Let me start by speaking my truth...I am a little obsessed with health and wellness...just a little!
I love to learn and try things out and see what makes me feel good in my body, mind and spirit.
I believe that everyone has their own path and journey and the answers for each of us are super different, which makes it even more fun for me to research and experiment and share those with you all.
Recently, I had the realization that one of my health exceptions, was becoming a norm. Logan is a little over 3 and before he was 2 years old, he maybe had a little bit of raw turbinado sugar in a cupcake for his birthday. He had not tried things like ketchup or baked beans or other processed items that have sugar added in.
Why, you might ask. Well, a big part is from the research that has been done on sugar. It resembles a drug in so many ways.
And again, here's my truth, I am a recovering sugar addict. I used to probably if I am just throwing a guess out there, consume close to 100 grams of sugar in a day on a regular basis. I used to have to have a piece of chocolate after pretty much every meal, except breakfast, which I rarely ate at the time.
So, I see the effect sugar has on the body and on the mind and spirit and I just chose for my son that I wasn't going to have that be a part of his regular diet.
I read an article recently that said toddlers today get an average of more grams of added sugar each day than what is the recommended amount for an adult!!! WOW! A lot of this comes from sugar being added in to everything nowadays, it's not that these parents are feeding their children candy for lunch.
Well, at about 2, I started saying "when we go to birthday parties or special occasions, I'll bake something special or bring a special more healthy snack for Log so he doesn't feel left out". That is where my downhill spiral began!
It went from sugar free baked items, to low sugar baked items to start. Then as the year went on, it changed from super special occasions to pretty much every party. I don't know about you, but if I check out my calendar, there seems to be at least one party every week. So, Log was now getting sugar on a regular basis, as well as at home he would here and there eat snacks with some added sugar. Again, without eating a full fresh diet, it becomes challenging, well for me anyways, to find snacks that keep him interested without sugar.
So, the downward spiral continued. Until, I started to realize how much the sugar was effecting him. He would be cranky, and wasn't sleeping as well. And remember this is still a super minute amount of sugar compared to that study I mentioned above - he still wasn't getting it daily and it still was less than 10 grams on the days he did have something.
Bam! I snapped out of it. I decided no more. We are going back to my truth, what I feel is right for my family, because ultimately this started because of the comments and what I see in society and feeling guilt for my son not fitting in.
I decided I would work harder to make him items that were still a special snack, but contained no added sugar. With the heat of the summer, I decided I would start making homemade Popsicle's. Logan is obsessed! He can't get enough! Best part, it is all fruit!
They are easy, fast and kids love them! My next recipe I am going to try to add in some veggies, shhhh don't tell Log :).
In a blender - I like my single serve Ninja - add your favorite fruits (I did banana and blueberry), add water, blend. Pour into Popsicle mold and freeze!
Share with me your downward spiral - are you still stuck - if not how'd you get out?