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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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How healthy is your family's diet?

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Last week I read a blog post over at Emmaand3.com about turning resolutions into lifestyle changes, as many of us fail at New Years resolutions by the middle of January. It was interesting to learn about the Change4Life app that Emma talked about which allows you to scan a barcode and it will tell you how many sugar cubes are in the product. We do love a good app in our house, so my daughter was keen to download it and no sooner did she have it on her iPad, did everything start being snapped for sugar content. The results were really surprising!

My husband is extremely disciplined in his diet and is rarely swayed from his healthy eating lifestyle and I have been trying to improve on this, especially as I am getting older and so I made a resolve to cut down on the amount of sugar intake I have (two sugars in a cup of tea IS particularly naughty). I have been swapping to herbal cleansing teas and fruit squash, to increase my water intake too, so I was therefore HORRIFIED to learn the amount of sugar that is in my favourite cranberry juice ..... I may aswell have eaten a huge chocolate bar on a daily basis since Christmas!! 

Do you know much sugar do you consume daily-

Change4Life, is the government's biggest obesity-tackling initiative and this new campaign encourages parents to get ‘Sugar Smart’, following revelations that four to ten year olds consume over 5,500 sugar cubes each year – which is the average weight of a five year old. The campaign will educate both parents and children in avoiding lots of the ‘hidden sugars’ found in foods that are commonly available and enjoyed by children, so that they can make healthier choices as a family.

My daughter has loved going round the kitchen and checking the sugar content of all our favourite foods, on the plus side there are now foods that she won't eat (and she quotes the sugar content to me confidently) but on the flip side, it has meant that I have had to look at a whole new range of alternative breakfast options!

The Change4Life Sugar Smart app is a free download and it has really got us thinking as a family about what we are eating every single day. No matter how many times we have tried to tell the 10 year old that she needs a more balanced diet, she hasn't listened so it is amazing to see her reaction to the results on the app. 

I can't promise that we are going to cut sugar out completely but the app has certainly changed how we think about the food and drink we are consuming! 

How much sugar do you think is in your favourite food and drink?

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Comments

  1. It's scary how easily sugar is hidden in foods and drinks, especially those advertised as healthy options x

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  2. Very interesting read, food for thought (excuse the pun!). I've recently cut out all sugar etc from my diet x

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  3. This sounds like a really useful app, I will have to take a look.

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  4. I discovered the The Change4Life Sugar Smart app last month it was indeed an eye opener. We have had stopped eating most of these foods since we discovered the level of sugar content. Even the Fruit n Fibre cereal is indeed full of sugar. I couldn't believe my eyes.

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