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4 sugar-free recipes for your family’s favourite foods

Posted by KRoss@maximusuk.co.uksugar, swaps

Sweets and Candies

You may have seen in the news last week, that children are eating 18 years worth of sugar by the time they are 10.  

National guidelines recommend that children aged between 7 and 10 should eat no more than or 24g of sugar per day (that’s about 6 sugar cubes). To put that into context, just one Cadbury’s Crème Egg contains 26.5g of sugar – more than an entire day’s worth of sugar in one little sweet treat.

Despite these guidelines, recent research has found that children are consuming an additional 8 sugar cubes per day. That’s more than double the recommended amount, and adds up to a sickly additional 2,800 cubes every year! 

Eating too much sugar can lead to serious health complications like weight gain, Type 2 Diabetes (a condition that has only recently begun to affect children), not to mention tooth decay. Aside from its sweet taste, sugar has absolutely no purpose – it has no nutritional value and doesn’t fill us up.  Image result for change for life sugar

So why are we putting our children’s health at risk like this? 

A possible reason could be the hidden sugars that sneak into all sorts of foods. Things you wouldn’t expect like tomato ketchup, baked beans, peanut butter and even bread have high amounts of added sugar! So, while parents may try to restrict obviously sugary foods like sweets and chocolates from children’s diets, they may be unintentionally feeding their children more sugar than they think. 

We’re not saying sweet treats can’t be enjoyed from time to time (birthday cake, anyone?), but day-to-day, why not make simple changes to your shopping list to reduce your family’s sugar consumption?  

Change4Life’s Sugar Swaps guide has lots of ideas for switching cereals, puddings, and drinks to a healthier (but equally yummy!) option. Click here to check it out! 

As well as swapping sugary foods for a healthier alternative, you can usually find reduced sugar versions of the same product (like reduced sugar baked beans, reduced sugar squash etc). Use the traffic light labels on the food packaging to find the lowest sugar option.  

Image result for food label decoder

Better still – make your own! This way, you know exactly what is going into your food (and your child!). And cooking homemade versions of your favourite supermarket foods needn’t mean hours in the kitchen either. Google is jam packed with low-sugar and sugar-free recipes for just about anything, but here are just a few of our favourite easy and speedy recipes to get you started.  

Healthier Ketchup
Ketchup

Ingredients: 

  • 400 g tin good quality chopped tomatoes or passata, or just tomatoes! 
  • 3 tbsp vinegar 
  • 1 garlic clove mashed 
  • 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard 
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder 
  • 1 pinch ground allspice 
  • 1 pinch cinnamon 
  • salt and pepper to taste 

 

Method 

  1. Combine all ingredients, cook on a low heat for 30 minutes. 
  2. Stir frequently until sauce thickens. 
  3. If necessary, blend with a stick blender until smooth 
  4. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for around 2 weeks. 

Recipe from Sugar Free Londoner

A picture of homemade pasta and tomato sauce
Pasta Sauce

Ingredients: 

  • Onion, finely chopped 
  • Garlic, minced 
  • Tomato puree 
  • Tinned tomatoes 
  • Grated carrot 
  • Herbs of your choice (dried or fresh) 
  • Any other leftover veg chopped into small pieces 
  • Olive oil or 1 cal spray 

Method:  

  1. Brown the onion and garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil or 1 calorie spray.  
  2. Combine all other ingredients in the pan 
  3. Simmer for 20 mins 
  4. Serve over pasta
Banana Ice Cream
Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients: 

  • Very ripe/soft bananas 

Method: 

  1. Peel and chop the banana into small chunks and put into an airtight container or freezer bag. 
  2. Freeze the banana chunks for at least two hours, or ideally overnight 
  3. Pulse the frozen banana in a food processor 
  4. Switch to blending – keep going until the mixture has become smooth. 
  5. Transfer the mixture into an airtight container and freeze until solid. 

Recipe from The Kitchn 

a hearty bowl of baked beans
Baked Beans

Ingredients 

  • 1 tbsp olive oil 
  • 2 cloves garlic (crushed) 
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp (depending on taste) mild smoked paprika 
  • 300 g tomato passata 
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree 
  • 1 x 300g (195g drained) tinned haricot beans (drained) 

Instructions 

  1. Heat oil in a sauce pan over a medium heat. 
  2. Add the garlic and allow to sizzle but be careful not to burn. 
  3. Reduce heat to low, add the smoked paprika and stir. 
  4. Add the passata and puree and then simmer for around 20 mins (until the sharp taste of tomato has gone and the sauce has thickened.) 
  5. Add the beans and simmer for a further 10 mins. 

Recipe from Healthy Little Foodies 

Our BeeZee Families courses support children and their parents/caregivers to make healthy lifestyle changes to avoid excess sugar intake. Learn more about BeeZee Families and get in touch to find out more about available free courses in your area.  

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