As I began this article about sugar, my husband walked by and said "What are you doing, sweetie?" I answered "Writing about sugar."

"Oh," he replied. "You talking about me again?"

"No dear," I smiled. "Your name didn't even come up."

Ok, guess you had to be there, but we thought it was funny.

But, as long as we're talking about sweets, here's a few spooky facts about sweet things:

• In 2002, 1401 new candy products were inroduced, half being chocolate. Gee, and I keep buying the hard to beat Hershey's Bar.
• 3 percent of candy sales, are for "diet candy."
• 99% of households buy candy. (and the other 1% didn't answer the phone.)
• 93% of kids go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
• 10 Teaspoons of sugar is the maximum daily amount we should eat according to the USDA. (How about "less?")
• 12 Teaspoons of sugar is in a chocolate-coated, carmel-topped nougat bar with penuts. (Ok, call it a Snicker if you must.)
• 10 Teaspoons of sugar is in a 12 ounce can of soda, such as a Coke.
• 45 calories are in 1 teaspoon of sugar.
• 60 calories are iin a tablespoon of honey, which does have some antioxidant acitivity.
• 14 grams of sugar is in a serving of chocolate-flavored puffed corn cereal. (Divide by 4 you get slightly over 3 teaspoons of sugar, in a small serving of that cereal.)
• 1 gram of sugar is in a serving of round toasted oat cereal.
• 7 fat grams in 1/4 cup of chocolate-covered raisins.
• 10 fat grams in 1/4 cup of yogurt-covered raisins. (I'm going for the chocolate covered ones, then.)

You can see, that it's really easy to consume 1 cup or more of sugar a day. If you add that to a lethargic lifestyle, stress, and little sleep, you're walking towards some serious health issues.

We can reduce our sugar by purchasing low-sugar products, and we can purchase those products if we become label readers at the grocery store. I was very surprised to learn that my favorite brand of yogurt was so good because it contained 30 grams of sugar. That's over 6 teaspoons!! I don't even drink sweet tea because I think 1 teaspoon of sugar is too sweet, but I'm eating yogurt with 6 teaspoons of the killer white in it?

Now, I've learned to love no sugar added applesauce, reduced-sugar yogurt, and have begun to bake with Splenda. Fruits and fruit juice are stocked in the fridge and freezer, as well as sports drinks, which contain half the calories of soda.

By keeping bananas on the counter, apples and carrots chopped and ready for grabbing in the refrigerator, cheese slices bagged, we're all trimming down and craving fewer sweets. You know you're on your way to healthier living when kids (or adults) ask for a berry smoothie. At first, I thought eating healthy was too expensive. That's a cop out. You don't spend any more on frozen fruits, and fresh vegetables than you would for cases of pop and bags of chips. Or beer.

Can we cheat once in a while? Yes, and get by with it just fine probably if you walk and IF you keep the "once in a while," to just that. By adding daily walks to our routine, we feel better, sleep better, and get this bonus benefit: we eat less. Who knew?

Another good habit is to make most of your snacks and dips from scratch, to that you control the ingredients. Today, I was in a hurry and purchased a prepared onion dip for snacking this afternoon. Breaking my own rule, I didn't read the label until just now. It contains 12 grams of sugar per serving. That's 3 teaspoons of sugar per less than 1/4 cup. Sigh.

Here's what I should have done:

Very Veggie Dip Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz carton LIGHT dairy sour cream
• 1/2 of an 8 oz package reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
• 2 tablespoons chredded carrot
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• salt and pepper
• cut-up veggies, assorted crackers, or baked tortilla chips

Procedure:

In mixing bowl, beat sour cream cream cheese, and milk with the electric mixer until smooth. Stir in sweet pepper, zucchini, carrot and chives. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, adding red pepper flakes if you like them. Chill for 1 hour and enjoy!!!

Dip will keep for about 3 days, tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Variations: For an Italian version, omit the sweet peppers, carrot and chives. Instead, stir in 1/4 cup seeded and chopped tomato, add 1 small clove of garlic, minced, and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, oregano, and thyme, or teaspoon dri4ed Italian seasoning, crushed as you add it.

For a Mexican flavor, omit the sweet pepper, zucchini, carrot, and chives, and stir in 2/3 cup salsa (checking sugar content), or make your own.