We hear white sugar is poison, aspartame causes cancer, high fructose corn syrup is bad for our children! Well, considering completely avoiding sweets is just uhhh, down right unrealistic for most of us, what are we to do?

Thank goodness, there are some healthy options out there. Start by replacing sugar and all artficial sweeteners with stevia. Stevia is available at your grocer next to the artificial sweeteners, read the ingredients and make sure it is pure stevia. Stevia is also an actual plant and can be purchased at your local garden department. My five year old loves to pick the leaves and eat them raw, but they are also great to sweeten tea or water.

Another idea is to sweeten things with fruit or the juices from fruit. Pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and other cereals are great for this. You can actually make a fruit syrup by mashing your favorite fruit such as a berry, adding a very small amount of water and bringing it to boil on the stove, this is a perfect replacement for store bought pancake syrup.

Last but not least organic honey and agave nectar are great natural sweeteners when used in moderation. Try apples with peanut butter and honey or whole wheat toast with peanut butter, sliced bananas and honey as a healthy snack for the kids. You can also sweeten coffee with honey or agave nectar.

So the next time you are tempted to sweeten your tea with white sugar or smother pancakes in a sticky liquid full of sugar, coloring and preservatives otherwise known as poison, remember there are sweet, tasty and healthy alternatives readily available.