Sugar in Everything

Added sugars are everywhere! What the majority of the public doesn’t realize is that, many popular foods, condiments, and drinks hold a surprising amount of added sugar. Things you wouldn’t even think of have an extra dose of sugar.

Baked beans.
If you really think about it, they are pretty sweet. The maple-colored beans on the can get their color from all that extra molasses-like artificial sweetener. Only one cup is about 15 grams of sugar. One gram of sugar is 4 calories. So if you do the math, it can all add up very quickly if you have extra helpings.

BBQ Sauce.
The kind bought at the supermarket has the ultimate syrupy sweetness. The typical store brand, KC Masterpiece has 12 grams of sugar for every 2 tablespoons…and chances are you will be using more than the serving size if you are using it as a dip. The best is to make your own–adding a hickory flavor or some extra chili will reduce your need for that extra sugar.

Ketchup.
God knows I love ketchup to death. But just remember, next time you are drenching that french fry in ketchup that your dip has up to 40 grams of extra sugar.

Granola Bars.
Many people think that ANY granola bar is a healthy, alternative snack. Truth is, many of these granola bars have so much sugar, that it defeats the purpose of being labeled (ahem…misconceived) as an exemplary form of nutritious food. The kind I like to buy is Kashi cereal bars—they taste great and use ingredients like evaporated cane sugar and dried fruit to add an element

Flavored Alcoholic Drinks.
Flavored drinks are a combination of hard liquor and some type of juice or mixer. What do juice and mixers have? Lots of sugar. Look at even the most basic cranberry juice: It can carry up to 35 grams of sugar per serving.