In just 30 years, the number of overweight children has more than doubled for kids in the 2-5 age group. And it has tripled or more than tripled among youth ages 6-19. These are sobering statistics!
While there are several factors that contribute to childhood obesity, the 150 pounds of sugar that the average American consumes every year certainly doesn’t help.
I know … you grew up eating cookies and ice cream and you turned out fine. I did too. (I guess. Except that I constantly struggled with weight until I cleaned up my diet.) But things are different these days.
How Are Thing Different?
Two hundred years ago, the average American ate only 2 pounds of sugar a year. Fifty years ago we ate more than 100 pounds of sugar a year. And now we’re eating over 150 pounds of sugar (among other not-so-good-for-us foods) every year.
I Don’t Put That Much Sugar on My Cereal!
You may not eat ice cream and candy all day or dump loads of sugar on your morning bowl, but sugar is hiding in nearly every processed food item on grocery store shelves – from bread to cereal to beverages – and even in places we least expect it like salad dressings, ketchup, yogurt, crackers, hamburgers, peanut butter, dried fruit, granola and granola bars, barbeque sauce, baked beans, and canned fruit and vegetables.
What’s worse is that sugar comes under many different names so it may not always be recognized when reading food labels.
Childhood Obesity
All this added sugar increases a child’s risk for obesity and other diseases, such as insulin resistance, diabetes, certain types of cancer, hyperactivity, asthma, high cholesterol, autoimmune disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and more.
What Can You Do?
While it probably isn’t necessary to eliminate all sugar from your child’s diet, looking for ways to reduce sugar consumption is important. Here are some tips on how you can do that:
Replace sugary drinks with pure water.
Use a fruit sauce over pancakes and waffles instead of syrup.
Replace store-bought salad dressings with this amazing Low Fat Creamy Italian Salad Dressing.
Read labels. Buy canned vegetables and fruits with no added sugar.
When making homemade desserts, cut back on the amount of sugar if possible.
Limit consumption of sweet treats and processed food.
Make your own granola instead of buying it.
Switch to natural, no-sugar-added peanut butter.
Replace sugary cereals with whole-grain cereals that have little or no added sugar and then add your own sweeteners. That way you have control over how much sugar is in your bowl. Interestingly, most people end up using less sugar this way. Or top your morning cereal with the healthy, natural sweetness of dried fruit such as raisins or chopped dates or fresh fruit such as sliced bananas, strawberries, or blueberries.
And try this yummy strawberry milk recipe (over cereal or by itself) instead of store-bought varieties that are full of sugar and/or artificial colors and flavors. If your kids have never tried the commercial milk, then they’ll love this. If your kids are already hooked on the store stuff, then you may want to add some sweetener to this recipe to closer mimic what they’re used to. It’ll still be way better for you and your kids than the store-bought strawberry milk.
An added benefit of this milk is that it is dairy-free. Studies show that dairy products can contribute to many diseases, including obesity, among both adults and children.
Sugar-Free Fresh Strawberry Milk
This nutritious milk is loved by kids and can be used in place of dairy milk over cereal. Or freeze, thaw slightly, and blend again and you have a healthy milkshake.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup blanched raw almonds or raw cashews
- 3/4 cup almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk or a combination of any of these
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 9 to 10 medium fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Place nuts, milk, and juice in blender and blend until very smooth. This may take several minutes if you don’t have a very powerful blender.
- Add strawberries and vanilla and blend until very smooth.
- Chill. (If using frozen strawberries, chilling isn’t necessary.) Shake or stir before serving.
Notes
1. Adjust consistency by using more or less milk.
2. See notes above (before recipe) about sweetness.
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This is really good. The pineapple juice gives it a unique taste. Add an ice cube or two to make it really cold. I like it.
Wow this Strawberry Milk looks so delicious!
says “sugar-free” but you add pineapple juice, which is full of fructose, aka…sugar. fruit juices are just as bad as soda because all you get from a juice is the water and sugar from the fruit. may i suggest using a slice of pineapple instead…at least when blended, the fiber is still there. sugars of all kinds (sucrose, maltose, lactose, fructose) are converted to glucose in the end, so you would want to minimize that process that happens in your body. so you might eat less sugar, but if you consume breads, pastas, starches in vegetables, wheat products, they all get turned to glucose and contribute to obesity. minimize carbohydrates, that’s what i do 🙂
havent touched sugary sweets, starches or wheat and i feel so much better and even lost weight. most people are too addicted to their carbs to make the change. i guess its just about choosing the right carbs to eat.
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for your comment. You make a very good point that fruit juices are not optimal for good health as, in the process of making juice, the fiber and other nutrients are removed. Juices are a refined food. If you opted to leave the juice out of this recipe, I think it would still taste fine.
That said, I was aiming to create a strawberry milk that was superior to the strawberry milk that one would buy in the store. Commercially-available flavored milks are not only laden with white sugar (the crystallized sucrose from either sugarcane or sugar beets) but usually also contain artificial flavors and and artificial colors (like red 40 and blue 1) among other harmful ingredients.
Kids in America get 40% of their calories from junk food – soft drinks, candy bars, cakes, cookies, donuts, and milkshakes. And the sale of flavored milk (which greatly contributes to obesity) has increased significantly over the last few years. If I can use a small amount of pineapple juice – or even sugar – to make a healthier milk that they will like, then I’ve helped them make HUGE strides toward healthier eating habits.
Fresh pineapple is a great idea if you aren’t used to a sweeter flavor! 🙂 Complex carbohydrates make a positive contribution toward good health and successful weight loss and are the preferred fuel for the central nervous system and the brain. I think it sensible to include these valuable foods in our diet.
Thank you again for your comment.
Jennifer
This is great tasting. I add 1 slice fresh pineapple. It just does not taste the same with out the pineapple or someday I like a half an apple.
That looks like a delicious strawberry milk! It is also one of my favourite childhood beverages. How interesting you added pineapple juice, I guess that gives a bit of sweetness and tartness?
Hi Rika,
Yes, the pineapple juice adds a nice sweet flavor. I tried making it without and the flavor was a little flat.
Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
Jennifer
I can’t wait to try this for my daughter’s birthday. She wants everything pink! And I happen to have some pineapple juice on hand. Have you ever tried or considered subbing dates instead of the pineapple juice? Would you suggest I add 1/4 cup of them instead of the pineapple, if I go that route?
Oh perfect! That will be so cute. 🙂
I’ve never tried using dates in the strawberry milk. I think it would probably taste good, but it would also make the milk a darker color … not sure if it would still be a pretty pink. If you do use dates, I would guess you’d need less than 1/4 cup to keep the milk from tasting too much like dates.
Happy birthday Julie’s daughter!