Are you one of those people who just love to buy a hot steamy drink at their favourite coffee chain on their way to work? There is nothing better than to sip a hot chocolate or a steamy fancy “chai” when it is cold outside, don’t you agree? By the way do you avoid sodas because they contain quite a lot of sugar? Well I got news for you. Fact alert: your hot drink might contain even more sugar then the sodas you banned from your daily diet? This is an eye opener isn’t? Are you “craving” for the facts here are some details:
Starbucks: Hot Mulled Fruit (Grape with Chai, Orange and Cinnamon), Venti – 25 teaspoons
Costa Coffee: Chai Latte Massimo – 20 teaspoons
Starbucks: White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream, Venti – 18 teaspoons (was my personal favourite, not anymore, 18 teaspoons of sugar!)
For full details please visit: http://www.actiononsugar.org/News%20Centre/Surveys%20/2016/170862.pdf
Our food is “poisioned” with hidden sugar. We consume it daily without even knowing that we are having it. A few examples are: bread, sauces like ketchup or barbecue sauce, your healthy fruit juice, your favourite pasta sauce or your favourite fruit yoghurt. Are you buying low fat products because you think it might be healthier? Well I got another fact alert for you. In order to hide the bland taste of your low fat product they “just” add some extra sugar. All the “healthy” granola bars widely available nowadays may seem healthy but do contain a lot of sugar, most of them contain dried fruits, honey or another sugar in disguise which you as a consumer are not aware of. Sugar makes our food taste better and we are addicted to the taste without even knowing it.
How can we avoid the intake of hidden sugars? The easiest ways is, let’s call it the first option, to limit the amount of processed food and make our own food. But how can we make this happen with the limited amount of spare time we have. Due to our busy lives most of us are pressed for time. The second option is awareness, read ingredient labels. The third option is a mix of the first and second option. For example you could make your own fruit yoghurt by adding fruits to plain yoghurt or make your own pasta sauce. You even could make your own bread if you have time for it that is or are willing to make time for it.
Once you’re used to making your own food you will notice how much better it tastes and you know what you are eating. If you have some spare time left maybe you would like to try to make your own bread. Here’s a video from The Bread Kitchen of how to make your own bread, Titli has some great bread recipes!:
Happy baking!