, peeps?

Low Cal, High Protein, Low Carb, High Fiber, Low Sugar Breakfasts

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Everyone seems to have their own idea of what constitutes “low” and “high” values within their diet. All the dietary guidelines vary based on a person’s weight, gender, health, and activity level. I’m about 140 pounds, in excellent health and I exercise at least thirty minutes almost every day.

I eat about 1800 calories per day divided between six small meals so I eat about 300 calories per meal. I’ve been told to shoot for about 90 grams of protein per day. Here’s a calculator you can play with to figure out your protein needs, if you want to do some math.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends a minimum intake of 130 grams of carbohydrate per day, so if you divide that by my six meals, you get an average of 21 grams of carb per meal.

Fiber is a specific type of carbohydrate that comes only from fruits, vegetables and grains. Soluble fiber controls blood sugar and may also lower cholesterol. Non-soluble fiber doesn’t appear to lower blood sugar or cholesterol but helps your bowels function, ahem, smoothly. According to the American Dietetic Association, adults need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber every day. Again, dividing by my six small meals, I should average about 6 grams/meal.

There is no daily requirement for sugar, but I read one of Jorge Cruse’s books where he says to try to stick to less than 15 grams of sugar per day. I don’t eat any refined sugar and most of my sugar comes from fruits and veggies, but I am consistently well over 15 grams every day. I don’t worry too much about it since it occurs naturally in my healthy food, but it is interesting to see which vegetables have sugar (onions and bell peppers, for instance). If you are concerned about sugar, watch out for yogurt. It has a ton. I’ve switched to Greek yogurt which has much less sugar.

Based on the above guidelines, the following breakfasts all fall into the low cal, high protein, low carb, high fiber, and low sugar parameters. Plus, they’re quick and easy. Enjoy!

• Spinach and Veggie Omelette

Sauté fresh spinach, onions, bell peppers, and/or celery in a teaspoon of olive oil. After the spinach is wilted, pour 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites, beaten, over it. Cover until it’s set then turn it when it’s cooked to your liking. Spread with 1T Wholly Guacamole and/or salsa. Also have 4-oz V8 juice

• BLT Wrap

Wash 2 or 3 large Romaine lettuce leaves. Spread with 1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese and 2T Wholly Guacamole. Roll up with 2 slices crispy microwave bacon and sliced tomato. You can also add sliced olives, onions, and/or bell peppers. Have 4-oz V8 juice, too.

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

In blender, combine 8 oz unsweetened chocolate almond milk, 1T cocoa powder, 1t vanilla, and 2T natural peanut butter (the kind with only peanuts and salt as ingredients). Also have 1 whole grain Wasa cracker spread with 1T peanut butter.

• Greek Yogurt Parfait

Top 4oz non-fat plain Greek yogurt with 1C sliced strawberries. (You can mix in 1 packet of stevia to the yogurt, if you like it a bit sweeter.) Sprinkle with 2T sunflower seeds, and 2T dark chocolate chips (at least 60% cacao), too.

• Ham and Egg Scramble

Chop 4 thin slices of deli ham and add it to 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites. Add some chopped onions and bell peppers and season as you like. Scramble it all together and cook until done in nonstick skillet sprayed with 0-calorie nonstick spray. Also have 4-oz V8 juice.

Click for more low calorie menus and be sure to check out the Lazy Low Cal Lifestyle Cookbook for more recipes!

Zevia Natural Diet Soda

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If you know me at all, you know I’m not a fan of soft drinks. You know, soda. Sodypop. Pop. Fizzy drink. Cool drinks. Gassed drinks. Carbonated drinks. Refrigerantes. Bebidas. Refrescos. (I loves me my Wikipedia!)

Anyway, generally not a fan because they’re laced with all kinds of hard-to-pronounce chemicals, but I’ve recently discovered Zevia Soda. The claims are as they always are … no calories, no effect on blood sugar, no nasty fake sugar, cleans your house and balances your checkbook.

This time I think it might be true. Except for that last part. But perhaps I didn’t buy the right flavor.

When I finally got my hands on one, I saw “erythritol” on the ingredient list which — big surprise — I was not familiar with so I did some checking around. This is what I found …

…. “Erythritol is usually made from plant sugars. Sugar is mixed with water and then fermented with a natural culture into erythritol. It is then filtered, allowed to crystallize, and then dried. The finished product is white granules or powder that resembles sugar.”

…. “It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols.”

…. “Persons suffering from irritable bowel syndrome or other digestive issues should avoid using products containing erythritol. It is possible erythritol can aggravate symptoms in these individuals or cause further problems.”

…. “Erythritol like other polyols is resistant to metabolism by oral bacteria which break down sugars and starches to produce acids which may lead to tooth enamel loss and cavities formation ….The usefulness of polyols, including erythritol, as alternatives to sugars and as part of a comprehensive program including proper dental hygiene has been recognized by the American Dental Association. The FDA has approved the use of a “does not promote tooth decay” health claim in labeling for sugar-free foods that contain erythritol or other polyols.”

So I think, based on everything I’ve read, that if you must have some sort of fizzy sweet beverage, this wouldn’t be a bad brand to use. In moderation, of course, which won’t be too difficult as a 6-pack can run you around $4. I found mine on sale for $2.50, though. So, no, in case you’re wondering, I’m not a paid spokesperson. (But I could be if someone would only ask! Hear that, Dr Zevia?!)

I was interested in finding a good diet soda for two reasons. One, because I know a lot of peeps are addicted to their fizzy drinks so I wanted to help find something better for them. And, two, I wanted to transform — slightly — my evening glass of wine habit. I have a dilemma because one glass of wine isn’t enough, but two is usually too much for me, but I need the benefits of resveratrol. Yeah. That’s it. Benefits. So I thought if I could extend one glass of wine into a larger wine cooler which would last longer, that would be awesome. And it is, kinda. But I have to open a whole can of Zevia, and that’s way more carbonation than I want.

So I still haven’t quite figured that part out, but it does seem that if you crave the occasional soda, this one probably won’t kill you.

Have you ever had Zevia? What do you think? What do you call sweet carbonated beverages? Got a solution to my wine dilemma?

Free Yourself From Sugar Slavery

Is Eating Fruit Bad Because It Has Sugar?

What’s It Called When You Have To Keep Learning Things Over And Over?

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I learned two things in the last couple of days. Scratch that. I RE-learned two things in the last couple of days.

1. When you don’t eat much sugar, you truly do lose your taste for it. This was evidenced by the fact I could only manage one bite of the cake my sister baked. Also evidenced, in retrospect, by my other sister proclaiming the chocolate oatmeal cookies I brought “needed more sugar.”

But she was wrong. They didn’t. She just needs less sugar. So there.

This has no bearing on my third sister’s ability to hypnotize me with her potato salad.

2. When you don’t lift weights for a week because you’re “too busy,” you lose massive amounts of strength and muscle tone.

I guess the question here is … “Why-oh-why must you keep learning this lesson, Becky??”

The answer? I dunno. It’s stupid. It takes me about 30 minutes to run through my strength training routine. I have 24 freakin’ hours in every single day. Ergo, I’m stupid for forgetting this over and over again. It never changes. It’s always true.

Bottom line … I’ll shun most sugar, but I’ll embrace my gym.

And just so the lesson sticks this time, I will continue to include generous amounts of Donna’s potato salad.

What lesson do you have to re-re-re-re-learn?

Give Up Sugar?! Preposterous!

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Not really. First, because you don’t have to give up sugar. You just need to reduuuuuuce your intake of refined sugar so it doesn’t own you.

Fruit is sweet. Dark chocolate is sweet. I’m sweet. You’re sweet. That tiny puppy? Truly sweet. But don’t eat him.

One thing I’ve found is that the less sugar I eat, the less sugar I crave. If you eat a lot of refined sugar, you may have a really rough few days when you go through withdrawal, but when it’s over, you won’t miss it. You also won’t miss the calories or the headaches or the overwhelming cravings.

Sugar is a stimulant that can make your emotions hair-trigger. When you reduce your consumption, you’ll also rein in your emotions. Maybe you’ll find you don’t have a problem with anger or impatience or weepiness or PMS or those horrible drivers on the road always yakking on their cell phones. Maybe you just had a problem with sugar.

I know you don’t believe me, but I want you to try. The lifetime of benefits outweighs a couple of days of discomfort.

What’s your relationship with sugar? Could you give most of it up? What sweet treat would you miss if you could never have it again?