​4 No Added Sugar Versions of Your Fav Foods

Added sugar is the devil when it comes to your health, especially if you're trying to lose weight. With sugar being added to nearly everything you find pre-packaged on the grocery store shelves, it's a wonder you can find anything to eat that doesn't contain it.

Eating food that you prepare at home from whole ingredients is almost always far better than consuming packaged food that has not only added sugar, but also a variety of chemicals that can interfere with your metabolism, make you feel sluggish, and contribute to a wide range of health problems.

Here are five foods that have tons of added sugar when you buy them in the grocery store but absolutely zero when you make them at home.

Peanut Butter

The peanut butter you buy at the store is a beast when it comes to added sugar. Two of the top-selling brands, Jiff and Skippy, have six and five grams respectively of sugar per serving. Considering that the recommended daily sugar allowance for women is just 24 grams per day, that peanut butter sandwich really packs it in, giving you a quarter of your daily allowance in just two little tablespoons.

The good news is that you can make your own peanut butter at home. It's actually incredibly easy. Simply toss about a pound of unsalted peanuts in your food processor and turn it on. After a minute, scrape down the sides, replace the lid and process for another 90 seconds while slowly drizzling about one and a half tablespoons of peanut oil into the mix. If you want a little sweetness, add a little stevia or honey. For a little more flavor, use roasted peanuts or roast raw peanuts yourself by tossing with two tablespoons of peanut oil and a teaspoon of salt before spreading them in a single layer on a baking sheet and baking at 350 degrees for a half hour, rotating the pan halfway through.

Store your peanut butter in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to two months.

Barbecued Anything

If you think peanut butter has a lot of added sugar, barbecue sauce has almost twice as much. A two-tablespoon serving of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce contains 12 grams of sugar – you can consume half of your daily allowance just by dipping a pork chop in sauce! If you want to enjoy your barbecue and eat it too, make anything that calls for barbecue sauce with Simple Girl's Sugar-Free Organic Carolina Kick BBQ Sauce or our low-sugar Sweet N' Spicy BBQ Sauce, which has just three grams of sugars per serving.

Granola Cereal

Kashi granola cereal is supposed to be the pinnacle of granola cereals and yet it contains 13 grams of sugar per bowl! That's just a few grams less than the amount a Twinkie contains. But don't let that lead you to eating Twinkies for breakfast. Instead, make your own dang granola cereal. Here's how:

Combine two cups of raw, whole rolled oats, about ½ cup each of raw nuts and chopped dried fruit, ¼ cup of sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or both), two tablespoons each of raw honey and coconut oil, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a large pinch of sea salt. Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. Keep it in an airtight container in a dry, cool place for up to two weeks.

Trail Mix

If you get snacky in the middle of the day and resort to trail mix, you may be getting more than you bargained for – more sugar, that is. If you can't abide trail mix that doesn't have little chunks of sweet to go along with the salty, this super-simple and easily-personalized recipe is for you.

Combine your choice of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit and berries. Stir in some cacao nibs and sugar-free chocolate chips, or just enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruit.

For more great sugar-free recipes and other diet-friendly concoctions, check out our recipe page!