UPDATE: In light of the recent reports about the fungicide found in orange juice, Tropicana has stated “We take the faith that consumers place in our products seriously and are committed to full compliance with labeling laws and regulations.”
Many of you mentioned that your New Year’s Goals were to cut down on artifical sweeteners and sugars in your diet (and that of your family).
I’m in the same beverage boat.
Most of us Moms even water down juice before giving it to our kids, as we are often concerned about giving them too much sugar. However, if the babysitter, school (or even Dad) gives them full strength juice, they usually catch on. So when you try to water down the juice again, they protest. If your kids are older, and can open the fridge and pour their own drink, all control is lost; other than what you stock your fridge with in the first place.
I have tried to trick the entire family by pre-watering down various beverages in the actual container, but my bluff was called.
Though I worry about sugar, I worry about vitamins too. If I cut down the juice beverages with water, I am also cutting our daily supply of vitamin C. Would it be easier if I gave my toddler an orange? That my husband would be satisfied with glass of water? Absolutely. We all know, however, when it comes to our families, easier said than done.
When I was at a conference last year, I met some representatives from the Tropiciana brand. They were sharing samples of their orange juice beverage called Trop50. The taste is like full strength orange juice, which surprised me. Turns out Trop50 has the zero calorie, all natural Stevia, which gives it the full orange juice-like sweetness with 50% less sugar.
Actually, the Stevia they use is the highest quality available Stevia in the market called Reb A. Something I never considered in other Stevia-based products. Turns out I should. According to the website “Eating Well“, the FDA considers only Reb A a safe sugar substitute. In other words, if you want to use Stevia in your diet, look for Reb A on any ingredient label if the product states it is made with Stevia. Needless to say, Trop50 uses Reb A.
Yet, as always, everything in limitation. Anything with sweetened with Stevia is considered 30 percent sweeter than regular sugar and the recommended daily amount is 4mg per pound of body weight, according to the website “Everyday Health“. So a child who weighs 40 pounds shouldn’t have more than 160mg of Stevia a day. Though sugary in taste, Stevia has a different impact on blood sugars than traditional sugars, which has less impact on my diabetic mother-in-law and sugar sensitive toddler. So you just need to weigh the balance.
While we generally try to stock our fridge with real foods, this is one item I feel comfortable supplementing in my family’s diet, which is why I wanted to share it with you. Especially in lieu of sugary sodas and artificial fruit drinks since Trop50 beverages can be found in Orange, Pomegranate Blueberry, Pineapple Mango, Apple, Lemonade (my personal favorite) and Raspberry Lemonade. All of the bottles are recyclable ‘type one’ plastic, and the plastic bottle is BPA free too. While we all know there are a crazy array of beverages out there, here is one that cuts through a lot of them.
Just to give you a heads up, I noticed that you can get coupons (love those!) and enter to win a sweepstakes on the Trop50 True Resolutions Facebook page until the end of the month. You just have to share your 2012 Goal and you’ll get a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends. Whether you submit a resolution or not, you can also enter a sweepstakes to win a $1000 gift card.
Or leave a comment below about your New Year’s resolution and I’ll giveaway a $25 Visa Gift Card to one of you. Happy, Happy New Year, I’d say. Congrats to Jessica S. for winning!
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I received a couple of free Tropicana coupons, but otherwise, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Image Credit: Nazreth via stock.xchng.com
