- Nov
- 8
- 2018
You’re sweet enough! Tips to reduce sugar this holiday season
For us big kids, Halloween is the unofficial kick-off of holiday sweet-binging. Let’s be real. It’s nearly impossible to make it to year-end without indulging in sugary snacks, sodas and a few adult beverages. So aiming to eliminate sugar altogether is a bit of a lofty goal. If your goal is to reach 2019 with fewer after-effects of a sugarcoated binge, here are some tips from Employee Wellness to help you balance temptation with tradition:
Take a taste! Instead of a full slice or scoop of your favorite dessert, take just a forkful to satisfy your cravings and reduce sugar overload.
Save your sugar for dessert instead of the drinks. Holiday drinks can pack on the sugar with juices, sweet creams or sugar-lined rims. Go light on the drink and save your sugar budget for dessert.
Top your pie differently. Instead of ice cream or whipped cream, add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to add a savory tang. It will give you the creaminess you desire and a nice contrast to the sweet bite of pie.
Make it a crumble. Turn your favorite pie into a crumble using crunchy oats. You’ll cut down on sugar by swapping the crust with oats.
Sweet potato is sweet enough. Ditch the marshmallows and brown sugar to savor the natural sweetness of this nutrient-rich potato.Quick fact: Sugar is usually listed in grams on a nutrition fact label. For every 4 grams, you’re consuming 1 teaspoon of sugar. To put sugar consumption in context, the average soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounce container. For adults, it’s recommended not to exceed 6 teaspoons of sugar daily.
Reducing sugar to transform how we think about food
Northwell’s Food and Nutrition Transformation continues to evolve, achieving a major milestone in 2018 with a shift away from sugary beverages and snacks in our cafeterias and vending machines. As leaders in healthcare, we know that sugar is linked to cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, depression and obesity. Reducing added sugar supports our goal to transform the way people think about food, not only to improve our food environment, but also positively impact the health of our patients, visitors and team members.
Read more about the nutrition guidelines of Northwell Healthy Choice and browse the growing Healthy Choice recipe collection.
Why is there so much focus on sugar? Almost half of the added sugars in our diets come from beverages like soda and sports drinks. Added sugars contribute calories, but no essential nutrients to our diets. We’re swapping these drinks with better options such as water, seltzer, 100% juice, low fat milk and unsweetened teas. You’re likely seeing more fresh fruits and healthy snacks like baked chips, fruit/nut mixes, dark chocolate, and low sugar frozen yogurt in our cafeterias and coffee shops, and less novelty candy and ice cream, with an eye on curbing processed sugar.
Juices can have the same or more sugar than sodas. Northwell only serves 100% juices. The sugar in 100% juices comes naturally from the fruit or vegetable from which it was processed. Juices can be high in sugar, but they do offer the nutritional benefit of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant phytonutrients.
The American Heart Association strongly recommends limiting added sugars. Too much sugar can lead to weight gain and a string of health problems. We don’t know for sure if using non-nutritive sweeteners makes people actually eat or drink fewer calories every day. But we do know that reducing the added sugar we consume does. With conflicting studies currently debating the safety and health impact of diet sweeteners, we will offer them 12 ounce sizes or smaller.
Look for the Northwell Healthy Choice icon to quickly identify meals and snacks that meet our heart-healthy nutrition criteria, and when you choose other options, you can be confident that we have sourced foods that meet quality standards that are good for your health.
Questions? Contact employeewellness@northwell.edu.
great article, very informative.
Hi Sheila, thanks for the feedback! Watch for the new Healthy Choice holiday recipe pdf coming out later next week.
You state “juice can have the same or more sugar than sodas,” then fail to address that in the following paragraph. What should be stated is that instead of juices, drink water and eat the actual fruit! The wasting of all that nutritional fiber is absolutely criminal.
You’re absolutely correct! Juice also has beneficial fiber that keeps you feeling full for longer. When you juice a fruit, you discard the solids, including that fiber. Smoothies are a better way to “drink” your fruits and get the full effect of fiber from the food. Water and seltzer are always the best options for drinks to help us stay hydrated and limit the calories or artificial sweeteners from our drinks. We still want to give people options so 100% juice will be included on our shelves.
some great ideas for the upcoming holiday celebrations!
Thanks, Margaret. We just posted the 2018 Thanksgiving Healthy Choice Recipe collection on the intranet. Take a peek. Departments>Employee Wellness>Northwell Healthy Choice>Printable Recipes. Have a wonderful holiday season. – Dina
Thanks for the feedback, Margaret. Be sure to check out the 2018 Thanksgiving Healthy Choice Recipe Collection on the intranet. Go to Departments>Employee Wellness>Northwell Healthy Choice>Printable Recipes. Have a great holiday season. – Dina
Thank you for the informative article on sugar. It is so hard to limit sugar but your awesome recipes are helping us all lead a healthier lifestyle.
Thanks, Barbara! Every teaspoon we skip is an ounce of prevention:) Just posted the new Thanksgiving Healthy Choice Recipe collection on the intranet. Go to Departments>Employee Wellness>Northwell Healthy Choice>Printable recipes. Enjoy the holidays. – Dina
Great article. Maybe you can help reduce the sugar content of the food in the physicians staff office…..
Thank you for the feedback. If you have questions about ways to encourage shifts in sugary snacks at the office, reach out to employeewellness@northwell.edu. Healthy Choice Thanksgiving Recipe Collection is on the intranet now: Departments>Employee Wellness>Northwell Healthy Choice>Printable Recipes. Be well — Dina
Can’t believe how easily you can consume so much sugar. Thanks for the tips …