Sugar Wars

Yes, I have seen all those TED talks about sugar.  Yes, I know corn syrup is a cheaper sweetener than sugar, and thus finds its way into seemingly every product known to man, except possibly broccoli. 

          But it’s doggone hard to give it up.  I have a sweet tooth, as opposed to my friends with salty/spicy teeth, so I know these poisons are in much of what I love.  But sweeteners are also in all the savory stuff you’d never expect, like spaghetti sauce, ketchup, garlic bread, yogurts, and salad dressing.

          I remember enjoying a breakfast with my son, Cassidy, when he was in high school.  Well, that enjoyment was short-lived, because, good mother that I am, I mentioned that my granola was a much healthier choice than his Cap’n Crunch Cereal.

          I offered proof.  I would read the contents of my granola box, and he would read the contents of his blue-hatted friend’s box.  We went right down the list—fat, sugars, carbs, protein.  And in every single case, his cereal beat mine!  I was flabbergasted.

          It’s like that incredibly delicious Cracklin’ Oat Bran that Kellogg’s makes, bursting with sweetness, coconut, and cinnamon.  And it’s like 200 calories a bowl!  Assuming you pour ¾ of a cup into your breakfast bowl.  You see “bran” on the label and assume healthy, then you taste it and you might as well be eating a cookie.

          So the smart thing to do is to read the labels, not simply glance at a hideous cereal that resembles dog kibble and assume that just because it doesn’t have little heart-shaped pieces it must therefore be healthy. 

Or, you can get around this whole problem by using St. Bob’s pronunciation technique.  I saw him devouring a bag of sugar-coated almonds recently and he proudly held up the bag with a “Gluten Free” banner across the top.  “See?  Glutton Free.  That means I can have as many as I want.”  And there you have it.

Another good way to lose weight is to get so engrossed in a great book that you forget to eat lunch.  Might I recommend mine at this link?  Although  Sisters in the Mix is about a crazy lady with a cooking show, so you might want to read that one while on the treadmill.