Shocking Sugary Stats

We all know that too much sugar is a bad thing.  We know that processed sugar is just empty calories that can lead to obesity, tooth decay and other major and minor health problems.  But did you know that according to the USDA economic research service, the average child under twelve eats 49 POUNDS of sugar every year?  This means that there are five and six-year-olds out there eating their weight in sugar each year!  Here at Peas of Mind, we want to help you ensure that your child is not within this statistic. Check out these three easy tips that will help you and your family drastically lower your daily sugar intake.

1. Steer clear of the empty calories of sugary drinks by making your own homemade soda's, juices and spritzers.  Water is always the best liquid but we know this may not be what your child is craving.  Instead of juice from concentrate, freshly squeeze oranges or if you have a high powered blender, combine your favorite fruits and veggies and strain using a cheese cloth (much less expensive then buying a juicer).  Make a homemade soda by combining seltzer water with a dash of fresh squeezed OJ or a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of agave.  If your child has a major sweet tooth, make the spritzer to their sweetness liking then lower the amount of agave or OJ you put in the seltzer every day which will eventually change his pallet.
2. Making homemade desserts may sound like a large task but why not spend an hour on Sunday baking with the kids and getting them involved with their food?  You can easily lower the amount of sugar in a recipe by replacing the processed sugar with natural sweeteners like beet puree, applesauce and mashed sweet potatoes.  This will not only give the dessert the desired sweetness your kids crave, you’ll be infusing the sweet-treat with an extra dose of vitamins and minerals!  Check out our delicious, quick and veggie infused corn muffin recipea or our sweet potato cinnamon rolls recipea.
3. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again.  Read labels! Children should be eating between 12-16 grams of refined sugar per day so take that into account when buying packaged foods.  If the granola bar that you’re about to buy has 12 grams of sugar in a serving, put it down because that’s almost a days worth of sugar in one bar.  Here at Peas of Mind, we believe that it’s up to YOU, the parent, as to how much sugar/salt goes into your child’s food.  This means that we add very little to our products, allowing you to make the decision on how much sugar your child eats. Our Peas of Pie, Veggie Wedgies and Nuggets all have less sugar then leading brands so fill your freezer up with these delicious meals and give yourself some Peas of mind when it comes to your child’s sugar intake.