We all know that sugar is such a controversial subject but have you ever sat down at breakfast and wondered how much actual sugar is in every item that you and your family are eating? The cereal, bread, spreads, sauces, juice? The list can go on! 

Let me tell you my friend that ingredients are key! There is sugar and chemicals added to so many food products it’s scary! 

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These are making people slowly sick! We eat multiple times a day. It only seems realistic to feed our bodies with wholesome food that does not make us feel like crap!

Did you know that from the late 1950s to 1990 companies substituted the fat in their products with sugar?

This was done to feed the idea that fat was bad and causing heart disease for many individuals. In exchange, companies wanted consumers to continue buying their products but needed to find a way to make them tasty without the fat.

BOOM! This was when the fat-free food trend started.

Fast forward a few years and now people are wondering why they continue to eat fat-free items but cannot keep any weight off. It’s just packing on.

Companies had to change their ingredients for their products to still taste good which has led to what many call an obesity epidemic. Many ingredients are different sugars or chemicals created in a lab that are far from natural earth-grown food.

Both historians (such as Sidney Mintz), medical professionals, and epidemiologists alike maintain the link between sugar consumption and chronic disease.

This being said, Sugar is an ADDICTION and I can vouch for that! I have struggled all my life with craving sugar, sweets, and anything chocolate! 

Although we, as a family, eat very healthily, there are always little traces of junk here and there. It adds up so we just put all of it in the garbage. 

After reading Liana Werner Gray’s story as well as her recipe book series, I was hooked! My husband and I agreed to try as much as possible to only feed our bodies things that came from the earth and threw whatever sugar was lingering. 

What Is Refined Sugar?

Added sugar’ refers to refined sugars added during food preparation and manufacturing, such as sucrose, fructose, glucose and starch hydrolysates.

There is a list below that will show you many of the common names that refined sugar has.

How To Avoid Hidden Names Of Sugar On Ingredient Labels

Food companies have found sneaky ways to add sugar to their ingredient labels without directly listing the word “sugar”. This makes it very challenging in identifying the added sugars. The list below is the names of the most common words but there are so many more!

The trick is to not completely rule out sugar foods in the house. But merely trick our taste buds into believing it is white refined sugar by using either pure maple syrup, honey, monk fruit, date or fruit puree in our baking. 

Fix It In 5 Easy Steps

It honestly works! I was astonished and my kids had NO clue!

Here is how we did it and how you can follow these 5 EASY steps and save your household too!

1. Clean Out Your Pantry From Any Sugar and Unhealthy Foods

You will thank me…… Out of sight, out of mind! 

Go through your pantry and fridge and go over this list: 

Where is it made? 

Does this stand within my ethical food boundaries?

What is it made out of?

Are there ingredients that I cannot pronounce? 

It is hard but if there are more than 4-5 ingredients, we really shouldn’t be eating it. Granola bars or flavored yogurt are prime examples of this.

2. Roll Up Your Sleeves And Get Cooking

It takes work but try to make a habit or schedule to make homemade snacks and ready-to-eat food in the house as much as possible. This way you can see what ingredients you are eating. There will not be any preservatives or unpronounceable ingredients. 

For example, this is the schedule that works for my family:

Wednesday and Saturday: Make homemade bread.

Sunday and Thursday: Make homemade snacks

*TIP: Depending on how many people live in your household, remember to always double, triple or quadruple whatever you are making so you can freeze it for later.

3. Leave The Kids At Home When Doing Groceries

This is a very hard one however grocery stores are pretty well aimed at little kids if we think about it. All the junk food is at their eye level and the minute you go to the cashier to pay, every little impulse buy item is lined up there waiting for you to pick one up and buy it. 

Thankfully most grocery stores offer ordering online and doing grocery pick up. This not only saves so much of our time but also avoids us having to go into the grocery store.

Yes, it takes a bit of planning ahead but it is a bit of a luxury.

I’ll be honest, I have a hard time ordering meat, fruits, and vegetables online since some of the workers do not care if there are apples with bruises on them or slightly squishy avocados. 

For fruits and vegetables, I have ordered from a few of the local grocery stores to “test” their worker’s ability to choose proper produce. Believe me, you will quickly see which stores take the extra minute to choose proper produce.

For meat and eggs, try your hardest and stretch your budget to purchase grass fed or local. if there is a huge sale on meat then I do take advantage of the sale and buy it from a store. However, grass fed and local is always better from a nutritional point of view.

My suggestion is to run some “tests” on different stores in your area with the grocery pick up option. You may be surprised at which ones pick good produce to add to your order.

4. Do Not Grocery Shop On An Empty Stomach

Going shopping for food on a full stomach does not allow your stomach/brain to interfere with what you will crave and buy.

Shopping on an empty stomach is disastrous! I have arrived home and looked in my bag and thought “what the hell was I thinking buying this junk.” 

Full stomach and a list will help you stay on track and on budget!

5. Cook With Natural Sugars That Come From The Earth

This means cooking with natural sugars such as:

-Pure maple syrup

-Honey

-Fruit puree

-Monk Fruit

-Coconut Sugar

Conclusion

In conclusion, start small and focus on eliminating the refined unnatural sugars in your pantry.

Out of sight, out of mind. It will also help you get more creative in the kitchen while cooking.

Let us know in the comments below if you have a sugar addiction and if you have tried to break it! We’d love to hear your experiences and tips as well!

Thanks and keep on moving!

-C xx

**Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or health professional of any kind. I am a random girl on the internet providing you with information backed with scientific links for your educational purposes. These are my own experiences I share that have had a positive impact on my health. Everyone is different and will get different results. Please talk to your health professional before changing anything to your lifestyle/diet to ensure your safety.**

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