Vanilla Milk: Hot Coco's Healthier Cousin

Did you know that the sugar in a cup of hot coco often exceeds a child's sugar limit for the day?

Look at the added sugars in this container of coco: 19g added sugars

If you add 5-6 marshmallows, the sugar content will total about 25 grams.

Remember that the limit for kids is 25 grams added sugar PER DAY.

I'm not saying that you can never have hot coco.

I love hot coco, especially with marshmallows!

What I would like you to consider is that maybe hot coco should be saved for special occasions, and should not be a daily addition to breakfast or afterschool snacks.

So what warm sweet drink can you have instead?

Vanilla milk!

My son is drinking vanilla milk in this photo. Vanilla milk is the go-to hot drink at our house, I call it coco's healthier cousin.

Vanilla milk meets that need for warmth without all the added sugar.

Here's how you make it:

1. Microwave a mug full of milk until warm.

2. Stir in vanilla extract and a tiny bit of almond extract (just a drop).

3. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon sugar.

Stir and enjoy.

If you start out serving this when your kids are young, they will come to love vanilla milk and enjoy it all their days. If you've only ever served hot coco, vanilla milk might taste bland to them.

Give it time.

My older kids warmed up to vanilla milk after I stopped buying hot coco. Now hot coco is something I save for special occasions!

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Happy Holidays!

Healthy, Fun & Inexpensive Holiday Snacks for Kids

I love making Christmas cookies. Making sugar cookie dough, rolling it out, cutting it out into snowflakes and Christmas trees.......holiday baking is the best.

Unfortunately, too much holiday baking leaves me feeling yucky.

And I don't want to feel yucky.

So I came up with a few fun + healthy snack ideas that involve cookie cutters, Christmas trees and fun.....but no yucky feelings.

A healthy snack will always include a protein and a complex carbohydrate (like fruit or whole grain....not sugar or white flour). I hope you enjoy.

#1 Kiwi Tree

You could add pomegranate seeds for lights. Serve with yogurt for the protein.

#2 Cracker and Cheese Cutouts

You could add red and green olives for more decor...but I don't usually have those on hand.

The only crackers I buy for older kids are "hint of salt" Triscuits. They are lower in salt and higher in fiber than other crackers. These are a choking risk for kids 2 and under.

For kids 2 and under, I recommend whole wheat ritz type of crackers. They are less of a choking risk. Aim to buy crackers that are high in fiber and low in salt. Buying unflavored varieties usually helps.

#3 Pear Polar Bear

The polar bear is playing in cottage cheese snow and has banana + raisin ears and paws. So cute, so easy, so healthy.

If you have young children, get into the habit now of having healthy snacks....and get into the habit of making them fun!

See you next week with another healthy holiday snack idea.

Nicole

How to Make Dessert Healthier for Diabetics

Having diabetes or pre-diabetes doesn't mean you can't have pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It does mean that you have to be a little more mindful of your desert choices.

Here are 2 ways to make any dessert recipe a little bit healthier.

1. Cut back on the sugar

2. Slow the absorption of sugar by adding fiber, protein and healthy fats

   
   

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#1 How to cut back on sugar in recipes

You can often decrease the sugar in a recipe by 1/4 without changing the texture. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, you would only add 3/4 cup. It will taste less sweet, but overtime you'll enjoy desserts that aren't as sweet.

I made this cookie recipe yesterday with only 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup. Everyone still loved them!

You might be thinking that 1/4 cup won't make a difference in sugar content, but it totally does. In some cases, it can save you 1-2 teaspoons of sugar per cookie!

How does 1 teaspoon compare to your daily limit? The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 6 teaspoons per day for kids and women. So 1 teaspoon is a big deal!

Little changes add up over time!

Here's an example of a lower sugar pumpkin cake I frequently make. The original recipe had 2 cups of sugar and I cut it back to 1 + 1/3 cup.

https://www.ddinutrition.com/recipes-2/pumpkin-cake

#2 How to slow the absorption of sugar

One way to help the body handle extra sugar is to slow down digestion so that the sugar in food doesn't all enter into the bloodstream at once.

Protein, fat and fiber slow down digestion.

Look for dessert recipes with the following ingredients:

Nuts & nut butters: high in protein, fiber and healthy fats

Whole Grain Flours: Whole wheat flour is high in protein and fiber. I keep whole wheat pastry flour on hand for making cookies (I buy it in bulk at WinCo). You usually can't tell the difference between this flour and white flour in cookie recipes.

Fruits & Vegetables: bananas, apples, applesauce and pumpkin are in fiber. They also add natural sweetness, which helps you to decrease the amount of added sugar.

Blended Beans: I know this sounds weird, but beans add fiber and protein. My kids love these black bean brownies (I just use butter and regular sugar instead of those fancy ingredients): https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/fudgy-maple-flourless-black-bean-brownies/#wprm-recipe-container-33779

These are my favorite sites for healthier dessert recipes:

https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/category/meal-type/dessert/

https://cookieandkate.com/category/food-recipes/dessert/

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What dessert will I be bringing for Thanksgiving?

image source: food52 (link below)

Pumpkin Pudding. I follow this recipe, but decrease the sugar to a little bit more than 1/2 cup. I don't want to waste my calories on the crust because I only like the filling anyway.

image source: ambitious kitchen (link below)

Apple Crisp. I follow this recipe, but decrease the sugar in the apples to 2 Tablespoons. I'll use sugar, not maple syrup. Maple syrup is way too expensive.

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Remember, just because you have diabetes doesn't mean you can't have sweets. It does mean you need to be careful how much you eat, and adapting recipes to be a little healthier can make a difference in the long run.

What will you be cooking for Thanksgiving? Leave a comment or send me an email, I want to know!