FTC Disclosure: Delicious Obsessions may receive comissions from purchases made through links in this article. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Read our full terms and conditions here.

Editor’s Note: Please welcome my friend Hannah to the site today for another great blog post! Hannah is the founder of Whole Simple Life and is a formerly sick and tired Mama who is reclaiming her health naturally, one step at a time. She teaches others about cultured foods, unprocessed, and sugar free eating, green smoothies, and stress and anxiety management! Stop by her site to join her for lots of great articles on natural health and wellness and to be inspired to lead a healthier more positive life!

~~~~~~~~~

Are you trying to reduce your sugar intake? If so, it is important for you to know about 15 sneaky sources of sugar that you may have not thought of before.

This year I am leading people in a facebook support group on a journey of NO sugar for the entire year. (Anyone is invited, and it’s FREE!)

It sounds a bit insane I know,  but there have been some great things happening so far for everyone’s health and I am really proud of the group for persevering thus far.

As everyone has become much more conscious of labels we’ve noticed that sugar is a sneaky substance that has found it’s way into just about every packaged, processed food in the supermarket.

If you are really trying to eliminate sugar you may not even realize that there is sugar added to numerous foods and it’s sabotaging your efforts without you even knowing it!

There are the obvious things like donuts, pastries, soda, sugar cereals, puddings, flavored milks and juice, but there are many more offenders. One lady in our group was snacking on some salsa and chips and realized her salsa had sugar added to it, as many tomato products do.

Often times it just takes reading labels to find the brand that has sugar added or not. Beware also that it won’t just say “sugar” it can say many other names, so refer to this article at Organic Authority for 50 other names.

When you’re at the grocery store next time and you’re trying to avoid sugar beware of these items:

  • Mac N’ Cheese
  • Breads
  • Crackers
  • Bagels
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Salad Dressings (click here for a great recipe)
  • Ketchup
  • Applesauce (read labels to avoid added sugar)
  • Canned Fruit (generally in “light syrup”)
  • Cereal/Granola Bars (don’t be tricked by the “whole grain” labels, they have tons of sugar)
  • Spaghetti Sauce
  • Yogurt may seem healthy but it’s LOADED, opt for plain and add honey or maple syrup.
  • Vitamin Water is also a high offender (check other “healthy water” labels)
  • Odwalla Superfood Smoothies (don’t be tricked by all the fruits and veggies on the label, make your own green smoothies)
  • Salsa

I’m sure I’m missing some. Items like spaghetti or applesauce can be found without added sugar, all it takes is reading a few labels and finding a good brand.

Much of being healthy and being your own health advocate is becoming aware of what is in your food and reading labels. We’ve got to start caring about what we’re putting in our bodies. So many people just don’t realize what is even in our food. I was looking on the label of some nuts that were toted as being “low salt” and “dry roasted” instead of roasted with oil and the label had Maltodextrin on it…another name for MSG which is definitely an ingredient to avoid.

Just looking at packaging is not enough. Companies are smart and put different phrases on the front that make them appear healthy. We must turn the package over and read the label.

How do you avoid processed foods and extra sugar? Share your best tips below.

Have a wonderful, healthy day,

~Hannah

Delicious Obsessions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Read our full terms and conditions here.