Let’s face it, Halloween is the one night of the year where our children are surrounded by so many treats and the whole holiday is based around sugary rewards. But, have you really thought about how much sugar your children are consuming in such a short space of time? The team at Rewards Project in Central London are here to help.

Supermarkets are packed full of Halloween sweets, even more refined sugar, artificial sweeteners and more food colourings. As much as Halloween is a fun, exciting time of the year for our little ones, we must remember to take care of their health and wellbeing at the same time.

So, what can you do?

Here at Rewards Project, we want to show children that there is more to Halloween than sweets. We want our children to have fun and look after their teeth too!

So, why not try some non-food rewards and alternatives? We’ve put together a list of creative, non-food rewards for trick-or-treat bags and even alternatives for your upcoming Halloween party.

Non-food rewards for Trick ‘or’ Treat bags:

• Colourful pencils
• Mini activity packs
• Glow sticks
• Halloween stickers
• Whistles or Kazoos
• Crayons
• Vampire fangs
• Bubbles
• Stencils
• Spinning tops
• Spider jewellery
• Mini play-dough tubs
• Bouncy balls
• Halloween themed keyrings
• Spooky accessories such as headbands and handmade bracelets

If they are having sweets, it is better to have them in one go and then throw out the remaining ones rather than pick on them over the week. They will likely get a sugar rush, feel sick and then it will put them off sweets!

Having a Halloween party?

There are plenty of different low-sugar alternatives online which can help you gather some inspiration for a Halloween party; they can even incorporate some of their five-a-day.

Take a look below at some of our ideas for your next Halloween party.

• Make sure fruit and veg is still easily accessible.
• Create a fruit salad bowl in a spooky witch’s cauldron.
• Add edible eyes to carrot and cucumber sticks.
• Create ‘Spooky’ boiled eggs instead of offering chocolate eggs.
• Create Pumpkin shapes out of satsumas.
• Carve mini ‘pumpkin-style’ faces out on peppers.
• Label their water bottles as ‘Witches Water’ to make it more fun.

Don’t forget to sign up to the Rewards Project newsletter to keep up-to-date with the latest news, events and more by clicking here.

Have you ever wondered what’s in your child’s toothpaste?

We recommend taking a look at the ingredients list before purchasing. In a recent article, the European Food Safety Authority said that a food colouring used in some toothpaste can no longer be ruled out as a cause of cancer.

The experts concluded that as a result E171, which is composed of a mix of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, could not be considered safe when used in food.

The food colouring E171 is used in many toothpastes, but mostly children’s toothpaste. Here is a list of some popular toothpastes that currently contain E171.

Aquafresh ‘Milk Teeth’ 0-2 years

Aquafresh ‘Little Teeth’ – 3-5 years

Aqua fresh ‘Big Teeth’ – 6-8 years

Aqua fresh Advance – 9-12 years

Sensodyne Pro-Namel – 6-12 years

Artificial sweeteners

It can be quite surprising when you realise how many artificial sweeteners and flavourings are added to children’s toothpaste.

The main reason artificial sweeteners are added to toothpastes is purely for the taste. Many toothpastes are sweet because they contain an artificial sweetener such as sodium saccharin, a form of saccharin.

Unlike sugar, saccharin doesn’t promote tooth decay. Some toothpastes contain xylitol, another type of sweetener known as a sugar alcohol. We are campaigning to remove all sweeteners from toothpaste.

Fluoride

It is important to use a toothpaste with the correct amount of Fluoride in as your children grow up.

Up to age two, you should use a fluoride toothpaste of 1,000 parts per million (ppm).

Above this then start to use a fluoride level of 1,350-1,500ppm.

Once they get adult teeth (usually from 6 onwards), they can start using adult toothpaste, which is around 1500 ppm fluoride.

Unsure on what toothpaste is best?

Ideally, a toothpaste that does not contain artificial colourings, flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives is best. There are some toothpastes out there that contain natural ingredients, like Greenpeople , Zendium or BrushBaby Toothpaste.

Greenpeople have an organic children’s mandarin & aloe vera toothpaste – with FLUORIDE.  Zendium has natural antibacterial enzymes to boost the mouth’s natural defences here.

Brushbaby has applemint and tutti frutti flavours.

Make sure you choose the Fluoride version as this helps harden your children’s teeth.

If you can, we advise you to provide your children with natural toothpastes from the very moment they have teeth. This way, their taste buds will adjust to the natural tastes instead of artificial ingredients from a young age.

Our friends over at Bow Lane Dental Group in Central London can help you find the best toothpaste for your child at their next check-up. Call them today on 020 7236 3600 to book a check-up, or visit their website here.

Don’t forget to recycle the tubes once you have finished rather than throw them in the household waste. We love doing our bit to stay as Eco-friendly as possible!

If you would like to find out more about artificial sweeteners, please click here. You’d be amazed at where they can be found!

With Easter fast approaching, you’ll be wanting to plan some fun activities for your children during the Easter break. It can be hard to prevent your children from thinking that Easter is all about chocolate, so we’ve put together some fun, sugar-free ideas that will bring you closer together as a family as well as looking after their health.

Easter hunt

Notice how we didn’t say Easter EGG hunt? You can still plan a fun, interactive Easter hunt without the sugar and chocolate eggs! Leave a trail of clues that leads to a large fluffy Easter toy or an Easter basket full of non-food treats. You could even award your little one with a trophy!

As well as this, another great idea is to hide hollow eggs that have small treats in. You can buy hollow eggs here and fill them with things such as coins, Lego, temporary tattoos, mini stamps, magnets and bouncy balls.

Create a sugar-free Easter basket

If you’re planning on creating an Easter basket this year, why not fill it up with non-food treats. Take a look at these sugar free ideas below:

• Mini games
• Toothbrushes
• A soft toy
• Bubbles
• Crayons
• Activity packs
• Fun socks
• Certificates
• Mini puzzles
• Rubbers
• Water balloons

Indoor gardening

As many garden centres will still be closed by Easter weekend, why not order some seeds online? Spring is the perfect time to grow seeds and plant beautiful flowers in your garden. You could sit down with the children and choose some flowers or plants online ready to plant. You could arrange flowers in your favourite vase, or wait for your seeds to be delivered and plant them in the garden together. Here is an assortment of seeds that are perfect to sow in the Spring.

Try some fun experiments

We have a fantastic leaflet that features some fun experiments for children. One includes the EGG experiment, which will show children how different liquids can effect their teeth.  The second is a disclosing tablet experiment which you can do at home.

You can find the fun kids leaflet here.

Decorate eggs

Sit down together and get crafty with your little ones and decorate eggs with marker pens, glitter glue, sequins and any fun craft materials you can find. We particularly like this egg decorating kit from John Lewis. You can get yours here. If you can’t get hold of an Easter egg kit like this, why not collect large pebbles outside and bring them home to decorate with paints and marker pens?

Create an obstacle course

Another fun idea could be to create an obstacle course in your garden or even in your living room. You could incorporate an egg and spoon race, lots of bunny hopping and throwing and catching activities. Once the course is finished you can reward them with a non-food reward such as a certificate or badge.

Spring clean

It might be a great idea to get them to help you with a spring clean around the house, making it as fun as possible. Get them some colourful rubber gloves and give them a small list of tasks to do such as dusting and putting things away. For every task they tick off the list, you could reward them with a non-food reward such as stickers. If your children collect certain toys or memorabilia, it might be a great idea to get them something to add to it. This is a great incentive and will get your children excited to help.

Low-sugar chocolate 

If you do opt for chocolate eggs, we suggest choosing dark chocolate as a low-sugar alternative. We recommend the 100% Madagascar ‘Totally Dark’ Easter egg. This particular Easter egg contains 100% cocoa solids, which means there is no sugar or sweeteners of any kind! You can get yours here.

If you do decide to buy an Easter egg this year, don’t be fooled by the ‘Sugar-free’ labels. Many Easter eggs will still contain a lot of artificial sweeteners. Make sure to check the labels before purchasing!

Are you looking for tasty, low sugar snacks to make for your children during the Easter break?

Click here to find some delicious recipes from our website. If you get a chance to try the recipes out, don’t forget to let us know by tagging us on Instagram at @rewardsproject.

Are you looking for different ways to treat your Mum this Mother’s Day? With a little help from the Rewards Project, you can enjoy a healthy Mother’s Day that’s just as special!

Dining in

Even though all restaurants are currently closed during lockdown, there are still ways you can create an eventful low-sugar dining experience for Mother’s Day.

If you are in a support bubble with your Mum, you can try rustling up a healthy but delicious three-course meal. You could cook a start, main and dessert together using our Kick Sugar cookbook. There’s nothing better than a home-made feast at home with loved ones.

More low-sugar tips for dining in:

• – Drink plenty of water
• – Avoid alcohol or try low-sugar/alcohol free options.
• – Try to avoid white bread/white rice/white potato/white pasta
• – Keep an eye on dressings and sauces, you’ll be surprised by some of the ingredients!

The Kick Sugar cookbook is filled with easy, fuss-free recipes that will improve your health and re-calibrate your taste-buds. You’ll be spoilt for choice once you’ve seen the options.

Get your copy of Kick Sugar here.

Non-food gift ideas

It’s always nice to receive gifts that aren’t related to food. Here is a list of fun and meaningful gifts that will last longer than a box of chocolates:

• – A Mother’s Day card.
• – Tickets to their favourite show ready for when lockdown eases.
• – Do the chores around the house if you live together or are in a support bubble.
• – A personalised photo frame.
• – Send a bouquet of her favourite flowers delivered straight to her doorstep.
• – A meaningful hand-written letter, signed, sealed and delivered.
• – Send them breakfast in bed.
• – Make a memory photo book.
• – Subscribe them to their favourite magazine.
• – A book from their favourite author.
• – A candle and a pair of cosy socks.
• – Book a virtual yoga or meditation class.
• – Create a birthday video from all of the family.
• – Book a group fitness class together for when the gyms are re-open.
• – A hygiene appointment at the dentists – (who doesn’t love sparkling clean teeth!?)
• – A copy of the Kick Sugar cookbook.

If you decide to treat your Mother to a copy of the Kick Sugar cookbook, don’t forget to TAG us on Instagram using the handle @rewardsproject. We hope you all enjoy celebrating.

We get so many questions about artificial sweeteners, so are they a worthwhile swap, or not?

The focus on sugar in public health has led food manufacturers to reduce calories through non-calorific sweeteners, keeping the same sweet taste but allegedly negating the harms of too much sugar. Some of this has been in direct response to the sugar tax introduced in the UK in 2018 and already in place in over 35 countries.

The whole area of artificial sweeteners is quite controversial. To the industry, they are potentially a good way out of the damage that sugar is known to do.

As a consumer, it feels like we can potentially “have our cake and eat it too” – be able to enjoy the sweetness that we crave without a downside. There are so many artificial sweeteners out there these days, so sometimes it can be hard to tell what your food contains unless you look deeper into the ingredients list.

Names of popular artificial sweeteners:

• – Suraclose (Splenda)
• – Aspartame
• – Saccharin
• – Cyclamate
• – Acesulfame potassium (Acesulfame-K)

Some products are even made from a combination of two artificial sweeteners.

What are sugar alcohols?

Sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate whose structure resembles both sugars and alcohol.

Sugar alcohols are often used as lower calorie sweeteners in sugar-free chewing gum and sweets, as food additives in processed foods, and in toothpaste, certain medications, and laxatives.

Common types of sugar alcohols include xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, maltitol and mannitol.

What foods contain artificial sweeteners?

There are so many different food and drink types that contain sweeteners. Also, of these are food items that are labelled ‘sugar-free’. The sugar is then replaced with artificial sweeteners, including those listed above.

When considered as a straight swap, for example, switching a diet cola for a full sugar version, this would seem to make sense. Overall, you have a net reduction in calories, a saving of 97 calories for each substitution made. Similarly, switching a sweetener for 3 sugars in a cup of tea will save 46 calories.

Is this too good to be true?

But this is not quite as good as it seems. The catch is that artificial sweeteners still do not reduce appetite and hence the drivers of overeating are maintained. This makes it harder to lose weight if that is your goal, and the small upside in calories saved can be quickly wiped out if accompanied, or followed, by a binge.

This is probably why studies into sweetener consumption show either zero-to-modest reduction in weight and a higher incidence of obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events.

From a dental health perspective, diet soda is still a problem as the drink itself is corrosive to tooth enamel, irrespective of the fact that it doesn’t contain sugar.

Many “tooth friendly” products contain acidic flavouring that can erode your teeth. You need to be careful about the exposure time. If you are sucking a sugar free lollipop for several minutes your teeth are again…bathed in acid!

Where do you normally find artificial sweeteners?

• – ‘Sugar-free’ or ‘diet’ foods and drinks
• – Fizzy drinks
• – Fruit juices
• – Baked goods
• – Sweets and hard candies
• – James, jellies and yogurts
• – Chewing gum

Are there any natural sweeteners out there?

Natural sweeteners are sugar substitutes that are often promoted as healthier options than sugar or other sugar substitutes. However, even these “natural sweeteners” often go through processing and refining. The crucial part is the body still processes them as sugar so use sparingly!

Natural sweeteners that the FDA recognises as generally safe include:

• – Honey
• – Nectar
• – Molasses
• – Maple syrup

Should I eat artificial sweeteners?

We advise to use them as a way of weening you off sugar and during the transition stages of cutting down on the sweetness in your diet. They should eb avolid in under 6-year-olds as we don’t know the effect they have on growing bodies. Remember to check labels and ingredients on food packaging, as this can help you to make informed choices.

We want you to be able to access your full palate, not just the sweet range. Completing our 14-day kick sugar challenge will help you do that. Find out more about our #KickSugar challenge here.