Lots Of Kids Love Maple Candy
I never let our cupboard run empty with good, ol’ maple syrup. It’s an absolute favorite with my kids especially during breakfast. They have it with their wholemeal pancakes, corn cakes, French toast, or even just plain toast. I was afraid after a point that I was being to easy and giving them too much sugar (this is a problem because I have a MAJOR sweet tooth and I can’t stay away from the sugar myself even). When I looked into it I was shocked to learn that out of everything maple syrup can be one of the best sweets to be given to children that is readily available. For one, it’s not as calorie-dense as I thought and contains less sugar than honey. Secondly, it’s an excellent source of two trace minerals – zinc and manganese – which are important for energy building and the body’s immune system and antioxidant defences.
What should I have done when I knew I deceived my little picky children by giving them something sweet and tasty when it is actually quite healthy? To bring it on, of course!
Since then I started using pure organic canadian maple syrup to add to things like squash, on fries, or even on “maple and banana sandwiches” in place of peanut butter. My children really like organic maple butter on their waffles and drizzled on their pancakes.An easy way to make maple butter is to blend a pound of normal butter with 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, then just stick it in the fridge and use it as you like.As a special treat for kids (and to make them eat oatmeal cookies) I just take normal (or low fat) oatmeal cookies and glaze them with a maple glaze. To make the glaze, just combine 1 C pure maple candy, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a little maple extract, a few teaspoons of unsalted butter, all together on medium until it comes to a slow boil then you can brush it on your hot cookies. Let cool before serving (tip: the cookies taste better the next day).
Here’s something to keep in mind when you go shopping, really look for organic and pure maple syrup instead of picking up cheap flavored and colored synthetic syrup. It is generally more expensive, but because you don’t get diluted syrup you get a richer, tastier flavor and is worth whatever small amount of extra money it costs. Keep in mind a simple rule; the lighter the syrup, the more subtle the flavor will be. If you want to use syrup to cook try to get darker amber syrup as opposed to lighter stuff.Lastly just like any food you need to make sure you only eat a moderate amount of maple syrup (even organic sweeteners can be bad) and please please brush those little pirly white teeth!
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[...] the next time you might need a sweetener, you may want to opt in using maple candy instead of any other artificial sweetener. It is so much better in that, not only do you get all of [...]