We know there is sugar in cookies, cakes, candy and soda. But food can be sneaky and hidden sugars are in products you would never suspect! Here are the top 10 products that have sugar that surprised us when we started keto.
10. Ketchup
Okay, we knew ketchup had some sugar in it, but in a tablespoon, how much could it be? Turns out there is a teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon of ketchup. That will add up in a hurry!
9. Canned baked beans
Beans are healthy, right? Right? A can of baked beans has about 18 grams of sugar. They do have fiber, but not enough to equal that out!
8. Pure fruit juice
Fruit juices, like Tang or Sunny D are not part of any healthy diet. But did you know that a cup of Tropicana Pure Orange Juice with no pulp has 23 grams of sugar?!?
7. Granola bars
When we were “dieting,” we used to eat granola bars instead of chocolate bars. Obviously the chocolate coated ones were not great for you, but what about the “healthy” ones? The Nature Valley Dried Fruit and Nut bar (no chocolate in sight) has 13 grams of sugar in them.
6. Canned fruit in “light” syrup
“Light” means healthy, doesn’t it? Half a cup of sliced peaches in light syrup has 16 grams of sugar. Why bother with the “light?” At this point, just go with the good stuff!
Top 5 Hidden Sugars
5. Instant Oatmeal
Marketed as a healthier option to the sugar breakfast cereals, we turned to oatmeal in the mornings. Maple and Brown Sugar was our favourite, but let’s face it, sugar is in the title so we weren’t that surprised to know that it had 12 grams of sugar. The apple and cranberry however was a bit more of a surprise as it also has 12 grams of sugar. Cinnamon and Spice oatmeal has 10 grams of sugar. The only one that doesn’t have sugar added that we found was the original. Who has original oatmeal without sugar? Yuck.
4. “Healthy cereals”
Obviously, cereals with chocolate and marshmallows are high in sugar. What about a healthier option such as Harvest Crunch? In about 2/3 of a cup, Harvest Crunch has 10 grams of sugar.
3. Iced tea
We both loved Pepsi so when we went on a health kick, we would substitute the highly sugared drink with iced tea as a healthier option. A 500 ml of Nestea Lemon Iced Tea has 43 grams of sugar! A bottle of Pepsi has 54 grams of sugar – not as big a difference as we were expecting at all!
2. Yogurt
We never enjoyed the yogurt with the artificial sweetener and we thought natural was better, so we used to buy the Activia vanilla yogurt. A single serving container has 12 grams of sugar!
… and Number 1 – Dried fruit
Yes, we know fruit has natural sugars. In keto, we can’t eat very much of it for that reason. What we did not realize is that the dehydrating process brings out even more sugars. One snack box of raisins has 20 grams of sugar!
The moral of the story is: don’t assume you know what’s in a food product. Read the label! If you aren’t sure how to read a food label for keto, click here to order our e-book. We have done all the research so you can focus on your keto lifestyle.
Wendy
