Healthy Holiday Sweets!

by Susan Cross | Posted: December 19th, 2011 | No Comments »

Tis’ the season – Visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, while the sugar keeps them up all night in their beds…

What better time to talk about candy than during the holidays. With sweets so pervasive that visions of sugar plums dance in our heads!

Did you know that most candy is full of gmo’s (genetically modified organisms), pesticides, herbicides, refined sugars, corn syrup and harmful food dyes? It’s true they are. Whether you shop at a sweet boutique like Dylan’s Candy Bar, or pick up a Hershey’s bar – they’re in there.

The average American child consumes 30 teaspoons of sugar every day. Each teaspoon is equal to 3 grams of sugar, so that’s 90 grams of sugar. Children are supposed to have no more than 25 grams per sugar per day. In the 1800s, children consumed approximately 12 pounds of sugar each year. Today they’re consuming, on average, 135 pounds of sugar every year!

I’m not the Grinch, and I certainly don’t want to ruin Christmas for kids. In fact, I’m sharing some wonderful and healthy ways in which you and your family can enjoy the sweet life!

Does this mean you’re kids shouldn’t eat candy? Not at all. Sweets are a part of life and we all want our children to fit in. However, moderation is key. There is no reason that children need to eat candy and sugary sweets every single day. When you set limits they actually appreciate it even more.

Buy organic chocolate when you want them to have a candy bar and organic hot cocoa mix for sweet drinks. The goal is to keep the ingredients that endanger their health out of their food supply as much as is possible. Healthy alternatives are everywhere now. You can buy delicious organic sweets at health food stores, specialty stores, and you can even order them online through Amazon. When you offer them pure chocolate that is organic and free of all the harmful ingredients listed above you will just feel better. Health food stores even make organic versions of gummy candy and skittles, without the corn syrup and food dyes.

I’ve saved the best for last. Who could go through the holidays without a candy cane? I buy organic candy canes from a company called Pure Fun. Yummy organic peppermint candy canes. Pure Fun candy canes are organic, vegan, gluten-free, gmo-free, pesticide-free, and contain no corn syrup or food dyes.

Healthy Baking tip: We all love to bake during the hoidays and our kids love colored frosting and sprinkles. I use organic food coloring and sprinkles from a company called India Tree. India Tree decorating colors are made from highly concentrated vegetable colorants. They contain no corn syrup or synthetic dyes.

For more information on food dyes and the dangers of our American candy supply, please read my post ‘Seeing Red, No It’s Not Santa’.