We know that chocolate, ice cream, cookies and cakes are pretty heavy on the sugar. Unfortunately, that’s not the end of it.

The sweet stuff is lurking in all sorts of food products – often touted as healthy alternatives or savoury options. 

 

Here are five surprisingly high-sugar foods to be aware of… and what you might want to try instead.

 

Swap sugar for Lakanto’s Sugar Substitute 

Okay, it’s not surprising that sugar is high in sugar. What is surprising is it’s much easier to sub out the sweet stuff in your favourite baking and cooking recipes than you might think. That’s right, you don’t have to give up on biscuits! 

Lakanto matches the sweetness and consistency of real deal sugar, so you can literally swap it 1 for 1 in most recipes.

Golden Lakanto is a brown sugar substitute and the Classic White is a white sugar substitute, the colour and flavour coming from different parts of the Monk Fruit. Cutting down your sugar intake has never been so sweet.

 

Swap dried fruit for fresh fruit  

Dried fruit is often touted as a healthy snack. Thing is, there’s bucket loads of the sweet stuff lurking in your dates. 

Nature is pretty good at wrapping up the natural sugars found in fruit with enough water and fibre such that we don’t overindulge. When we dry fruit, we take out all the water, leaving just the concentrated sugar and fibre behind. 

Think about how many fresh apricots a handful of the dried ones would equate to – would you really eat THAT many in one sitting?! 

 

Swap fruit juice for a smoothie 

You run into the opposite but similar problem with fruit juice that you see with dried fruit. Juicing fruit strips out its fibre, leaving just the sugar and water behind. This means you’re effectively downing what was once the sugar content of many pieces of fruit in just a few seconds. 

We suggest switching to a smoothie. That way you’ll be eating the whole fruit and veg and slowing down the sugar intake. Good old-fashioned water with ice and a squeeze of fresh lemon also makes for a great thirst-quenching option!

 

Swap low fat yoghurt for Greek yoghurt 

Think low fat yoghurt is the healthier option? Think again. When food companies take out the perfectly good fat content in low fat products like yoghurt, they often replace it with sugar and other nasties to make it taste edible. 

Stick to the full fat Greek stuff where possible (the fat content will mean you’ll actually need less to feel satisfied) and sweeten with some fresh fruit or cinnamon. 

 

Swap packaged sauces for homemade sauces 

Ketchup, BBQ sauce, premade pasta sauces… unfortunately most of the pre-packaged options are crammed with sugar. Check out this Aussie favourite BBQ sauce… which comes in at more than half sweet stuff! Yikes.

The best way to ensure you know exactly what’s in your food is to cook it yourself. Trust us, a little bit of effort here goes a long way. Set aside a bit of kitchen time on the weekend and you can make a sauce or two in batches to store extra in the fridge or freezer.

Not convinced you can make a sauce that tastes as good as the bottled stuff? Our Responsibly Sweet Chilli Sauce should clear any doubts up!