If you are on the lookout for healthy substitutions for old favorites, I have two. I still love sandwiches, and I am always looking for affordable options without the nitrates. Hormel has been making its "Natural Choice" brand for a year or two. The price keeps dropping--currently $2.98 for 9 oz at my neighborhood Wal-Mart. There are no nitrates, and they say that the animals are not given hormones. That makes me feel less guilty about sharing this family tradition with my kids.  Salt content is a negative with 490 mg sodium per serving.  I use to buy a brand from the Whole Foods Market before the kids, but it was rather pricey for a family.

 

Agave nectar is another favorite. It is a sweetener made from a plant.  It looks like honey but is less viscous. It tastes like sugar but richer. It can sweeten any drink, especially tea. I use it on oatmeal and to make cinnamon toast that taste more like a cinnamon roll. This all-natural, organic product also has a low glycemic index of 32 out of 100. Honey has a favor that overpowers whatever you mix it into. Agave nectar does not have its own strong flavor. I cannot use fake sugars because they give me migraines. This was a great find.  Here is the brand I usually get www.madhavahoney.com/agave.htm.