Sometimes when people ask me about feeding their families less sugar, I think they are simply overwhelmed by the thought of cutting ALL sugar from every source… that is a daunting goal; and one that I have not yet reached either!

But here are a few tips I followed

when I BEGAN this cutting sugar from our house-hold diet.

1. Find a good baked-from-scratch cake recipe!

THIS a good one to start with…. {this is more removing unnecessary preservatives, but it’s a “first step” for {diminishing the sugar}…

**then cut the sugar called for in half!

sugar

2. Give yourself grace to make a few things that totally FLOP!

**Been there, done THAT! more times than I care to admit.

Here’s a great oatmeal bake that can be breakfast, snack or DESSERT! We love to sweeten plain ole greek yogurt with maple syrup [for the kids] or stevia blend [for me] to serve as a topping… it makes this very “dessert-y” and keeps it healthy! Add {home-sweetened} fruits–no sneaking in white sugars here!

3. Do not, under any circumstance, use packaged seasonings!! 

Almost 100% of the time, they contain some type of sugar… often multiple types of sugar!

seasug

[links to come]: TACO SEASONING, ITALIAN SEASONING, FAJITA SEASONING, anything else? [let me know in the comments what seasoning packets YOU would like to replace!]

4. Make your own spaghetti and pizza sauces!

{recipe coming SOON!} 🙂 [HERE IT IS!] 🙂

5. It’s OK to still use store-bought ketchup

—even though it contains sugar!

**WHY? well, for myself, it’s because I’ve tried a few recipes for home made ketchup and none of them cut it with my kids [or me, either]… they already aren’t allowed to eat most candy and only get “real sugar” very minimally, so I’m OK with store-bought ketchup and you can be too!

condiments ketchup

{but if you want to make a GO of homemade… by all means, have at it!}

6. Keep more fruit available!

**when in season, obviously buy fresh… but if frozen is cheaper, stock up!

**look for canned {IN FRUIT JUICE} and check the ingredient list!

**buy unsweetened applesauce… if your kids like cinnamon, add it separately

berries

**mixed frozen berries make a great topping for that baked oatmeal when thawed. 

**bananas & apples make a great snack for kids! {They fill little tummies for longer time and thus, in the ‘long-run’ cost less than pre-packaged snacks like chips, cookies and cakes, etc. not to mention all that nutrients they get :)}

**I like to buy gala apples because they are usually a little smaller [so little tummies can finish, less waste] and the skin is thinner [easier to get into for smaller mouths] and, to me, they are sweeter than some other versions!

What are some ways YOU cut sugar?

OR—what’ your downfall when it comes to trying?