10 Surprising Sugar Sources
Yogurt
The solution: “If a yogurt is flavored with real fruit, it has a nutrition advantage due to the vitamins and phytonutrients present in the fruit,” noted Halas-Liang. “So the best bet is to buy plain yogurt and sweeten it with fruit.” Buying frozen fruit and heating it will make it taste even sweeter.
Ketchup
The solution: Start with portion control. But that’s easier said than done. If you’re at home, Halas-Liang suggests mixing it, behind the scenes, with up to a half-and-half ratio of marinara sauce (but be sure to check the label on that, first, too).
Pasta sauce
The solution: It’s a bit more time consuming than reading labels, but the healthiest answer is to whip up a quick and easy batch of homemade tomato sauce. You can make a lot at once and freeze some for later. “Parents get overwhelmed by the idea of homemade,” Halas-Liang said. “But even if you just pick one thing to make once a week, it can make a big difference.”
Instant flavored oatmeal
The solution: For the healthiest version, stick to plain rolled oats, which cook really quickly, even on a stovetop. Top with chopped fruit, nuts and some heated coconut milk, Halas-Liang suggested.
Breakfast cereal
Nut butter
The solution: Read labels. Don’t buy the ones with more than one ingredient (the nuts).
Jam and jelly
The solution: Stick to jams that are 100-percent fruit sweetened.
Salad dressing
The solution: Stick to vinegar and oil.
Milks
The solution: Choose those labeled “unsweetened.” For a naturally sweet treat, blend that with dates and some unsweetened cocoa — preferably on a weekend, when you’re less harried, and when doing so can become a fun project for all of you.
Sports drinks
The solution: Stick to water or coconut water — or get a bit more creative. “Cut up cantaloupe topped with a tiny bit of salt,” Halas-Liang said, has similar rehydration abilities, plus healthy phytochemicals.
It’s probably pretty clear by now that, when it comes to kids and nutrition, sugar is the enemy — one of them, at least. But what can be murky is where to find it lurking. Avoiding the obvious like candy, cakes, cookies, and sodas is seriously well and good, but what about that plate of saucy pasta you served for dinner last night? Or the yogurt drink you happily doled out at snack time? Sneaky sugars are everywhere, which might help explain how the average American kid consumes more than 20 teaspoons of sugar (or 80 grams) in a single day — five times the recommended daily allowance. And while we’re not suggesting you drive yourself batty trying to snuff out every single drop, the amount you may be unwittingly serving your kids is certainly something worth watching — especially considering that the stuff has been linked to a litany of health woes including obesity, compromised immunity, type 2 diabetes, hyperactivity, tooth decay, allergies, and digestive problems. “The problem is that it really adds up,” Melissa Halas-Liang, pediatric nutritionist and founder of SuperKidsNutrition.com, an organization that provides nutrition workshops and resources to parents and schools throughout the nation, tells Yahoo Parenting. So here are 10 sneaky sugar sources to be mindful of.
Related: 10 Natural Alternatives to Sugar: How Healthy Are They Really?
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