HOW BAD IS SUGAR?

The school year is in full-swing now.  Kids are starting to school earlier and earlier too.  We are cruising in to the end of the first semester of the year.   How are things going at your house?

I doubt some of you even know what semesters are; so I’m showing my age.  When I was a child we had the year divided up into quarters and semesters; now every school seems to have their own original schedule.  That makes life a lot more flexible; right?

Well, I guess it depends on the working schedule of the adults that are parenting…..but that’s not what I have on my mind today.  We are here to discuss how to give those kids healthy treats at the end of a full day of learning.

My kids are all grown up now; but I have grand kids in school.

The fact that my grown kids are healthy and happy and still alive sort of makes me an expert; right?  Well, at least give me credit for being a good grandmother……..LOL.

I know….I know……you REALLY have to be on your toes today.

The whole spectrum of the food chain has changed.

Moms and Grandmothers; it is time to get educated on the right things to feed those kids after school.

I’m assuming that they still come home hungry.  Some things never change no matter what time period you live in; or what type of schedule you are living out.

There is one huge factor to consider when looking at after-school treats.

It is that “s” word.

You know…… S-U-G-A-R.

A FEW HARD FACTS

Did you know up until one hundred years ago the whole world had survived just fine without that stuff?

The people from the past got sugar into their diets; but it was actually from other more natural sources.  It was not refined.  They did not have refineries back then.  The refined sugars we eat today are totally unhealthy; both for children AND adults.

This being the case, many have resorted to brown sugar as a substitute.

Don’t make me laugh now!

How is regular sugar with molasses added to it healthier?  I hate to burst your bubble; but get over it.

Perhaps it is better to go back to those more natural ways of getting sugar into our bodies for our children’s eating of their after-school snacks.

FRESH FRUIT IS GOOD; JUST NOT TOO MUCH AT ONCE

This can happen in several different ways; one way it to offer them fresh fruit.

Fruit has sugar in it too; but that sugar is the natural kind, and it is not refined.

At least they will be getting nutrients with their sugar.  This alternative IS healthier.

Here is my one good suggestion for a creative after-school snack using fruit:

FRUIT KABOBS

Ingredients:

2 cups strawberries

1 cup red grapes

1 cup pineapple chunks

2 kiwi peeled and cut into wedges

12 wooden skewers

Directions:

Line the fruit up in the order you want to put it on the skewer and then thread.  Refrigerate in zip-lock bags until use.

The kids can help you assemble the skewers and create their own designs.  They will love doing this.

SUGAR AND HOMEWORK

With all of this focus on not using sugar (especially for kids) I was curious as to the effect that sugar has on the daily routine of children doing homework.  I did a little research and found out more than I wanted to know about how negative sugar can be on a kid growing up.

Did you know that your child’s academic performance can be changed for the better simply by eliminating their sugar intake?

Scientist have now documented that when people consume a lot of sugar and then attempt to do challenging tasks, the brain’s hypothalamus allows the body to release a lot of cortisol.  This substance impedes memory retention.  Perhaps that is why cortisol is known as the “stress” hormone.  When children’s bodies are flooded with cortisol they struggle to pay attention to their lessons and they also find it difficult to sit quietly.

For this reason some dietitians working with kids have named sugar a “sometimes” food.

This is because SOMETIMES it is just best not to eat it.

BEST TO SCHEDULE SUGAR ONLY ON CERTAIN OCCASIONS

Kids are going to consume sugar sooner or later; so the trick is to schedule the timing for only special occasions.

A sugary treat would not work during the week nights when there is homework to be done; but a small limited amount of sugar might be okay once a week on a Friday night when there is no school the next day and they get to sleep in.

This type of thinking greatly limits the sugar intake without making the child feel totally deprived of one of life’s greatest pleasures.

It seems that taste buds and desire can be trained.  The more you eliminate and limit the sugar intake, the more they will begin to consider other more healthier alternatives as tasty treats.

So to balance out the healthy fruit treat above; I’ve put in this recipe for a special Friday night treat which DOES contain a little sugar:

TOFFEE SQUARES

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg yolk

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (6 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate pieces, melted

½ cup finely chopped nuts

Directions

Cream butter, brown sugar and egg yolk.  Blend in flour and vanilla.  Pat dough ½ inch thick on a greased jelly roll pan (17x14x1) Cover with melted chocolate.  Sprinkle nuts over top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Score while warm and cut when cool.  Makes 16 servings.

THE REST OF THE WEEK

So we’ve covered Monday’s and Friday’s; but what about something healthy and not so sugary for the other three days of the school week?

Here are three of my favorites:

CHERRY PIE NUT BARS

The idea for this recipe came from The Sugar Free Mom’s blog.  I highly recommend that you check in to read some of her blog posts on a regular basis for great after school snacks as well as meals.  I’ve put her recipe into my own simple format here:

Ingredients

½ cup dried cherries sweetened with apple juice

½ cup dried plumbs

½ cup toasted almonds

½ cup walnuts

Directions

Pour all into a blender or food processor and blend them until crumbled.  Place onto waxed paper and mold into a long oblong shape.  Slice into bars.

ANOTHER WAY TO SERVE YOUR AFTER-SCHOOL TREATS

Katie Serbinski of the Mom To Mom Nutrition blog likes to keep things both healthy and simple.  (Here is another blog run by a professional nutritionist who is very helpful with the feeding of children.)

She doesn’t bake or mix concoctions for her kids after school; she serves them natural chopped vegetables and fruits.  Sometimes she gives them something to dip the snacks into (sugar free salad dressings, peanut butter, sour cream with seasonings).

What could be easier?

So slice up some strawberries, or hand them a bowl of grapes or chop some broccoli and let them dip it into a tasty dip.  They will be eating a salad before dinner without even realizing the fact.

This is the perfect snack and it fills another day of the weekly calendar of after-school snacking.

Because there are so many fruits and vegetables to chose from; the possibilities are endless.  You can even get creative and make designs with toothpicks if you want.  They will not have time to get bored if you don’t repeat the same things over and over again, just vary your fruits and veggies.

Three days down and two more to go!

What else can we find that kids love that is sugar free?

A SEASONAL SNACK THAT IS SURE TO PLEASE

Claire Wright created the most delicious fall recipe on her Raising Sugar-Free Kids blog.  It surely looks awesome in her photos; so why not try this one out during the fall season:

Sugar Free Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:
1-1/2 cups whole meal flour
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
3/4 cups xylitol
1 tbsp. rice syrup
1 cup pumpkin puree (you could use sweet potato or squash puree instead)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or more pumpkin puree)
1 egg
For the icing:
1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese
2 tbsp softened butter
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp xylitol

Directions:
Preheat the oven 350 degrees.  Mix the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices together. Stir in the salt and xylitol. Mix the rice syrup, pumpkin puree and egg in a separate bowl and stir into the dry ingredients until you have a soft, sticky dough. Scoop tablespoons of the mixture onto a baking tray, making sure to space them apart by a few inches. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 mins. Allow to cool completely.

To make the icing, beat all of the icing ingredients together until smooth. Pipe or spread over the cooled cookies.

I highly recommend reading her blog!  She has a way of making delicious looking food that is also very healthy.

So did you ask the same question that I did?

What on earth is xylitol?

Here is one definition:  a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener.  Used to denote sugar alcohols, Xylitol is categorized as a polyalcohol or sugar alcohol.  Multiple studies using electron microscopy have indicated that xylitol is effective in inducing remineralization of deeper layers of demineralized enamel.  Moderate evidence was found that xylitol reduced the incidence of acute middle ear infections in healthy children.  It can be found in low concentrations in the fiber of many fruits and vegetables and can be extracted from berries, oats and mushrooms.

Hmmmm……these days life is nothing but an education!  You learn something new every time you give your kids an after-school treat!

So we still need  one more after-school treat to round out our week.  What else can we come up with that does not contain sugar that our kids will enjoy eating?

POPCORN

Popcorn is a great snack for kids if you make it the old fashioned way; on the stove-top.  Please don’t buy the microwavable, pre-packaged and made-for-lunches packets that contain a whole bunch of awful chemicals.  Use the natural stuff and make it yourself and you will be safe. If you are going to flavor it with butter; use real butter – not margarine.

Old fashioned popcorn is good for you.  Use organic corn and coconut oil and follow these instructions:

EASY HOMEMADE ORGANIC POPCORN

Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 1/4 cup of organic popcorn in a heavy metal pot.  Cover with a glass lid and warm on medium heat shaking a few times while cooking until popping begins.  Lower heat and continue shaking until popping dies down.

Place popcorn in a large bowl and drizzle on 1/4 – 1/2 cup of melted butter or coconut oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

You are bound to make a lot of good after-school memories without a bit of guilt!

So there you have a whole week of after-school snacks.  Check that off your list and move on to story-time or family movie night.

You’ve got this Mom!