I can’t blame it on my kids, or my husband, or ‘being a kid’, I have to take the blame.
My kids love sugar.
Everything and anything sweet, they love.
And they got their sweet tooth from ME.
That said, I have to balance the sugar intake with health and nutrition in this house, of course. Because I’m a mom, and that’s MY job.
So I read labels on all packaged food I buy. From snacks like granola bars and crackers, to breakfast cereals, prepared fruits, and frozen foods, all packages have labels.
In a joint effort between the Food & Consumer Products of Canada, Health Canada, Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, this post is brought to you by the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign, which is designed to increase Canadians’ awareness, use and understanding of the Serving Size and Percent Daily Value (% DV), on the Nutrition Facts table (NFt), to help you make informed food choices for your families.
I learned how to properly read labels by following these tips:
START WITH SERVING SIZE
Information in the NFt is based on this quantity of food. If you eat a different amount than the Serving Size, you will need to adjust the numbers in the NFt. Check to see if the Serving Sizes are similar when comparing packaged food.
You see how on one box the serving size is 4 crackers, and the other box that I’m trying to compare it to is a serving size of 9 crackers. You have to keep this in mind when comparing the following amounts.
THEN, PERCENT DAILY VALUE
Use % DV to see if a Serving Size has a little or a lot of a nutrient. 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot.
Do you want a lot or a little of something? For me, with sugar, I want less!
LASTLY, IS THIS NUTRIENT IMPORTANT TO YOU
Choose packaged food that has more of the nutrients you want, like fibre and calcium, and less of those you don’t, like saturated and trans fats and sodium.
Learn how to use the NFt at Canada.ca/NutritionFacts!
Enter the contest for a chance to win a $300 grocery card at www.FocusontheFacts.ca
AND I have a $100 Walmart Gift Card to give you, also!
ENTER —>
*sponsored by Nutrition Facts
I find I’ve been using the nutrition fact labels a lot more since becoming pregnant. It’s deffinitely something I’ll continue to do as our family grows! It makes such a big difference when trying to make healthier choices.
I am more aware of the nutritional values for my family since reading the facts on the labels.I like to check the sodium content too because there are some family members who are diabetic.This is such valuable content to read when making healthier choices! 🙂