Becoming sugar free was bloody easy compared to the epic task of getting the rest of the family on board.
People put their CRAZY-LADY-IN-THE-BUILDING face on when I mention we have a sugar free home. It is possible! No I'm not bonkers! I've done it!
My husband has never really had an issue with sugar. He doesn't eat sweet food. He used to have sugar in his tea but I stopped giving it to him and after a while he stopped noticing that it was gone.
But the kids. Well the kids were going to be a challenge.
The meal we struggled with the most was breakfast. By a long shot. I had let the nutritional value of what they were eating for breakfast slip and there were too many large brightly coloured boxes sitting in my pantry.
So what are the options? How do you go about the mammoth task of becoming a sugar free home when you have two children who are very much in love with their Nutrigrain?
Remember my kids are 5, 4 and 1. The one year old is fine. She'll eat what I dish up. The other two. Well......
Step One. Identify the worst offenders and don't replace them.
I got rid of the worst offenders first. In my house, it was cereal. For example, the kids finished off the Nutrigrain and when it was gone I didn't replace it. I plainly told the kids that I had discovered that sugar is very bad and Nutrigrain had a lot of it in there. Sure they were upset for a few mornings, but they soon forgot about it and I offered them "better" or less sugary options.
Step Two. Introduce and encourage sugar free options
Once the bad boys were gone, I kept a few of the "less sugary" offenders - Rice Bubbles and Cornflakes for example. I did keep buying these for a few months.
This was where I introduced new breakfast options and encouraged existing ones: Toast. Crumpets. Weetbix. Weeties. Eggs. Bacon. French Toast. Oats. Puffed rice (kids have this with finely sliced banana and Rice Malt Syrup). Baked beans low salt varieties are surprisingly low in sugar. Once I had these new options up and running the Cornflakes and the Rice Bubbles or what was left of the sugary breakfast options were out the door and I've not replaced them.
I am happy to say that breakfast was our only challenge really. I've never really given the children juice, sweetened yoghurt, chocolate, Milo, cordial, flavoured milk or any other nasties.
Step Three. Find the children sugar free alternatives for the crap other kids are eating
To avoid being crowned "Worst-Sugar-free-Mother-In-the-World" I've had to come up with sugar free replacements of the foods other kids are having.
At times, the kids will come home and ask if they can have in their lunchbox what other kids are eating. Sometimes it's possible. Sometimes it's not. I take the time to listen because most of the time what they are suggesting can be done.
If she asks for a packet of Tiny Teddies, the answer is no. If he asks for a packet of chips the answer will also be no.
But sometimes it's doable. For example. Cheese sticks from the chilled section was asked for and provided. No sugar. Admittedly it's not my first choice for them but I'm happy to oblige. Sometimes I think it's more about how the product is packaged rather than what's inside. They've asked for yoghurt tubs but almost all commercial varieties are full of sugar, so we were able to find a nice little container and a pretty spoon. Fill it with some whipped cream mixed with Full Cream Natural Yoghurt and they love it.
The kids have asked for "chocolate yoghurt" as lots of kids seem to have that in their lunch boxes. So instead I make them some homemade chocolate custard (quick and easy in the Thermomix), and they are happy.
The naughtiest thing they might have in their lunch boxes are biscuits which I have made myself with dextrose. I try to avoid giving them fruit as they seem to get more than enough during "fruit time".
Chocolate milk and hot chocolate is easily made at home with milk, cocoa and a little dextrose. I add a little bit of cream to keep them full for a little longer (not to mention it's bloody delicious).
We have "milkshakes" with full cream milk, a banana and a generous scoop of full cream natural yoghurt.
I regulate fruit intake by not having too much available and having lots of vegetables available as another choice.
I am so over reading the list of crap ingredients on bread that I dug out a old bread maker we received as a wedding gift. I bake fresh bread every second day. It has 4 ingredients. Flour, olive oil, salt and water. As it should be.
I've still been making crackers from scratch with the help of my much loved Thermomix, it's just no trouble at all.
And while I can control the amount of sugar in MY HOME, it is very hard to control the amount of sugar IN THE WORLD which they will come in contact with more and more as they get older (I know it sucks).
So how do I control their sugar intake outside the home? There are aspects of sugar which are culturally embedded in society and it's a helluva battle to fight it and to be honest I've stopped fighting. Sugar is a much bigger force than little old me.
When we go to a party the children eat sugar. I don't hover over them and bark at them to stop eating too much. I sit back and let them enjoy it. It's my position that this kind of intrusive behaviour as a mother is not doing anyone any good. The kids are aware that sugar is not healthy and I trust that they will make good food choices outside the home now and when they grow older. Sometimes kids just have to be kids. Sometimes Mum just needs to shut up.
If she asks for a packet of Tiny Teddies, the answer is no. If he asks for a packet of chips the answer will also be no.
But sometimes it's doable. For example. Cheese sticks from the chilled section was asked for and provided. No sugar. Admittedly it's not my first choice for them but I'm happy to oblige. Sometimes I think it's more about how the product is packaged rather than what's inside. They've asked for yoghurt tubs but almost all commercial varieties are full of sugar, so we were able to find a nice little container and a pretty spoon. Fill it with some whipped cream mixed with Full Cream Natural Yoghurt and they love it.
The kids have asked for "chocolate yoghurt" as lots of kids seem to have that in their lunch boxes. So instead I make them some homemade chocolate custard (quick and easy in the Thermomix), and they are happy.
The naughtiest thing they might have in their lunch boxes are biscuits which I have made myself with dextrose. I try to avoid giving them fruit as they seem to get more than enough during "fruit time".
Chocolate milk and hot chocolate is easily made at home with milk, cocoa and a little dextrose. I add a little bit of cream to keep them full for a little longer (not to mention it's bloody delicious).
We have "milkshakes" with full cream milk, a banana and a generous scoop of full cream natural yoghurt.
I regulate fruit intake by not having too much available and having lots of vegetables available as another choice.
I am so over reading the list of crap ingredients on bread that I dug out a old bread maker we received as a wedding gift. I bake fresh bread every second day. It has 4 ingredients. Flour, olive oil, salt and water. As it should be.
I've still been making crackers from scratch with the help of my much loved Thermomix, it's just no trouble at all.
And while I can control the amount of sugar in MY HOME, it is very hard to control the amount of sugar IN THE WORLD which they will come in contact with more and more as they get older (I know it sucks).
So how do I control their sugar intake outside the home? There are aspects of sugar which are culturally embedded in society and it's a helluva battle to fight it and to be honest I've stopped fighting. Sugar is a much bigger force than little old me.
When we go to a party the children eat sugar. I don't hover over them and bark at them to stop eating too much. I sit back and let them enjoy it. It's my position that this kind of intrusive behaviour as a mother is not doing anyone any good. The kids are aware that sugar is not healthy and I trust that they will make good food choices outside the home now and when they grow older. Sometimes kids just have to be kids. Sometimes Mum just needs to shut up.
So this is how I manage it. You may not want to be a sugar free home, but hopefully here are some tips to reduce the amount of sugar your kids are eating. It didn't happen overnight for us, that might work for you. Getting to this point took a good 7 months or so. You know your family and how best to make changes. You may not want to be totally sugar free, you may not even be able to comprehend this. Any reduction in the amount of sugar we eat is a good reduction.
Being a Sugar Free Home does require a bit of planning and more time in the kitchen, but the results are less processed foods made with no chemicals, preservatives, colours, sugar or seed oils. And hopefully happier and healthier kids!
