All things family
Happy, healthy families
Recipes, parties and meals
Savvy money solutions
Making Learning Fun
Solutions for your home
Cakes, parties & more
Good stuff for everyone
Eco-friendly choices
EatSavvy Blog
Posts from May 2012. Show all blog posts.
Simple Frozen Chocolate Milk
Ever since we were inspired to eat a little more like the French, I’ve been looking for snacks that aren’t so heavy to offer to the kids when they come home from school. I’m convinced that my children often confuse hunger for thirst (with boys not drinking much from their water bottles during the day?), and I’ve been trying to offer thirst quenchers in lieu of food when it comes to their after-school snacks.
Our neighbourhood coffee shops offer frozen hot chocolates this time of the year, and while tasty and refreshing, they are also extremely pricey at almost five dollars a pop. This makes them more of a luxury treat than an afternoon snack, but like most things we enjoy eating out, I’ve taken to making my own version at home.
The kids are happy with their sweet after-school refreshment, and I’m thrilled to be saving money while simultaneously keeping their drinks as healthy as possible.
What are you making for after-school snacks these days?
Find the full printable recipe here: Simple Frozen Chocolate Milk
If you’re making the choice to have something sweet, choose wisely.
As we’ve discussed, sugar is the new transfat/salt/evil ingredient according to the latest reports. It’s been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers. This week, Rose Riesman was on Toronto’s Breakfast Television sharing the shocking news about how much sugar we’re currently consuming.
According to her report, the average Canadian ingests 130 pounds of sugar per year. This number was shocking to me. We are eating our body weight in sugar-enhanced foods, not to mention the naturally sweetened ones we consume, like fruit. The good news though, is that with just a few simple changes to our shopping and eating habits, it’s possible to reduce our consumption dramatically, while still enjoying the occasional treat.
Rose compared some popular snacks and take-out foods with some slightly less sweet counterparts. Here are the results of her study:
Dairy Queen Lemonade Raspberry Chiller = 48 teaspoons of sugar VS.
Dairy Queen Small Raspberry Sundae = 14 teaspoons of sugar
Cinnamon Caramel Pecan Buns = 19 teaspoons of sugar VS.
Country Style Raspberry Filled Donut = 5 teaspoons of sugar
Baskin Robbins Large Vanilla Shake = 30 teaspoons of sugar VS.
Baskin Robbins Two –Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream Cone – 13 teaspoons sugar
Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (1 bowl) = 7 teaspoons of sugar VS.
Twinkies (2) = 7 teaspoons of sugar
Skittles (1 small package = 11 teaspoons of sugar VS.
M&Ms (1 small package) = 4 teaspoons of sugar
One Large Coke (from movie theater) = 33 teaspoons of sugar VS.
One Small Cokes (from Movie Theater) = 10 teaspoons of sugar
Another shocking statistic I learned from this segment is that 1 out of 3 kids born after the year 2000 will have sugar-induced diabetes.
Were you surprised by any of these comparisons? Are you concerned about your family’s sugar intake?
Topics
Explore More Savvy
SavvyMom is the registered trademark of SavvyMom Media Inc.
