Sugar...uggh.

I came across this post from www.100daysofrealfood.com the other day and it really resonated with me.  I am, for lack of a better phrase, the "sugar nazi".  I'm not quite sure where I got it from but I am paranoid of my daughter consuming too much sugar!


It's really gotten a bit out of control and frankly hard to manage as sugar abounds no matter where you go!  D loves to go to Trader Joe's where they hide a stuffed animal somewhere in the store.  If you find it you get a surprise.  The good stores will give pencils, stickers, tattoos, but the not so good stores will give candy. Of course their candy is organic, made with sugar as opposed to corn syrup but still.

Store associates will randomly talk sweetly to a small child and then want to offer them some candy.  WTF?  No thank you!

I am trying not to be such a crazy person but knowing how awful corn syrup is for us and the amount of corn and soy in products everywhere, especially if we go out to eat (which is a quite a lot), well I just want to make sure I'm setting her up for a healthy future as opposed to health, diet, nutrition problems later.  Sigh...it's so hard to be a mother.

D is four.  When she was younger I absolutely held strong on my sugar position even when everyone else was eating candy I would not let her.  She may have felt deprived (which might account for why she is such a sugar ninja today).

Some people may think that is so harsh but I just didn't want her to eat crap.  Don't get me wrong, the girl has been eating sugar since she was small but mostly home baked goods.  In my mind, I was thinking if I cave and think, "Oh what's one piece of candy..." then that turns into two pieces or one candy a day or candy whenever everybody else eats it and frankly, below the age of four, I think that's just too soon to be consuming candy...with corn syrup.

Anyhoooo..now that D is four I've let up a little bit. If everyone else is having whatever, she can have one too.  But, on a daily basis I do monitor her sugar intake.  And it's not lenient.  I listened to myself the other day allowing her to have ONE mentos candy in the morning.  When she asked if she could have another in the afternoon, (which I'm sure she was sure I would say no) I said okaaaay...later that evening we went to Trader Joe's.  She found Peter Pelican and went up for her surprise.  There were two lollipops in there and two stickers.  She grabbed the sticker.  And you know what she said to me?  She said, "Did you see I got the sticker?"  I said, "Yes!"  She said, "It looked like I was going to grab the lollipop because the sticker was behind it but I got the sticker.  Do you know why?"

I said, "Why?"  She replied, "Because I already had mentos earlier today."

Now, some of you may read this post and think, oh how sad for poor Dillon, but I am quite proud. I want her to be cognizant that sugar is not great for you.  Yeah, it's hard to avoid the draw of sugar but everything in moderation...

100 days of real food gave me pause.  I don't want my daughter to grow up with food issues either, but I really don't think she will.  Everything in moderation.

Meanwhile, the picture above of a very scrumptious coconut cupcake was pulled from www.crumbsandcookies.blogspot.sg and here's the recipe.  I intend to make that one day very soon.