How to cut back on sugar?

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jangus9416
jangus9416 Posts: 69 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i've found that most things I eat have more sugar than I want. Fruit, yogurt, granola bars, etc.. Plain yogurt is gross and I've tried making granola bars at home, but those turned out nasty as well. I like the high amount of protein in greek yogurt and the convenience of granola bars. What snack foods do you eat that are low in sugar? I need something that's easy to grab and go

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I stopped worrying about natural sugars. That opens up all fruit as snack options. They stay with me longer if I add a bit of protein, like nuts or cheese.

    When hubby and I head out to a fast food place, he packs an apple with him and has it instead of fries. I think he's smarter than me.

    There are portable squeezable yogurts too, often packaged for children. Muscle milk is higher in protein and can be found in convenience stores around here.
  • alicat2004
    alicat2004 Posts: 2 Member
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    Try and stay away from yogurt and dry fruit as they tend to have lots of sugar even though they have been deemed healthy foods. I like popcorn, its low carb, and low sugar plus has fiber, just dont eat too much of it. Other than that I eat lots of fresh fruit that isnt too ripe. Make sure your meals are protein packed, I do chicken breast and veggies in the crockpot a lot. Bake a sweet potato as a great feel good comfort food. String cheese is a great snack food before bed too.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Boiled eggs
    Cheese
    Less starchy veggies like cauliflower and broccoli
    Celery w/ nut butter
    Cottage cheese
    Nuts
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Eggs, cheese, nuts, olives, pepperoni sticks, cans of tuna, coffee with cream are my go to snacks.

    If you want to cut sugars, cutting out packaged convenience foods (or home made substitute convenience food copies) will probably get you started.
  • fstrickl
    fstrickl Posts: 883 Member
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    I too try not to worry about fruit sugar so I snack on fruit. A great snack is apples with peanut butter dip. Use natural peanut butter (the kind that is literally just mashed peanuts) mixed with equal amount plain Greek yogurt. Sometimes I add a quarter the amount of honey. Ex: 1/2 c peanut butter, 1/2 c Greek yogurt, 1/4 honey. So delicious.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Remember that the MFP calculators do not distinguish between natural sugars in fruit, milk, etc., and added sugars. Any recommended number/maximum for sugars is usually based on added sugars. If you are eating a well-balanced diet with few add-sugar foods, don't worry about sugars much (unless you have a medical reason to do so). If all your sugars come from fruits (whole -- not juices), vegetables, whole grains, dairy, etc., don't worry about it.

    Watch out for hidden sugar in stuff like almond milk, etc. Many of what is called "plain" or "original" is actually loaded with added sugar. Check the ingredients list of any packaged food. If an ingredient ends in "ose," it's sugar.
  • Owlfan88
    Owlfan88 Posts: 187 Member
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    I found I could mix the flavored yogurt with plain yogurt and get less sugar that way and now I find the regular yogurt way too sweet. I find most of the protein bars are not really to my liking, but some of the nut bars are really tasty and not too bad on sugars - instead they have a lot of fats. Try reading labels at the store to find ones that would work better.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Whenever I tried to restrict sugar, it backfired. I couldn't sustain it.

    Fit in what you love to eat. Stay under your calorie goal.
  • tolkienite
    tolkienite Posts: 204 Member
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    Along similar lines, could anyone recommend any snack food which is low in sugar but contains quite a lot of carbs? I'm a type 1 diabetic and am in the process of readjusting my insulin as the weather changes, but I need snack foods to bump my bloods back up a bit until I get it balanced again. Slow release carbs are best but I don't really know how to get it in snack form.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    if you're worried about it, eat less processed food stuffs. I don't eat much in the way of things with added sugars but I do eat fruits and veggies and other foods with naturally occurring sugars...I don't really worry about it...I hardly thing the obesity epidemic is a result of the old "apple a day" thing...
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    tolkienite wrote: »
    Along similar lines, could anyone recommend any snack food which is low in sugar but contains quite a lot of carbs? I'm a type 1 diabetic and am in the process of readjusting my insulin as the weather changes, but I need snack foods to bump my bloods back up a bit until I get it balanced again. Slow release carbs are best but I don't really know how to get it in snack form.

    Veggies are your best bet for carbs without sugars. eat protein with it if you want to slow it down even more.
  • tolkienite
    tolkienite Posts: 204 Member
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    Thanks, that's really helpful. Any particular veggies that would work best? I'm assuming steer clear of things like celery, cucumber and melon which have a high water content. Would root vegetables like carrots work the best?

    Sorry, although I've been diabetic a long time, most of it is intuitive now and I'm not used to tracking my macros.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Carbs are fiber, sugar, and starch. If it's starch you want root vegetables are like carrots and turnips (or something like winter squash) are an okay source, but you will get a lot more from stuff like potatoes and grains and beans than low cal vegetables.

    Aren't slow release carbs usually whole grains and higher fiber carbs? Non starchy veg are so low cal that you won't really get many carbs (and most of the carbs will be sugar or fiber, which doesn't seem helpful for your purposes).

    Fruit can be slow release for many, due to the fiber, even though it's high in sugar.

    I'd really ask a dietitian rather than at MFP.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,981 Member
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    I don't worry about the sugars in the fruits I eat, or those naturally occurring in dairy. (I limit sweetened yogurt.)

    My go to snacks are:
    • Almonds, cheese, and sometimes apples.
    • Apples and peanut butter
    • Coffee with coconut oil and protein powder
    • Oatmeal with strawberries and nuts when it's cold like now; oats, yogurt and strawberries in warmer weather

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